News.com Mobile
for PDA or phone
Login: Forgot password? | Sign up

Public beta of IE 7 nears

By Graeme Wearden
Special to CNET News.com
Published: December 8, 2005, 9:28 AM PST

Microsoft is planning to make a beta of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP available to the general public within the next four months.

Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Microsoft's Internet Explorer team, said in a posting on Microsoft's IE blog this week that his team will publicly release an updated prerelease build of IE 7 for Windows XP before the end of March 2006.

"We want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to try a prerelease version of IE 7 and tell us how it works with their Web sites, their applications, their add-ons, and how they use the Web overall," Hachamovitch said.

Only Microsoft staff and specifically chosen beta testers can currently get their hands on the latest prerelease version.

The first beta of IE 7 was launched in July. It is expected to include several changes, including tighter security and tabbed browsing.

A later blog posting outlined how Microsoft is changing the way Internet Explorer handles "security zones." These zones are used to set security levels depending on the perceived trustworthiness of a Web site. Microsoft is concerned that these zones can be abused by malicious hackers if they can trick IE into treating a dangerous site as if it were trustworthy.

"We realized that the intranet zone--and its lower restrictions--is not relevant at all to the typical home user running IE. One of our interns this summer, Robert Liao, changed IE's logic so that a Windows machine that is not on a managed corporate network will treat apparent intranet sites as Internet sites. This change effectively removes the attack surface of the intranet zone for home PC use," Microsoft said.

Graeme Wearden of ZDNet UK reported from London.

 34 comments
Post a comment

TalkBack

There's no excuse

Rich Boos   Dec 10, 2005, 3:07 PM PST

IE 7.0 too late in marketplace.

Lajos Gyory   Dec 9, 2005, 5:21 PM PST

It's too late for Internet Expolrer 7

Tosin Akinsoho   Dec 9, 2005, 6:32 AM PST

Remind me again....

Earl Benser   Dec 8, 2005, 3:32 PM PST

I don't want to be the poor sap who tries the new IE first!

Brandon Rusnak   Dec 8, 2005, 3:25 PM PST

IE causes more problems for end users than FF

Nick Eklund   Dec 8, 2005, 2:43 PM PST

IE is too late, they should surrender

Nick Eklund   Dec 8, 2005, 2:41 PM PST

A browser is a browser is a browser

James Lamb   Dec 8, 2005, 1:55 PM PST

News of IE 7

Kp Robinson   Dec 8, 2005, 11:58 AM PST

history.dat is the future

J C   Dec 8, 2005, 11:11 AM PST

We will see

Sql   Dec 8, 2005, 10:59 AM PST

Ummmmm so?

Ty Tyson   Dec 8, 2005, 10:40 AM PST


Did you know?

Select a tab below to set your default view.

Scan the 15 newest and most read stories on News.com right now. Learn more

Updated: 4:19 AM PST
View as:
Power could cost more than servers, Google warns Intel calls MIT's $100 laptop a 'gadget' Sober code cracked Creative wants to make Apple pay Prize in Indian talent search: A year on Bill Gates' team Police blotter: Nude 'profile' yields Yahoo suit Garages hold mythic power in Silicon Valley Gartner: IT managers should use Xbox Clogger of P2P networks to shut down Former software chief admits stealing trade secrets NTP says payment would end RIM dispute How to say 'sick as a parrot' in German Photos: Legendary HP garage gets makeover  Scientific quests: Better bananas, nicer mosquitoes BET promotes ring tone sales with video pop-ups
Legend:
Older
Newer
Larger boxes indicate hotter stories.

Daily spotlight

Video: A video slam-dunk

Here's a look at the tech behind those TV and online highlights of pro basketball games, in a narrated video produced by the NBA and Silicon Graphics Inc.

Photos: Gizmos made in Japan

Japan is still a leader in product design and innovation. Here are some new and notable gadgets.

Video: "The power to organize" online

Meetup.com founder and CEO Scott Heiferman says Meetup is spreading beyond America. The service, Heiferman says, is helping "make the world a friendlier place."

Innovations battle natural calamities

Scientists hope integrating cutting-edge technology projects will help predict and mitigate natural disasters.

Debating Wikipedia's open-source label

High Impact The online encyclopedia is a broadly communal effort, but it's not run the same way as open-source software.

Police blotter: Nude 'profile' yields Yahoo suit

Woman says ex-boyfriend posted nude photos and her phone number in a Yahoo Personals profile. She sued for $3 million.

High-tech animation in indies' grasp

Competing with digital toon powerhouses like Pixar isn't easy. But cheaper tech, outsourcing are making it possible.

Ogre to slay? Outsource it to China

Affluent online gamers are paying workers at Chinese game-playing factories to play games' early rounds for them.

Video: The incredible, shrinking glaciers

This NASA-produced video is a dramatic and colorful look at our planet from high above, and the changes that are taking place.

Image: AOL searches for the stars

TMZ.com, AOL's new online magazine promises inside scoops on Hollywood's hottest stars.

Clock's ticking on new Sober onslaught

Mass-mailing worm is programmed to download new instructions in January, which could indicate a new outbreak.

Photos: New animal discovered in Borneo

A creature that looks like a cross between a cat and a fox is photographed in the rainforest.


CNET.com
Copyright ©2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | About CNET Networks | Jobs | Terms of Use