To say that Internet Explorer has an ignoble history is perhaps an understatement. Originally conceived as a minor add-on for Windows 95 and one that did not ship in the initial version of that Windows release, Internet Explorer later became the linchpin of Microsoft’s strategy for competing in the dot-com era, and, not surprisingly, the subject of antitrust legal battles that continue to this day.

The problem, legally and technically, is that Microsoft integrated Internet Explorer directly into Windows. This co-mingling of Windows and Internet Explorer code began with Windows 98, and Microsoft designed the system in such a way that Internet Explorer could not be easily removed from the operating system. Integrating its immature Web browser with Windows led to years and years of security problems. Some of these were so severe that Microsoft was eventually forced to delay the release of Windows Vista simply so that it could ensure that its Internet Explorer–riddled operating systems were shored up with additional defences.