Internet Explorer 9 has been released. Have you switched yet?

If not, you may want to. Microsoft used a very successful beta release to build a slimmed-down browser with many new components. When released, it was downloaded 2.3 million times in 24 hours.

New Tools for Privacy, Ease of Use

IE9 incorporated a new minimal design, taking a page from Google Chrome. It gets out of your way, pushing many browser functions into the background so you don't have to mess with them.

In fact, the components we're discussing in this month's WOOF! are mostly invisible. They're designed to make browsing easier, more compatible with the latest Web technology, and provide even finer security than IE8.

So we felt you should know about them. Not only what they do, but how they do it—and what that means for your Web browsing.

4 New Components of Internet Explorer 9

1. Do Not Track

• What it does: Do Not Track is a new tool that lets users control whether third-party websites can track you online. It maintains a list (in the background) of websites you don't want getting your information.
• What it means for you: Cuts down on spam and popups. Think of it like a 'do not call' list. You can add websites to it as well: Click on the Settings icon (the cog) in the right corner, and select "Safety -> Tracking Protection."

2. Hardware Acceleration

• What it does: Internet Explorer 9 integrates with Windows 7 (and Vista). That gives the browser direct access to your PC's hardware.
• What it means for you: SPEED. IE9's benchmarks were significantly higher than IE8.

3. HTML5 Support

• What it does: HTML5 is a new standard for video and interactive websites. It's still in development, but Microsoft threw their support behind it with IE9 support.
• What it means for you: With HTML5 there's less reliance on Flash, and fewer security holes to worry about. As HTML5 websites grow in number, you'll already have the tech necessary to use them.

4. Windows 7 Integration

• What it does: Another advantage of integrating with Windows is that it allows you to "pin" websites to the taskbar, like an application shortcut.
• What it means for you: You're able to use websites from outside the browser! Run Web applications like you would desktop apps. There's a full tutorial on using Pinned Sites here.

Perfect Browser? Close, Not Yet

You might think that with these kinds of improvements, we have close to a "perfect" browser. Not quite. Despite all the improvements, IE9 still has a few issues:

• It isn't available for Mac or Linux. Firefox and Google Chrome are, and they're cutting into IE's market share this way.
• HTML5 Support is so new that it has trouble displaying some HTML5 websites.

Microsoft went proactive this time though. They've already announced a new version; Internet Explorer 10. Reports from developers say IE10 upgrades IE9's CSS, JavaScript support and security handling. (No word on whether it'll finally support Mac or Linux though.)

Should You Upgrade?

Sadly, IE9 isn't available if you're still using Windows XP. (Maybe it's time to upgrade your OS too?) If you're on Vista or Windows 7 (especially 7), IE9 is a worthwhile upgrade.
Download Internet Explorer 9 from Microsoft.com.

To set Internet Explorer as your default browser, we have instructions in our Support section.

Is your office using Internet Explorer 9 yet? What's your experience been like? Let us know!

Microsoft Web Security Internet Explorer 9 Spam Filter HTML 5