Microsoft has released the first stable version of Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (32-bit) and Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (64-bit).

If your are already using Windows 8, then Internet Explorer 10 came pre-installed. For Windows 7 the latest version promises improved performance, better privacy and support for the latest web standards, plus it adds integrated spell-checking and auto-correct tools.

Internet Explorer 10 in itself isn’t new, but it’s only now that Windows 7 users have been able to

install a stable version of the software. Please note that just as Internet Explorer 9 dropped support for Windows XP, so IE10 drops support for Windows Vista.

New features include an integrated spell-checker and AutoCorrect tool, which appears in web forms and other input boxes as the user types. Microsoft claims this feature will aid users in typing faster, more accurate, posts. The user interface remains very similar to IE9, although it has been overhauled slightly, one noticeable improvement being that tabs close more quickly in this version.

Privacy has also been enhanced, with the Do Not Track (DNT) signal switched on by default in the new release (it can be switched on in IE9 via the Tools > Internet Options dialog). This instructs compliant websites to stop tracking users’ movements on their own as well as third-party websites.

If your machine is set to receive automatic updates then these update will be transmitted to all Windows 7 machines over the coming weeks, and Microsoft promises better performance, particularly where JavaScript is concerned, with Microsoft’s own benchmarks suggesting IE10 is up to 25 per cent faster than IE9.  There are other performance improvements particularly by the promise of reduced CPU usage in IE10, a side-effect of which will benefit the battery life of mobile users.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (32-bit) and Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 (64-bit) are both available now as a free download for PCs running Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 installed.

Patch Tuesday
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 12 March, is Microsoft ‘Patch Tuesday’, when Microsoft is expected to release seven bulletins, four of which are rated as critical.

According to the advance notification ahead of the release, the critical bulletins address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Silverlight, Internet Explorer, Office and Microsoft Server Software. The three important-rated bulletins will address issues in Microsoft Windows and Office.

Three of the critical patches fix remote code execution flaws, while the other fixes an elevation of privilege vulnerability. The important patches cover two information disclosure flaws in Office, while the Windows patch covers an elevation of privilege vulnerability.

Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at Qualys, said: “Bulletin one will be on the top of our list next week. It fixes critical vulnerabilities that could be used for machine takeover in all versions of Internet Explorer from 6 to 10, on all platforms including Windows 8 and Windows RT.”

When you have installed the patches be sure to reboot your computer  for all fixes to take effect.