Download Internet Explorer 9 (Windows 7 - 32 bit) for Windows

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Internet Explorer is a series of web browsers developed by Microsoft for its Windows operating system. Despite facing strong competition from rivals like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome, Explorer remains the most dominant web browser today. Since 1995 it has been packaged—save for some notable exceptions—with all versions of Windows.

Like most web browsers, Internet Explorer lets users visit websites, save bookmarks for later surfing, and cache frequently-visited sites for faster loading times. Later versions incorporate tabbed browsing and built-in search—features that became popular through competing browsers.

The usage share of Internet Explorer has steadily decreased over the past few years however. Widespread concerns over the browser’s perceived lack of speed, security vulnerabilities, and non-adherence to website presentation standards have created opportunities for competitors like Mozilla and Google to exploit. The software’s inclusion with Windows is also cited as evidence of Microsoft’s monopolistic tendencies.

Despite the bad press, Internet Explorer remains the most widely used web browser—if only from its status as the default on most new PCs. According to Wikipedia, over 51% of users use a version of Internet Explorer to surf the web. Internet Explorer 9, the latest version of Microsoft’s long-running software franchise, attempts to address the issues that have plagued previous incarnations to the browser.