Following on from the report about the latest Internet Explorer 7 exploit, Microsoft has issued an ‘out-of-band’ (unscheduled to you and me…) security update for IE: MS08-078. This update is classified as critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 and Internet Explorer 7 as well as Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2.

So what impact has this vulnerability had on the take-up of other browsers? I run multiple browsers anyway so I switched to Firefox fulltime and got to like it so much, I’m considering not going back to IE. But what about others out there on t’internet? Are they as fickle (or as careful) as me?

According to browser/OS data that I have from Google Analytics running on our clients’ websites, that all depends…

As you’d expect, the issue has had little impact on consumers with a small average drop of about 1% in IE/Windows visits for B2C websites since news of the IE attack broke compared to the same period prior to the announcement. However, for the more technically-savvy business traffic on B2B websites, the picture is quite different: a 5% drop in IE/Windows visits and a corresponding 5% increase in Firefox/Windows visits.

Maybe, like me, others have jumped the MS ship.  Whether that’s temporary or permanent, we’ll have to wait and see!