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Web Browser News and Market Share Reports Archive 2006

What happened in the WWW browsing world and browser war in the past? This page features important milestones on Internet browser news and releases as well as market share reports from 2006.

The following browser and market report headlines document the history of the Web Browser Versions and Download Links news ticker and are listed chronologically by month.

• Browser News
• Market Share Reports

See the history column on the right side for older news stories and market headlines long ago.

Browser News 2006

December

Mozilla issues security updates: Critical security fixes for Firefox 2.0.0.1, 1.5.0.9 and SeaMonkey 1.0.7 [20.12]

Firefox 2.0.0.1 fixes bugs: Mozilla releases its first Firefox 2.0 update to fix 8 security vulnerabilities [20.12]

Opera 9.10 gets secure browsing: Opera 9.1 introduces real-time fraud protection [18.12]

Firefox 3.0 to renew assault on Microsoft: The potential of Firefox 3.0 as an Internet Explorer killer and as a Mac-savvy application [14.12]

First Firefox 3.0 alpha: Mozilla ships developer release of Firefox 3 [11.12]

Comparison of current-generation browsers: Four experts go head-to-head to defend their Web browser of choice [6.12]

Opera 9.02 review: Opera 9 Web browser adds several new and useful feature [5.12]

Web accessibility and SeaMonkey 1.0.6: Create accessible Web sites with SeaMonkey's Composer component [1.12]

November

Safari better than Firefox?: Safari superior to Firefox on accurate typography [27.11]

IE and Firefox blighted by fake login flaw: Information disclosure bug affects the password manager in Firefox 2.0 and IE 7.0 [23.11]

Firefox outshines Internet Explorer in phish fight: Firefox 2 better than IE7 in Mozilla study on phishing filter [15.11]

Forced MSIE 7.0 upgrade troubles organisations: IE7 critical update causes headaches for managed desktop environments [12.11]

SeaMonkey 1.0.6 | Firefox 1.5.0.8: Recommended security and stability updates for Mozilla products [8.11]

OmniWeb 5.5.1 appears: OmniWeb 5.5.1 update fixes minor bugs [2.11]

October

IE 7 v Firefox 2 shoot-out: How do the latest versions of each browser compare? [31.10]

Top UK firms' websites not ready for IE7: 13% of FTSE 100 company sites were not ready for the launch of MSIE 7 [31.10]

Gartner praises fast follower IE 7 browser: Competition with Mozilla forces Microsoft to pull its finger out [26.10]

Browsers go head-to-head: The top two browsing programs of net users got a big update this month [26.10]

Firefox 3.0 already?: Mozilla is pushing ahead on work and planning for Firefox 3.0 and 4.0 [25.10]

Microsoft IE 8.0 up next: Chris Wilson is focusing on making IE a better Web development platform [25.10]

Mozilla Firefox 2 debuts: Firefox 2.0 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux officially released [24.10]

Mozilla.org releases new Firefox 2 early: Download Firefox 2.0 early from Mozilla's FTP servers [23.10]

Firefox developers not scared of IE7: Surprising response: They consider Microsoft to be doing them a favor [23.10]

MSIE 7.0 reviewed: Review of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 flagship browser [19.10]

Final IE7 unleashed: Internet Explorer 7.0 is available as researchers identify first bug [19.10]

Camino 1.1a1 is out: Camino 1.1 alpha 1 adds a single window mode for tabbed browsing [18.10]

Opera 9.1 to improve security: Opera 9.1 will include enhanced fraud protection [17.10]

Firefox 2.0 RC3 released: Firefox 2 final candidate #3, enhancements or bloat? [17.10]

Mozilla brainstorms Firefox 3 features: Firefox 3.0 wish-list goes live for community feedback [16.10]

MSIE 7 vs. Firefox 2.0: Why this browser battle matters to businesses [16.10]

Konqueror 3.5.5 released: Speed improvements and fixes in Konqueror's HTML engine, KHTML [11.10]

A look at Firefox 2.0 RC2: Ars reviews the next major Firefox version [9.10]

Firefox 2 RC2 released: 2nd release candidate of the open-source browser [7.10]

IE7 is coming in October: Final release of Internet Explorer 7 is approaching fast [6.10]

Future Safari is feature-packed: Safari 3.0 in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard designed to boost power surfing and usability [5.10]

Mozilla investigating new Firefox flaw: Hackers demonstrated Firefox Javascript security vulnerability [2.10]

September

Firefox 2 RC1 is out: Mozilla Firefox 2.0 release candidate 1 with phishing protection [26.9]

Internet security threat report from Symantec: Symantec sees Safari security bugs climb [25.9]

Opera 9.02 security fix: Opera 9.02 update closes security leak & improves page rendering [21.9]

Tweaked Firefox browser offers secret surfing: Torpark makes Web browsing anonymous to protect privacy [21.9]

Surf smarter on the Mac: 15 ways to quickly find what you want online [18.9]

SeaMonkey 1.0.5 and Camino 1.0.3 update: Latest security updates for Camino and SeaMonkey released [14.9]

Firefox 1.5 gets a bump: Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.7 has stability and security fixes [14.9]

IE 6 more secure than Firefox in 2006: Firefox 1.x has a worse security record so far than Internet Explorer 6.x [8.9]

What's the world's fastest browser?: Benchmarks with the new contender Swiftfox, an optimized Firefox [7.9]

OmniWeb 5.5 arrives: The other WebKit based browser gets revved [6.9]

August

Firefox 2.0 beta 2 out: Firefox 2's theme and user interface updated [31.8]

IE 7 hits RC1 milestone: Microsoft released public download of near-final test build for feedback [24.8]

IE 7.0b3 at a glance: Internet Explorer 7 beta 3: What's in it for you? [19.8]

Firefox 3.0 is where the big stuff happens: Cocoa-based application wth Quartz graphics rendering via Cairo [18.8]

Mozilla delays Firefox 2.0: The Mozilla Foundation pushed back Firefox 2.0 until 24 October [17.8]

CocoaFox Minefield: Mozilla develops Firefox as a Cocoa-based version [17.8]

iCab 3.0.3 goes Universal: iCab 3.0.3 is available for Intel and PowerPC on Mac OS X & Classic [17.8]

Internet Explorer not a monster anymore: IE7 standards compliance - Microsoft's Chris Wilson charts progress [16.8]

Optimize Web pages for 1024x768 screens: But use a liquid layout that stretches well for any screen resolution [13.8]

Safari for Windows?: Swift is an open source browser based on Apple's WebKit rendering engine [9.8]

Safari 3.0 WWDC preview: Leopard: private browsing, new find functionality and undo closure of tabs [7.8]

Microsoft IE7 name game: Windows Vista Internet Explorer loses plus [5.8]

SeaMonkey 1.0.4 follows: SeaMonkey 1.0.4 fixes bug which caused problems with plug-ins [3.8]

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6: Firefox 1.5.0.6 corrects playing Windows Media content [2.8]

Opera 9.01 released: Opera 9.01 fixes bugs, is a recommended upgrade [2.8]

Konqueror 3.5.4 debuts: KDE 3.5.4 has lots of fixes in Konqueror's HTML engine, KHTML [2.8]

July

200'000'000 downloads: Firefox celebrates 200 million downloads [31.7]

Nokia 770 Internet tablet: Review: Mobile Nokia 770 Internet tablet device [30.7]

Opera reveals version 10 vision: Opera Software is making plans to steal market share from Microsoft [29.7]

SeaMonkey 1.0.3 release: SeaMonkey 1.0.3 includes important security fixes [27.7]

Firefox 1.5.0.5 fixes bugs: Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.5 is a security update to improve product stability [27.7]

Netscape 8.1 review: AOL Netscape Browser 8.1 for Windows only tested [26.7]

IE 7 is high priority update: Microsoft plans to push Internet Explorer 7 to Windows XP users [26.7]

OmniWeb goes universal: OmniWeb 5.5b1 public beta for Intel Macs [21.7]

Firefox 2, IE7 vs. Opera 9: Firefox 2 beta 1, Internet Explorer 7 beta 3 & Opera 9.0 compared [19.7]

First look: Firefox 2 beta: What to expect in version 2.0 of the popular Web browser [18.7]

Fourth Mac OS X browser test: Latest Safari, Firefox, Camino and OmniWeb for Mac OS X tested [12.7]

Firefox 2 beta slips out: Mozilla Firefox 2.0 beta 1 release candidate builds posted [11.7]

Explorer 7.0b3 reviewed: Review of IE 7 beta 3 user interface, security and compatibility [1.7]

June

Third MSIE 7 beta ready: Microsoft delivers final beta 3 of Internet Explorer 7.0 for Windows [29.6]

Safari 2.0.4 updated: Mac OS X 10.4.7 Tiger update includes latest Safari 2.0.4 release [27.6]

Opera 9 eWEEK review: Opera Software's browser continues to innovate [22.6]

Camino security update: Camino 1.0.2 fixes several critical security issues and application bugs [21.6]

Opera 9.0 is finished: Opera 9 with widgets and BitTorrent P2P protocol looks for new users [20.6]

Flock evolves the browser to Web 2.0: Flock integrates blogging, social bookmarking and photo sharing sites [19.6]

Netscape portal retooled: Netscape.com Web portal morphs into social news site under AOL [14.6]

3D Web browser review: 3B, Browse3D and SphereXPlorer 3D Web browsers reviewed [9.6]

MIS gains on Apache: Microsoft continues to chip away at Apache's lead says Netcraft survey [7.6]

SeaMonkey 1.0.2 out now: SeaMonkey 1.0.2 contains important security and stability improvements [2.6]

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.4: Firefox 1.5.0.4 update includes several stability and security fixes [2.6]

KDE 3.5.3 announced: KDE maintenance release features Konqueror 3.5.3 [1.6]

May

Firefox 2.0a3 released: Mozilla Bon Echo alpha 3 milestone reached [27.5]

Opera 9.0b2 introduced: Opera 9 beta 2 includes Widgets, content blocker and BitTorrent [24.5]

Firefox 2.0a2 available: Mozilla releases Bon Echo alpha 2 milestone [14.5]

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3: Firefox 1.5.0.3 update fixes a publicly disclosed denial of service weakness [3.5]

Camino 1.0.1 released: Camino 1.0.1 for Mac has security and stability improvements [3.5]

Mozilla Firefox plans: Firefox 2.0 drops Places feature, security patch for 1.5 coming this week [1.5]

April

IE7, Firefox and Opera: Browser comparison: a cool look at the future three [30.4]

Has Firefox met its match?: Comparison of latest IE7 beta to Firefox 1.5 [27.4]

Second MSIE 7.0 beta: Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 beta 2 for Windows XP SP2 [25.4]

High DPI Web sites: Web design for high pixel density (PPI) and high resolution screens [22.4]

All-in-one Mozilla 1.7.13: End-of-life Mozilla suite 1.7.13 security and stability release [21.4]

Opera 9 beta debuts: New Opera 9.0b1 release introduces AJAX widgets and BitTorrent [20.4]

Firefox 1.5 for Intel Macs: Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.2 is universal binary, improves stability and security [13.4]

Mozilla SeaMonkey 1.0.1: SeaMonkey 1.0.1 contains several bug and security fixes [13.4]

Firefox 1.0.8 end-of-life update: Firefox 1.0.8 is the last release in the Firefox 1.0.x product line (EOL) [13.4]

First OmniWeb 5.5 news: OmniWeb 5.5 to be Mac universal, to sport faster rendering speed [12.4]

Microsoft patches IE 6.0: Microsoft releases critical Internet Explorer 6 patch [11.4]

Camino 1.0 speed test: Mozilla it is, Firefox it is not - thoughts on Camino [9.4]

Opera 8.54 closes hole: Opera 8.54 is a security upgrade for Windows [5.4]

What developers need to know about IE7: aking your apps work with Internet Explorer 7 [4.4]

March

Microsoft frees IE 7.0: Upcoming Explorer 7 will not be integrated into Windows as usual [28.3]

Konqueror 3.5.2 appears: KDE 3.5.2 brings more languages to the GNU Linux and Unix desktop [28.3]

iCab for Web designers: iCab a great Mac browser you've never heard of [26.3]

Firefox 2 goes alpha 1: Mozilla Firefox 2.0 alpha 1 aimed at developers and testers as Bon Echo [22.3]

IE 7.0 beta preview 2 out: Microsoft announced the release of IE 7 beta 2 at the MIX 2006 conference in Las Vegas [21.3]

Amaya 9.4 from the W3C: W3C's open source and cross-plattform browser & editor [20.3]

'Layout complete' IE 7.0: MIX '06: MS to distribute Internet Explorer 7.0 test build and ready rendering engine [18.3]

Shiira 1.2.2 is ready: Version 1.2.2 fixes a fatal crash problem [15.3]

Firefox 2 & Safe Browsing: Firefox 2.0 to integrate Google's phishing protection extension [10.3]

Interview: Mitchell Baker: Firefox: On the front lines of the Internet wars [5.3]

Security update for Safari: Apple security fix closes Mail, iChat and Safari holes [1.3]

February

Intel Mac Firefox build: Firefox universal binary, Deer Park alpha 2 [26.2]

MSIE 7 beta 2 test drive: Inside look at new Internet Explorer 7 beta 2 [21.2]

Apple Safari vulnerability: Safari exploit can make shell scripts run [21.2]

Opera 8.52 update: Opera 8.52 download improves security [17.2]

Final Camino 1.0 arrives: Native Mac OS X browser using Gecko rendering engine [14.2]

Mozilla fixed flaws quicker: Security fixes come faster with Mozilla than Microsoft over the past year [13.2]

Universal binary Firefox: Firefox 1.5.0.2 to natively support Intel Macs [9.2]

Browsing for browsers: PC Magazine browser review roundup [8.2]

Opera 9 tech preview 2: Opera technology preview supports widgets [7.2]

Firefox 2 project plan: Firefox 2.0 alpha to be released next week [7.2]

Camino 1.0rc1 is here: New Camino RC release is a universal binary [7.2]

Opera 9 with BitTorrent: Opera builds BitTorrent in upcoming browser [6.2]

IE 7 and Firefox: Who wins now?: They will compete on marginal differences [4.2]

OmniWeb 5.1.3 update: Corrects RSS parsing and supports Danish [3.2]

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1: First security and stability update to Firefox 1.5 [2.2]

Asa Dotzler on Explorer 7: Thoughts on the preview of MS IE 7 beta 2 [1.2]

January

MSIE 7 beta 2 preview: Review of Internet Explorer 7.0 beta for Win XP [31.1]

SeaMonkey 1.0 launched: SeaMonkey Internet suite replaces old Mozilla [30.1]

Google looks at HTML: Google Code analyses source code of one billion Web pages [27.1]

Phone browser overview: Introduction to most used phone Web browsers on the market [27.1]

AOL ships Netscape 8.1: Netscape 8.1 offers more security protection [26.1]

Camino beta scores well: A better Mac browser than Safari or Firefox [25.1]

Shiira 1.2.1 released: Shiira update build as universal binary [23.1]

Better security in MSIE 7: Security is a top priority for Microsoft for the Internet Explorer 7.0 [17.1]

Firefox 1.5 for Intel Macs: Native Intel version of Mozilla Firefox, Camino for Mactels in March [16.1]

Portable Firefox 1.5 (OS X): Firefox 1.5 kit for portable devices as flash drives, USB sticks or iPods [15.1]

Safari 2.0 update for Tiger: Safari RSS 2.0.3 in OS X 10.4.4 resolves display issues, quit bugs [12.1]

Safari 1.3.2 for Panther: Safari update for 10.3.9 improves compatibility and overall stability [11.1]

Firefox, not worth the trouble?: Firefox advocate talks about its shortcomings [4.1]

Opera, Firefox compared: Opera is faster, more secure, more compliant than Firefox [3.1]

Market Share Reports 2006

December

Apple browser ranks still as number 3: Safari market share rises to 4.03 percent, up 45% year over year [1.12]

Safari climbs over 4% in November: Browser market share of Mozilla Firefox and Safari up, MSIE down [1.12]

November

Safari, Firefox chip away at Internet Explorer: Firefox and Safari grabbed a little more marketshare from IE in October [1.11]

October

IE market share: What's going on?: Take your pick from conflicting global usage statistics [12.10]

IE hegemony is shrinking: Firefox and Safari continue chipping away at Microsoft's dominance [11.10]

Mac's share again rising: Macintosh OS numbers for September show a healthy 0.39 percent rise [11.10]

Firefox and Safari hit high point: Safari and Firefox usage on the rise in September and highest numbers of the year [2.10]

September

Safari usage up 46% annually: Browser usage growth corresponds with Mac market share expansion [3.9]

Safari, Firefox usage dips: Firefox and Safari browser marke share dropped in August, IE climbed [1.9]

August

Windows dominates the OS market on the Web: Microsoft Windows global usage share at 97% [14.8]

July

Firefox favored in Germany: German Firefox users strongest represented in Western Europe [19.7]

Firefox up, IE down in July: Firefox usage continues to increase, IE down again [11.7]

Safari usage continues rapid climb: Safari market share for June climbs to 3.19% [6.7]

June

IE reversed its decline: Safari, Firefox market share slipped in May [1.6]

May

Mozilla Firefox usage share remails stable: Global usage share of Internet Explorer has sligthly decreased in May [15.5]

Firefox and Safari advance: MSIE also looses in April users to Firefox and Safari [12.5]

April

Firefox usage tops 10%: Firefox breaks 10 percent, Safari comes in third [5.4]

March

OS X usage climbes: Mac OS market share in February was 4.28%, while Windows 98 dipped to 3.89% [19.3]

Firefox, Safari up in Feb: Safari gains, Explorer loses in February [2.3]

February

Safari and Firefox slip in January: Safari's market share dipped slightly to 3 percent in January [3.2]

January

Mozilla at 30% in Germany: Firefox reaches 20 percent market share in Europe in January [16.1]

Safari gained, IE lost in 05: IE down but still at 85% in 2005 followed by the big gainers Firefox, Safari [2.1]