Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Internet Explorer Usage Share Increases

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Internet Explorer has reversed a multi-year decline in its browser usage, at least for the month of June.

Internet Explorer’s usage increased from 59.8% to 60.3% according to new statistics from Net Applications, a browser analytics company which monitors usage of various web browsers across large network websites. The gain was pushed by increasing usage of Internet Explorer 8, which offset losses from Internet Explorer 6 and 7.

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) commented on the increased usage in a blog post on Thursday. “We certainly don’t judge our business on just two months of data, but the direction here is encouraging,” said Ryan Gavin, senior director of business and marketing for Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer has been denigrated by technologists for its out of date feature set and general lack of compliance with many web standards, but Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) is working hard to change how the public perceives the web browser. Internet Explorer 9, which is currently in preview, will aim to comply with web-standards.

Some of Internet Explorer 8’s usage can likely be attributed to the growth of Windows 7, which ships as the default browser of the operating system. Net Applications data showed that the browser usage of Windows 7 climbed from 12.7% to 13.7% from May to June.

Firefox saw a decline in usage from 24.3% to 23.8% and Chrome rose from 7.0% to 7.2% between May and June. Safari rose from 4.8% to 4.9% and Opera fell from 2.4% to 2.3%.