Some more details are now coming on the upcoming IE 7 browser. Paul Thurrott shares some facts on Internet Explorer 7.
IE 7 was originally scheduled for Longhorn. The new features we're going to see in IE 7 were originally going to be available only as part of Longhorn.
IE 7 will be focused on security. Like the version of IE that Microsoft shipped in XP SP2, IE 7.0 will consist, mostly, of security-oriented features. One of these features will be an anti-phishing technology. As Gates noted, "Some of the advances [in IE 7] include things focused on phishing, where people use URLs that appear to come from another location, things related to malware. So, [that] will be another important advance [in IE 7]." IE 7 will also include an IP traffic encryption capability that will help prevent electronic eavesdroppers from modifying data before it reaches your machine or redirecting you silently to malicious servers. "It makes sure that the traffic is encrypted, so there is no eavesdropping or modification that can take place, but it also makes absolutely sure through the use of certificates that the machine that you're connected to is the machine that you want to be able to connect to," Gates noted. Microsoft is also overhauling the IE security zones in IE 7.
NEW! IE 7 will include tabbed browsing. Microsoft will include tabbed browsing, along with other new features, in IE 7.
NEW! IE 7 will not include a new Outlook Express version. A few people have asked me whether IE 7 will include a new Outlook Express (OE) version (e.g. OE 7). No, it will not: The OE team is focusing on Longhorn.
IE 7 will be free. Like previous versions of IE, IE 7 will be free.