Bangkok--7 Apr--Hill & Knowlton
It is official: Internet Explorer 9 poll shows Asian men like it fast, while women like it safe Release of IE9 and user survey reveals fresh insights on Web surfing habits in Asia
In celebration of the release of IE9, a poll was conducted across Asia Pacific and Europe, with more than 20,000 respondents participating across 11 Asian and 20 European markets. The survey sought to understand users’ preferences when it comes to surfing the Web. Speed (82 per cent), security (78 per cent) and ease of use (66 per cent) were the top priorities among respondents in the Asia region. Women in Asia tend to put safety first (78 per cent), while their male counterparts choose speed above all else (83 per cent).
Since its recent launch, Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft’s most-downloaded browser beta of all time, with more than 40 million downloads, and it has already has gained more than 2 percent usage on Windows 7. Already more than 250 top sites from around the globe are taking advantage of the capabilities in Internet Explorer 9 to deliver differentiated experiences to their customers, with many featured on http://www.BeautyoftheWeb.com. Together, these partners reach more than 1 billion active Internet users on the Web.
Michael Gambier, General Manager, Servers and Tools, BG lead, Microsoft APAC said “With close to half the world’s Internet users coming from the Asia Pacific region, we took into account their priorities to ensure that users have a great browsing experience. More than 36 million users have downloaded the beta version of Internet Explorer 9 and they are excited about the faster, safer and cleaner browsing experience that we have built. IE9’s technically superior platform has enabled collaboration with more than 200 partners globally, resulting in a more beautiful web experience for our users.”
Speed is key priority for Internet surfers
A user survey was carried out in commemoration of the launch of IE9 and it found that speed is a key aspect of IE9. Today’s websites and browsers only use about 10 per cent of the processing power that the PC has to offer. IE9 uses hardware acceleration through Windows to harness the full potential of the PC, making websites and the online experience much faster. In fact, IE9 is 11 times faster than its predecessor, IE8. An online martial arts game (www.masterofthewebgame.com) has been specially designed by Asian firm, The Upper Storey, allowing users to experience first-hand the remarkable speed and performance of IE9.
“Developing Master of the Web on Internet Explorer 9 was an absolute joy mainly because of the newly introduced canvas element in HTML 5 that allows the browser to render graphics and images on the fly. IE9’s hardware acceleration feature is definitely the best thing because it pushes the canvas element to perform at an all new level which no other browser could achieve. With this, the speed increase and beautiful graphics are nothing to scoff at.” Chandra Barathi, Technical Director, The Upper Storey
IE9 survey highlights dangerous online habits that threaten security
Despite rating security highly in their list of important Internet features, it appears that many Asians don’t apply the necessary precautions when browsing. Only a little more than half (57 per cent) of all respondents said they would refrain from downloading online content when they are uncertain about their safety or legitimacy. More than one-third of users admitted to be willing to take the risk if the questionable content is something they really want, while nearly a tenth of users claimed to not worry at all when downloading anything from the Web.
Asians most guarded about online banking
When it comes to online privacy, a majority of respondents in Asia were most concerned with hiding details of their visits to banking websites (65 per cent), followed by visits to adult websites (61 per cent). Other online activities that Asians prefer to keep close to their chest include visits to dating/relationship sites (42 per cent) and support groups or forums (32 per cent).
Top five tips from IE9
Based on the IE9 survey findings, Microsoft highlights five key tips when using IE9:
1. Keep your browser current, download IE9 now at: www.beautyofthewebasia.com. Your Internet browser is the first line of defense against all online attacks. Research data from NSS Labs shows that IE9 blocks 99 per cent of all socially generated malware attacks — much higher than any other browser.
2. Browse on the fast lane: IE9 is designed to ensure that the browser starts fast and stays fast over time. Add-ons Advisor identifies programs that may be slowing down the browser and gives you the information you need to disable or fix it, directly from the Notification Bar itself.
3. Stay safe: The ‘SmartScreen Filter’ in IE9 protects your computer better by warning you when you attempt to view sites or download files that are potentially unsafe. IE9 also introduces the new SmartScreen Download Reputation filter that uses a website’s reputation data to remove unnecessary warnings for well-known files, and show more severe warnings when the download is a higher risk of being malicious.
4. Don’t leave an online trail behind: With the new Tracking Protection feature, IE9 provides you with an added level of control and choice about the information that you reveal about your online activities.
5. Make your online browsing a breeze: IE9 comes packed with nifty shortcuts that take you to your online destination faster. For example, the Pinned Sites feature allows you to pin the websites you access most often directly to the taskbar on your desktop. You can now get there with just one click!
As part of the release of Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft is also hosting a contest for both users and developers. Starting March 14 until 11.59pm on June 5 2011, users can go to masterofthewebgame.com to play the Master of the Web game and get a chance to win every week. Players can win up to $100 weekly for a 12 week period for achieving the highest score of that week. At the end of the contest period, Microsoft will present $3,000 as the Grand Prize!
Be a Master of the Web atwww.masterofthewebgame.com
For further information, please contact:
Suphada Chaiwong
Hill & Knowlton Thailand
Tel: 0-2627 3501 ext 209
Fax. 0-2627 3510
Email:
[email protected]