MS adopts stronger encryption for IE7

by admin October 26, 2005 at 5:23 am

Code maker

Microsoft plans to adopt a stronger cryptography protocol in the next version of its web browser software, Internet Explorer 7. IE7 will replace the SSLv2 (Secure Socket Layer) protocol with the sturdier TLSv1 (Transport Layer Security) protocol in default HTTPS protocol settings as a means to provide improved security for ecommerce transactions, according to a posting in Redmond’s official IE development blog.

Users of IE6 can manually configure these stronger settings but the changes will mean that more users will be directed towards using the stronger SSLv3 or TLSv1 protocols rather than SSLv2. The change should be seamless for end users but adoption of the stronger encryption protocol by a wider percentage of surfers could create some work for sys admins.

Microsoft reckons that only a “handful of sites” left on the internet require SSLv2. “Adding support for SSLv3 or TLSv1 to a website is generally a simple configuration change,” said Eric Lawrence, an IE program manager.

Full article: The Register