As an addendum and emphasis to my recent post about importance of upgrading from IE 6, Amazon posted the following announcement to their seller accounts on March 11th:

Internet Explorer 6 no longer supported

Mar 11, 2010

We would like to inform you that as of the end of March 2010, we will no longer develop Seller Account pages to be compliant with Internet Explorer 6.

Internet Explorer 6 is no longer supported by Microsoft and is widely considered to be obsolete. It has multiple security flaws and is considerably slower than recent browsers.

This decision allows us to use all modern web development technologies and create an up-to-date user experience.

Although existing seller tools might continue to work for some time with older browsers, if you are still using Internet Explorer 6, we strongly recommend updating your browser to a more recent version now to make sure all Seller Account pages work properly on your computer.

If you are unsure which browser version you are running or how to update your brower, please contact your local system administrator or help desk for assistance.

Why you should stop using IE6…

If you’re still using Internet Explorer version 6 (or earlier) for public Web browsing it’s imperative that you upgrade as soon as possible to a modern standards compliant browser. It’s not hard to find lots of reading material regarding the myriad of security (and many other) issues inherent to Internet Explorer 6. For those who want to take my word for it, Internet Explorer 6 is an obsolete Web browser that is incompatible with the modern Internet and may present serious security risks. Using IE6 might be compared to driving a Model T down the 405 in LA. This analogy sounds a bit exaggerated but is really quite accurate in reflecting just how outdated and dangerous IE 6 is in the modern Internet Environment.

This is not just my opinion; there’s a consensus (including Microsoft itself) that IE6 users have clear and compelling reasons to upgrade. It’s easy to find this information through a Google search, but here are a few quotes and sources to get you started:

• Microsoft Security Advisory (979352): Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution.
• PC Magazine: Microsoft Warns of IE[6] Flaw That Compromised Google
• ARS Technica: After Google hack, Microsoft asks users to abandon IE6, XP
• Information Week: France, Germany Say Stop Using Internet Explorer 6
• PC World: Google to End Support for IE6
• The Register: IE6 exposed as Google China malware unpicked
• Secunia reported 24 unpatched vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 as of February 9, 2010. These vulnerabilities, which include several "moderately critical" ratings, amount to 17% of the total 144 security risks listed on the website as of February 11, 2010.
• ARS Technica: Microsoft warns of IE bug used in Chinese attacks on Google

How do you check to see if you’re using Internet Explorer 6 / IE6?

1. Open Internet Explorer, and look in the upper right hand corner it will often indicate "IE 6".
2. To to help -> About Internet Explorer and look for a version number

How to get rid of Internet Explorer 6

Recommended: Install one of the following non-microsoft modern standards compliant browsers. During the upgrade process you will have the option to import your prior bookmarks from Internet Explorer.

• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Safari for Windows

Alternate Option: If you choose to upgrade to the newest version of Internet Explorer (not what I personally recommend) you can go to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer site and go initiate the download process for the most recent version of IE. When you upgrade your old versions are removed.

Unintentionally, we seem to have become a leading resource for instructions on installing custom HTML email signatures in email clients including earlier versions of Outlook, Entourage and Gmail. In continuing with our tradition, we’ll give some insight here into installing a custom HTML signature in Outlook 2007.

For some reason, Microsoft decided to remove some features in Outlook 2007 that made installing a custom HTML email signature a breeze. Although nowhere in the email signature feature of Outlook 2007 is HTML mentioned, the signature is still in this format, it just takes a less direct approach to get it accomplished.

Here’s one relatively easy method for inserting custom HTML for an email signature.

1. Open the HTML file that contains your signature in a Web browser such as FireFox.

2. Left click at the top left of the page, then while holding down the shift key left click in the lower right area of the page. If you don’t see anything obviously highlighted you may need to left click at the top then hold down your left mouse button as you move to the lower right.

3. Right Click and select copy.

4. Create a new signature in Outlook 2007 and then within that blank signature window right click and select paste or press ctrl-v.

5. Save your new signature and set your desired parameters.

For more insight into working with custom signatures in Outlook 2007 you might want to check out this free Outlook 2007 email signature training from Microsoft.