After insisting that Internet Explorer was inseparable from Microsoft Windows during antitrust hearings, Microsoft reversed itself, saying that it would indeed release a separate version of IE in order to deal with ongoing security concerns and, quite possibly, a rejuvenated browser market that poses much greater competition than before. IE 7 will come out in the summer, well before the much-delayed new operating system will launch. Large enterprises have been beginning to consider Microsoft's browser one of their greatest security liabilities. Consumers have been moving increasingly (although still slowly) to alternative browsers, such as Firefox and Safari, due to steady feature updates and some interface innovations. Microsoft had previously indicated its own browser would go for a few years without feature updates, instead concentrating on security patches.

Microsoft argued unsuccessfully several years ago that it was neither a monopoly, nor did it abuse that monopoly by bundling its browser with Windows. A federal court found against Microsoft, but the software giant then won the subsequent settlement after presidential elections swept in a new administration that was happy to let Microsoft off with minor monitoring requirements.