Chase embraces dated IE6, shuns Chrome

Despite Google Chrome’s strong security track record and increasing popularity, financial institution Chase has announced that it will drop support for the browser next month — while ironically continuing to support Microsoft’s “rancid” Internet Explorer 6.

In the name of security and the desire to support only the most popular browsers, Chase has announced that its website will only support IE6 and higher, Firefox 2.0 and higher, and Safari 3.0 and higher come July 18. “You may not be able to access our website with a browser we do not support,” Chase cautions.

Chase’s move is curious for a couple of reasons. First, whereas Internet Explorer 6 may very well still be a popular browser, even Microsoft has been working to steer users toward later versions of IE, in part because they have superior security features.

Chase is obviously aware of the security risks of not updating one’s browser, offering this tidbit at the end of its FAQ regarding its changing browser support: “Virus protection and firewalls … need to be constantly updated to help maintain the level of protection you need. Browsers work the same way. If you do not update them, the outdated security features in older versions can become compromised, allowing hackers to gain access to your private information.”

Why, then, continue support for IE6, rather than making users upgrade to, say, Internet Explorer 8? If security is truly among Chase’s primary concerns, there’s really no rational explanation.

Also curious is Chase’s decision not to support Chrome. As noted, Chase said it based its decision to support IE, Firefox, and Safari on their popularity and their security. In terms of popularity, Chrome is now the third most used browser in the United States behind IE and Firefox, according to StatCounter, with a market share of nearly 9 percent. (Safari is number four.) Outside the United States, Chrome enjoys 9.4 percent market share.

Granted, that’s not a huge chunk of users — but that’s not bad for such a young browser, and that number is only going to increase as Google gains more ground on the desktop and on mobile devices.

As for security, Chrome was the last browser standing at TippingPoint’s CanSecWest Hacking Contest this year, beating out IE8, Safari, and Firefox. Notably, Chrome has not proven itself utterly impregnable, but security experts agree it has a strong security foundation.

All in all, Chase’s decision to embrace outdated Internet 6 while shunning relatively secure up-and-comer Chrome is peculiar — perhaps even hypocritical if the company is truly concerned about security.

This article, “Chase embraces dated IE6, shuns Chrome,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog.