Microsoft Toughening IE7

Microsoft's making Internet Explorer (IE) 7 a tougher browser by giving the boot to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 2.0 and sliding Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 into the slot. These changes will users a more secure environment to utilize the Internet. The biggest change is the switch to TLS 1.0. HTTPS utilizes one of two secure protocols to protect your data. Those protocols are the SSL or the stronger TLS. The changes they've incorporated will disable the SSL and enable the TLS. IE7 users will negotiate either through the SSL3.0 or the TLS1.0. In a nutshell, it means your Internet connection will be more secure for various things. IE7 will also block sites without digital certificates or expired or revoked digital certificates. The rules for this include certificates issued to a hostname other the current URL's hostname; certificates issued by an untrusted root; and then if the certificates are expired or revoked. What happens is when users get to sites that meet these criteria, they have the option to walk away or continue on to the untrusted sites. They did say on their IEBlog, "Generally, IE users will not notice any difference in the user-experience due to this change; it's a silent improvement in security."