Microsoft ends support for Internet Explorer's older versions on Jan. 12

If you're using Internet Explorer as your web browser, you have less than a week to upgrade to the latest version.

Starting Jan. 12, only the most current version of Internet Explorer for your operating system will get security updates and technical support, Microsoft says. If you don't upgrade, your computer will become more vulnerable to malware.

That means most users — those with Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 — will have to run Internet Explorer 11, as Microsoft will no longer provide them with support for Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10.

Users of:

• Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 will be able to use Internet Explorer 9.
• Windows Server 2012 will be able to use Internet Explorer 10.

Windows 7 users, in particular, will have to download and install Internet Explorer 11, which came pre-installed with Windows 8.1.

Or they can switch to a different web browser, which many users have already done. As of December, Internet Explorer had only 23 per cent of the browser market in North America and 15 per cent worldwide, according to Statcounter, which bases its data on over 15 billion page views per month recorded across more than three million websites. More than half of internet page views now happen on Google's Chrome browser.

Microsoft says IE 11 will be the last version of Internet Explorer. Windows 10, released last July, comes with a new browser called Microsoft Edge.

• Microsoft is putting Internet Explorer out to pasture

Microsoft says Internet Explorer 11 offers better security, performance, compatibility with older software and support for modern web technology than previous versions.