Ed Bott has thrown down the gauntlet when it comes to companies that still use Internet Explorer 6. Users stuck on IE6 are one of the main reasons IE still has such a bad reputation when it comes to security even though Firefox and Safari were found to be far more vulnerable than Internet Explorer in 2009. And according to Ed, allowing people to use IE6 is akin to IT-malpractice.

Any IT professional who is still allowing IE6 to be used in a corporate setting is guilty of malpractice. Think that judgment is too harsh? Ask the security experts at Google, Adobe, and dozens of other large corporations that are cleaning up the mess from a wave of targeted attacks that allowed source code and confidential data to fall into the hands of well-organized intruders. The entry point? According to Microsoft, it’s IE6.

First, upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 if you haven’t already.

Then, read more: It’s time to stop using IE6