How Microsoft Is Slowly Killing Off Internet Explorer

— -- Microsoft has begun slowly killing off Internet Explorer.

The tech giant is now phasing out the Internet browser, announcing that as of Tuesday, Jan. 12, Microsoft will no longer support Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10.

The announcement "means you should take action," Microsoft wrote on its website, explaining that older versions of Internet Explorer could be "exploited by malware" and attacked.

For now, Internet Explorer 11 -- the last and final version of the legacy browser -- has been spared and will actually get technical security updates next Tuesday, according to Microsoft.

However, it won't be long until Microsoft finishes singing its swan song to IE, forcing users to move on to its new Web browser "Microsoft Edge," first released last summer.

Microsoft Edge is faster and more streamlined than IE and includes new features, such as built-in note taking, easy sharing, the ability to work in several panes without switching around and integration with Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana.