With its eye set squarely on Java, Internet Explorer will soon join its rival browsers by automatically blocking old, insecure add-ons.

Starting on August 12, Microsoft said, Internet Explorer will begin alerting users when web pages try to launch ActiveX controls that are considered out-of-date and potentially insecure.

Bear in mind that Cisco's most recent security audit report found that 91 per cent of all web-based exploits in 2013 took advantage of Java vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately, the only systems it will apply to is Windows 7SP1 and Windows 8x.