The digital certificate for Internet Explorer's Java 2 Runtime Environment has expired, while several more are set to lapse January 7. Digital certificates from vendors like VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) let online users verify that they're dealing with real companies or persons. They also can secure all communications to and from the Web server where they're installed, via public key encryption. Depending on who you ask, the discovery is an oversight that will cause only a minor inconvenience sell domain name ecommerce web site design portal to IE users, or a signal that Microsoft has all but ceased browser development efforts and pays little attention to security details. Microsoft's expired certificate for Java 2 Runtime Environment won't be renewed. According to a spokesperson at Microsoft's PR firm, as part of Microsoft's settlement with Sun Microsystems in Jan 2001, it is no longer allowed to distribute certain versions of the Microsoft Virtual Machine as of Jan. 2, 2004. Also as part of the agreement, Microsoft has toronto web hosting ecommerce web site design portal been phasing out the Virtual Machine from all of its products; it's allowed to continue releasing security fixes for the Microsoft Java Virtual Machine until Sept. 30, 2004. (In all, Microsoft has stopped downloads of 23 products, and is re-releasing another seven without the Virtual Machine.) The other rapidly aging certificates relate to secure e-mail, code signing, client authentication and server authentication. Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst for Jupiter Research (owned by the same parent as this Web site), domain name reseller program ecommerce web site design portal exposed the problem in his Microsoft Monitor blog. He worries that the expiring certificates are a sign that neither IE development, nor security, is a priority at Microsoft. "Just because (Microsoft) won the browser wars doesn't mean (it) should stop innovation in the browser market," Wilcox said. "There's a real customer benefit to it, and because Microsoft integrated it into the operating system, there's an onus on the company to put more punch into its development effort." But there's ecommerce web site design portal ecommerce web site design portal another issue that Wilcox