Microsoft's browsers stepped back from the edge of the cliff last month, halting, perhaps only temporarily, their years-long slide in usage.According to web analytics vendor Net Applications, in February IE's and Edge's combined user share climbed by half a percentage point to 13%.

The increase was the largest since March 2018.

Most of the uptick was credited to IE; the legacy browser added three-tenths of a percentage point to its share, ending the month at 8.2%.

Edge grew by about two-tenths of a point, to 4.8%, its highest point since September 2017.However, IE's gains were less striking when compared against Windows' own growth for February.

Because Windows overall climbed by 1.2 points - ending the month at 87.4% - IE's share of all Windows browsers climbed by just two-tenths of a point, not the larger three-tenths in absolute value.