rotas»sator

It’s no longer safe to use Internet Explorer

If you have any version of Microsoft Windows since 1995 (can there still be people out there using Windows 3.x? ), then your computer is sure to contain a version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). After the browser wars of the late 1990’s, Internet Explorer became ubiquitous on Windows PCs (and even made a dent in the Mac world!).

Unfortunately, people have identified innumerable problems with Internet Explorer and are now using them to infect PCs with all manner of viruses, spyware, trojans or any type of malicious software.

In order to plug as many software bugs as possible, users of any version of Windows should use Windows Update to download and install the latest updates for their operating system and for Internet Explorer. If your computer is running Windows XP, you really need to install Service Pack 2 (SP2). While not perfect, SP2 will make your PC significantly safer and more secure. This update is a vital part of Microsoft’s strategy for making Windows more reliable — it’s hard not to notice it in Microsoft’s three recommendations for making your PC safer.

However, even after having installed SP2, Internet Explorer still remains vulnerable to attack. I’m not just talking about viruses you might choose to download (say, an infected free screensaver…) — just browsing to hostile sites can allow nasties to infect your computer without you having to even do anything.

What’s the alternative?

For many years, a bunch of new-breed browsers were lurking around the fringes of the internet. All of them were very capable and mostly surpassed IE’s features and performance. However, they never really made much impact on the general public, as people either didn’t know about them or just didn’t care.

Now, the browser wars have ignited again, driven out of the shadows by glaring security deficiencies in IE that have resulted in much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the browser-using community.

Since I’m in the business of web design, I use every browser I can find so that I can see how a page looks in each browser. I can personally recommend the following browsers as superior alternatives to Internet Explorer:

Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a lean, fast, open-source browser using leading browser technology.

Mozilla

The Mozilla suite is a full-featured open-source internet suite, providing an email client and the same leading browser technology as Firefox.

Opera

The Opera browser is another leading browser and email client with similar features to Mozilla. Note: the free version includes advertisements at the top of the browser window.

Find out more information, read personal testimonies and decide which browser is for you at Browse Happy.

Blessings, Steve

[Listening to delirious?, GLO — Investigate]