Meryl's Notes Blog
Things wordy, geeky, and webbyBuh-Bye IE
Friday, July 2nd, 2004 at 1:28 PM |If there ever was a time people need convincing to move away from Internet Explorer, this is it. C’mon get browsehappy!
What are the security problems?
* A flaw in IE allows some Web sites dump malicious code onto the user’s computer.
* Such code could log the user’s keystrokes catching passwords, account information, and other personal information.
* The program is downloaded without the user doing anything. All it takes is visiting a corrupted site… and such a site is a perfectly legitimate site that you and I visit.
* Other browsers don’t make it so easy for computers to become the victim of malicious scripts. IE does through its ActiveX and Active Scripting technologies. These technologies give Web sites more control over a user’s computer.
* The U.S. government’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is urging users to stop using IE.
What are the alternatives?
Opera: free version has ads.
But my toolbars and other cool stuff only work with IE. Also some sites won’t work with other browsers, only IE.
* FireFox comes with cool extensions that include toolbars and other features to enhance your browsing experience. All you have to do is click install and that’s it. No downloading, and then unzipping or running an .exe. 101 things Mozilla can do.
* Firefox and Mozilla come with themes so you can change the look and feel of the browser.
* Those sites that don’t work with other browsers are not standards compliant. The sites that follow Web standards work with all standards compliant software including the alternatives. However, I use IE on occasion for when I run into a problem like this just not as my default browser.
So am I just picking the lesser of the two evils?
Not at all! I have never used IE as my primary browser. First it was Netscape then Mozilla, and now FireFox. The advantages:
* Faster especially FireFox.
* Tabbed browsing, a favorite of mine (when you have two Web sites open in IE, you have two windows open. In tabbed browsing, you have one window open with two tabs.)
* More secure browsing.
* Zero browser hijacks.
* Pop-up blocking.
* Integrated search.
What about the learning curve?
Do you know what it is like to start driving a new car? You have to figure out where all the levers, buttons, switches, and dials are located. It’s weird at first, but you love it because it’s got that new car smell, drives smoother, and has features the old car didn’t have.
These browsers can import your favorites, so you don’t have to start from scratch. FireFox and Mozilla have FAQs, tips, and forums where the people are nice to help. In fact, I just finished reading a nice discussion where a man says he is a grandfather. The people who helped him gave him clear directions.
Is this for real or you’re being a paranoid member of Web standards who is biased against Microsoft?
I’ll let the following links do the talking. I’m not biased against Microsoft, only against people stealing my password and account information who happen to be using Microsoft’s product as a means.
Mac Daily News – Yep, Macs are impacted, too.
Think of the time you’ll save in not having to patch IE and fix the things it breaks or damages as a result of a security flaw. In fact, as I write this, Paul is working on a client’s computer. He has not updated or run ad killer programs since Paul worked on it about six months ago. The computer is buried with hijacks, spyware, ad-ware, you name it. It is taking Paul many hours to get it cleaned up. The client is an intelligent businessman who owns a store. He simply uses IE because it’s there.
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