I’m always surprised to see how many people around the world still use Internet Explorer as their web browser of choice. I think there are much better browsers available to people, but I guess I can understand why people stick with it. Internet Explorer (or IE, as it’s often referred to) comes pre-installed on the vast majority of computers, and it’s a bit of a hassle to find, download and learn to work with a new browser. But if you are one of those people still using IE, please consider this compelling reason to switch…

Microsoft and IE made the news this week, and not in a good way. Hackers have exposed serious problems with all versions (new and old) of the browser that Microsoft has not yet addressed. The browser has a flaw which can expose your usernames and passwords to others when you visit “infected” websites. From what I’ve read (see below for links), your computer can be attacked as soon as you visit one of these “infected” websites.

PC World estimated that more than 2 million computers have already been compromised, and more are sure to follow. Surprisingly, Microsoft hasn’t released any fixes or permanent patches for this yet, only some temporary measures you can take to minimize your risk. However, technology experts say that these work-around solutions are difficult to employ and ultimately not very effective.

Luckily, there are a number of other safe, free and easy-to-use alternatives. I am a long-time, happy user of Mozilla’s web browser, Firefox. You can find out more information about the application and download it by visiting www.mozilla.com. Other free browser options include Opera (www.opera.com), Google’s Chrome (www.google.com/chrome) and Apple’s Safari (which comes pre-installed on Macs, for Windows visit www.apple.com/safari/).

So my message to all you IE users is: Please do switch to something else – at least for now. There are plenty of safe, free browsers available, and you just might find that you really like one of them! But you don’t have to delete Internet Explorer from your computer, and you can always switch back to it once Microsoft updates it (and you install the updates). Just PLEASE find another browser to use in the meantime.

If you’d like to read more about the Internet Explorer security issue, here are a few articles I found while researching this post:

From the BBC: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7784908.stm

From the Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121601022_pf.html

From Yahoo’s Technology Blogs: tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/111811

Copyright © 2008, Kathy Keating and TechKathy.com. All rights reserved.