Dump Internet Exploder! Get another browser!

Posted Mon, 2004-06-28 10:40 by geekwisdom
Look, it's simple, Internet Explorer (IE) and Outlook Express (OE) are the "targets of choice" for most virus and worm writers. Add to the security argument the fact that Microsoft has made no innovative steps and continues to ingore (even thwart) internet standards and the choice should be simple. Just switch to Mozilla, Opera, Netscape, or Safari. Every one of them is more secure and standards complient than IE. They all are more innovative. Why not pull one down and give it a whirl. US-CERT even advises users to "Use a different web browser." Daniel Miessler for Lockergnome has written a good piece on Why You Should Dump Internet Explorer.

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Not so simple

by Anonymous - 2004-08-22 23:40
Why would anyone of the millions of "normal" computer users in offices and homes do it ? It means a big download, learning your way around a new browser, when IE is simple and straightforward to use. While OS integration is bad, whats better than getting IE on the same CD as your OS? Plus, all the corporate intranets using IE as a base, would rather stick to something for which there's tons of documentation, and best of all, it comes with the OS. No more integration hassles, maintaining current versions of every other browser etc. Besides, the target of virus writers is any software with a large installed base. Today linux has few "normal" users as compared to Windows. When any other software or OS reaches that level, it will also become a target for hackers/viruses. It's a question of how many people out there are writing to one target. Windows: Millions of programmers, Other: much less.

This is bad logic

by Anonymous - 2004-09-14 13:25
Normal computer users get viruses all the time. Normal computer users pay dollars to "Geek teams" to come and fix their computers after they have been infected or worse. Normal computer users don't read the wealth of documentation for IE. What integration hassles? You mean ActiveX? This is one of the reasons why I recommend people not use IE! This component of integration opens users up to all kinds of problems! The argument that the browser comes with the OS has a built-in assumption that if something comes with the OS it's necessarily better than the things that didn't come with the OS. A closed source browser is likely to be far less secure than an open source browser. Why do you think encryption algorithms are peer reviewed and often open sourced? You then go on to say, "Besides, the target of virus writers is any software with a large installed base." Which is exactly contrary to your previous arguments. This isn't a Linux vs Microsoft argument. It's an IE/OE vs every other browser and e-mail client (including Mozilla, Firefox, Thunderbird, Eudora, Mulberry, etc). Normal computer users could save themselves a HUGE amount of money and time if they simply stopped using IE and OE and switched to something like Firefox and Thunderbird. We need to remember what we're trying to protect.