The Switch Is Final: Now Completely Weaned From Microsoft Internet Explorer
A few weeks ago I declared that I was finally completely fed up with Microsoft. Fed up with the constant security holes, the locking up and crashing of Internet Explorer, and I found out that Microsoft had been hiding the very issue that was plaguing my IE browser.
I switched to Firefox. Click on the graphic above and you can too. All I can say is flawless. Install was easy. I got rid of the shortcut to IE on my desktop and set Firefox as the default browser. All of my bookmarks were intact and I’ve only had to install one or two “add-ons” for my regular browsing habits.
The Internet Explorer Problem Microsoft Has Been Trying to Hide
I Think I’ve About Had It With These Guys
About two or three months ago my web browser (IE 7) began locking up. I run Vista and after anywhere from two to five minutes I would get the “not responding” rigamarole.
This is annoying as hell, it’s 2008 for God’s sake, how long has Microsoft had to perfect the web browser? How many more resources has Microsoft put into the web browser than any other company or Open Source developer? When I went to the Microsoft help website and pasted in error codes or wrote descriptions of what’s going on – nothing helpful.
Now I think I know what the problem is – and Microsoft has been trying to hide it:
A malignant security flaw found in all versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser has yet to be fixed, and the problem is spreading. Microsoft detailed the flaw in a security update blog post six days ago. Since then, the problem has spread across the globe, hitting at least 2 million computers.
Unlike other computer exploits, this one does not require users to click on fishy links or download mysterious software: it plagues computers that simply open an infected Web page.
Internet Explorer is currently used by 69 percent of Web surfers. The flaw hides inside the data binding function of the browser and causes IE to quit unexpectedly and reopen vulnerable to prying eyes. — Brennon Slattery, PC World
I’ve stuck with Microsoft through thick and thin. An early adopter of WordPerfect, I eventually switched to Word. From there, I embraced the entire office suite. I’ve never strayed from Internet Explorer and used to get irritated when I would use a machine with Netscape.
However, once I became more involved with the World Wide Web as a blogger and paid attention to online communities, I started to listen to the complaints about Internet Explorer. As I began moving more of my own life’s business online, I paid more attention to security.
Finally, about four months ago I downloaded Firefox and use it from time to time. After reading Slattery’s piece today, I’m going to try and discipline myself to use it full-time.
Mainly, I’m just tired of Microsoft’s crap. I’m tired of enabling a company that creates the largest security holes in cyberspace.
