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BOOT CAMP 483 (03/07/07)
Battle of the Browsers, part 1
For some unfathomable reason – to me at least –
web browsers manage to get some PC owners rather excited, and not always in a
good way… Nevertheless, the vast majority of computer users never venture
beyond Microsoft Internet Explorer for the simple reasons that it is included
with Windows and does almost everything that’s expected of a web browser.
Whether it does these things particularly well, quickly, or securely is another
matter, but if all you want is to be able to view just about any web on the
Internet page then IE is the place to start.
I suspect that one of the reasons that so many
computer users stick with Internet Explorer is not because of any particular loyalty
or liking for it, but because they are unaware that that there are
alternatives, or they think switching to another browser is difficult,
complicated, expensive or will in some way affect their existing set-up, so
let’s start by dispelling a few myths. Next week we’ll take a close look at
what some of the popular third-party browsers have to offer.
You can have more than one web browser on your
PC. At a rough guess I would say there are more than 100 browsers that run on
Microsoft Windows but let’s say, for the sake of argument that 10 of them are
worth investigating. Not only could you install all of them on one PC, in
theory you could have all ten running at the same time, displaying different
web pages.
Installing a second (or third, or fourth…)
browser on your PC will not interfere with Internet Explorer or anything else
on your computer. Web browsers are stand-alone programs that do not rely upon
or make any changes to IE or Windows (apart from the Registry, which is
normal).
You can still use Internet Explorer as normal
though after installing a new browser you will usually be asked if you want to
make it the default, but this is optional. Even if you say yes you can switch
back by going to IE Tools > Internet Options > Programs. New browsers
also offer to import Bookmarks or Favourites from IE but again this will not
change any settings.
Occasionally things can go wrong but in my
experience the odds of it happening on a tried and tested browser are no worse
than any other type of software and can generally be put down to other,
pre-existing faults, malware infections or the user not following the
instructions.
Typically it only takes a couple of minutes to
install a new browser. Some have a custom installation option so you can pick
and choose components and add-ons. Unless you know what you are doing it’s
easier to leave it on the ‘standard’ setting and there’s no need to worry about
configuration or connection to the Internet; these are all taken care of by
Windows and the new browser.
These days virtually all web browsers are free;
the few paid-for examples tend to be fairly specialist in nature and of little
interest to most web users. However, don’t let the fact that these programs are
given away fool you. The companies behind these products are not doing it out
of kindness or charity. Web browsers are the gateway into the Internet and the
people who control them can have tremendous power and influence. They make
their money in a variety of ways but normally it is at no cost or inconvenience
to you. Search engines like Google pay browser companies to steer users to
their site through dedicated Search boxes, and your browsing habits generate
valuable data that can be sold to marketing and advertising companies. This
information should be anonymous and it is highly unlikely it could be used to
personally identify you but if you are worried there are plenty of ways to ensure
your privacy.
The only question that remains is why, if
Internet Explorer does the job, would anyone want to use another browser? The most compelling reason is security. IE
is installed on every Windows PC and it has become a huge target for an army of
virus and malware writers, hackers and Microsoft baiters, eager to create and
exploit security loopholes. Microsoft has its work cut out plugging the holes
and in practice the risks on a PC protected by decent anti-virus and malware
software, and a firewall are small, but the pressure on IE is relentless and as
soon as one vulnerability is fixed another one is uncovered. Alternative
browsers are no more secure than IE, in fact one or two of them have some
serious problems, but they are much less prone to attack for the simple reason
that they are on fewer PCs so it is much harder for infections to be
distributed and spread.
If that’s not a good enough excuse then how
about all the extra knobs and buttons?
Internet Explorer, even in its latest incarnation, still looks and feels
a bit old fashioned and I suspect you will be very pleasantly surprised by the
huge variety of clever and interesting features available on third-party
browsers.
Next Week – Alternative Browsers
JARGON FILTER
ENGINE
The core components in a software application
MALWARE
Malicious
or intrusive software, (aka spyware, adware, Trojans, premium rate diallers
etc.), often inadvertently downloaded from websites, that make adverts appear,
track your on-line activities or send private and personal information from
your PC
REGISTRY
A large,
constantly changing collection of Windows system files containing configuration
information for both the PC and programs stored on the hard disc
TIP OF THE WEEK
Whatever browser you are using some
features are common to virtually all of them. Text Size is a case in point and
if you find it difficult to read the small or fancy typefaces used on some web
pages try this (and it works on most browsers). Hold down the Ctrl key and
press the Plus (+) or Minus (-) keys on your keyboard to make the text larger
or smaller. Most browsers also let you change text size using a mouse Scroll
Wheel. Just hold down the Ctrl key and spin the wheel.
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© R. Maybury 2007, 2606
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