FirefoxTutor has recently received the following question from Jon:
"I have formatted my hard drive and started over - I hated [Internet Explorer]. IE has never been opened on this system (nor any other Microsoft App - except Win98). […] I bought McAfee Virus Scan […] and it won't install without IE5.5+ . Any work arounds you know of that don't involve upgrading IE?"
If you are visiting this site, chances are you have already installed Firefox. There are many reasons to switch to Mozilla's browser, and, no doubt, one or all of them caused you to abandon your previous browser and install Firefox.
The natural question after getting Firefox is what to do with your old browser, in this case Microsoft Internet Explorer™.
Installing Firefox doesn't mean you should forget about Internet Explorer. Furthermore, despite how much you dislike it, you should keep IE updated and on your system. Unfortunately, Microsoft Windows and many other programs rely on Internet Explorer for their functionality, so some things just won't work without it. This is the same reason we don't recommend completely uninstalling IE - it's hard to do, and there are situations in which you have to use it.
It is also a good (and necessary!) practice to uprgrade Internet Explorer even if you're not planning to use it: there exist quite a few exploits that get through more secure browsers (i.e. Firefox) and target the weak spots in IE, even if it's not running, to infect your system. No, IE is not a good browser, but version 6 is definitely better than 5, or even 5.5.
Even if you never want to ever deal with Internet Explorer, there are two situations in which you might be required to use it over other browsers:
- The page requires an ActiveX control.
Most browsers, other than Internet Explorer, don't even use ActiveX controls, because they often compromise security. You can install an ActiveX plugin for Firefox, but this defeats some of the browser's security. So, you pretty much have to use IE. However, do this only if you trust the site completely (McAfee, for example, would probably be considered a trusted site). I recommend going directly to the page you need, so you don't happen upon any potentially hazardous sites. Once you're done with that page, continue using Firefox.
- The site's developers want you only to use Intermet Explorer.
This is rarely the case; most web developers aren't that ignorant or have better reasons to make you use IE. If you're sure there aren't any legitimate reasons to use IE on this site, you should switch your browser's useragent. For example, Opera automatically identifies itself as Internet Explorer, mainly for that reason (this option can be, of course, changed).
For Firefox, there are a couple of ways to change your user agent. Unless you want to mess with about:config, you should install the User Agent Switcher extension. Once installed, you can bypass the checks on these sites by selecting the option to identify your browser as Internet Explorer.
All in all, it is necessary to keep updating, and sometimes using, Microsoft Internet Explorer, even if you have switched to Firefox. Remember, if you use common sense when browsing, chances are, you'll stay safe.
Marty Moradian