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Internet Explorer is
difficult to abandon

We've been a big proponent of the open-source based browser, Firefox, for some time now. Compared to Microsoft's 800-pound gorilla, Internet Explorer, Firefox is more secure and less susceptible to the evils of the Net, like spyware and popups. But this security comes with a price.

Anyone who's made the leap to Firefox has experienced some angst. Saved passwords, preferences, default entries, etc., all have to be re-entered, or changed. While this may seem manini, it can be a real pain in the neck to get your password changed if it has long since been forgotten.

Most of these settings are saved in cookies, and cookies aren't transferable between IE and Firefox. It's like you're visiting Web sites for the first time. The Web site doesn't know you (or your preferences) without your cookies.

But this grief pales in comparison to what many organizations are faced with. Many Web sites, as well as critical internal Web-based applications, simply do not work with Firefox. Most of these Web sites were expressly built to be compatible with IE only, and for good reason. With IE, you can take advantage of what are known as ActiveX controls. ActiveX allows for much more functionality than the standard Web browser. The downside is that ActiveX can be a security flaw. But with well-designed, reputable Web sites, you generally don't have to worry about ActiveX-based security breaches.

As such, while we have encouraged organizations to switch to the Firefox browser, it cannot be done capriciously. Care must be taken to ensure that all critical browser-based applications, whether they be in-house or on the Web, will function properly with Firefox. While many software vendors are modifying their applications to be Firefox-compatible, some of the biggest vendors simply will not support Firefox.

Keep in mind that IE cannot be completely abandoned. Perhaps one of the most critical applications, Windows Update, requires IE. Windows Update provides all updates, hotfixes, service packs, patches, etc., that are required to keep Windows (and other applications) secure. If, however, the only application dependent upon IE is Windows Update, you can make the switch to Firefox.

For those of you who absolutely cannot make the switch, Microsoft has announced IE v7.0, which recently went into beta-testing and is set for release in 2006. The enhancements in this new version are focused around security.

IE 7.0 will be built into Windows Vista (formerly code-name Longhorn) and also available as a stand-alone application for Windows XP Service Pack 2.

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