France/Germany (and now Aussie Govt) call on users to abandon Internet Explorer

[Tannin]

Hmmm .. so we get a choice of evil foreign monopoly (Ebay/Google/Paypal) vs evil domestic monopoly (Telstra). Well, at least Google are generally fairly competent and only evil now and again when it suits them, as opposed to ..... well, we all know what Telstra are.

Errr ... what was the question?

(Scolls up to top of thread, refreshes memory)

Oh, Internet Explorer.

Well, seeing as I was talking about evil, incompetent monopolies, I maintain that I was, in fact, still on-topic. Sort of. Telstra, by the way, are also responsible (sorry, I actually mean "irresponsible") for what is without doubt the worst major website design and codebase I have ever, ever seen - I understand they have farmed it out to a marginally less incompetent subcontracter recently and it can actually load, given a fast connection and a big modern computer, in less than a week now, but www.afl.com remains the ruling champion of all that is worst about the web.

Errr ... what was the question again?

[clm738]

On the news NOW warning Australians NOT TO LAUNCH INTERNET EXPLORER because of security concerns.

[coolie21]

It's not that Internet Expolder is evil. It's just crap.
If it wasn't for the corporate support IE would have gone the way of evolution and died like the dinosaur it is. Pah.

[Kym]

Even the Aussie Govt is saying something http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...19/2795684.htm

[mikew09]

Don't care - been a firefox man for quite some time. Will be going iMac very soon so even less concerned about viruses, hacking etc.
I do like the windows system for usage but the last couple of yrs it has just become a playground for hackers and the amound of system over head for Virus engine / scanner, firewall management, Malware tools etc has become rediculous.
I think very soon Bill will have to spend some of his billions getting that UNIX based OS running under his desktop or he may have to change Microsoft to Microflop.

[ving]

hop on aboard peeps. this inn not an anti IE thing or even a anti MS thing its not about hating one system and loving another... its security and that is far more important.

[Tannin]

Oh, I forgot to say: anyone still using Internet Explorer after all these years and all those warnings .....
Right now there is a fair size pile of infected machines sitting in my workshop awaiting disinfection and cleanup. .... This week, there are more than usual, and I'm going to have to put in a lot of extra hours over the next couple of days to get them all done ... this makes me frustrated because I know perfectly well that close to 50% of the infections are caused by Internet Explorer's security vulnerabilities, and there is hours and hours of extra work I'll have to do to repair them all. ..... I'm tired and don't want to do all that overtime!

Another three have come in so far today and it's only just lunchtime.

I don't know how many of those were caused by Internet Explorer - one or two out of the three would be average - but the length of the queue is getting a bit out of hand.

sigh

[Kym]

Another three have come in so far today and it's only just lunchtime.
I don't know how many of those were caused by Internet Explorer - one or two out of the three would be average - but the length of the queue is getting a bit out of hand.
sigh

But how will you pay for a 1D-IV without all those customers?

[Scotty72]

Whatever!

I was just saying that Firefox and some websites don't mix.


It doesn't matter if it is because the shoe is too small or my foot is too big... The problem exists all the same.

Scotty

This is just wrong.

Saying "Firefox has compatibility issues with websites" is like saying "My speelchecker iz brroken bcoz eet hs poot rede uinderlines unda thees whole sentense".

Firefox is highly compatible with the international standard that govern web design. Firefox doesn't have compatibility issues, the site has problems if it doesn't work with a standards-compliant browser like Firefox. If you find a broken site, tell the webmaster to lift his game. This isn't 1997 anymore.

[Kym]

I was just saying that Firefox and some websites don't mix.

Then complain to those website owners/webmasters - tell them to grow up.

[Scotty72]

Then complain to those website owners/webmasters - tell them to grow up.

It really doesn't bother me enough to lift a finger of complaint.

I have Firefox, IE and Chrome. So if one has issues, there are 2 more.

Scotty

[Tannin]

It doesn't matter if it is because the shoe is too small or my foot is too big... The problem exists all the same.

No. You cannot change the size of your foot. The bootmaker must change the size of the boot.

Similarly, there are formal, internationally-agreed official standards for website design. Every properly trained and competent person in the industry knows about them and follows them as routine. Every competently-designed web browser does the same. (If you like, I can provide you with chapter and verse references and enough reading to make your eyes glaze over.) If the page design follows the rules, the page will work in any modern browser. If it ignores the rules, then it will most likely break. Firefox does a much better job of following the international standards than Internet Explorer. Much better.

[Tannin]

But how will you pay for a 1D-IV without all those customers?

Someone will just send me the money?

[I @ M]

The Trading post now works with Firefox - they obviously came into the 21st century.

So it does.

It must be more than 12 months ago that I last tried it when it didn't work --- so I never bothered going back for another look since.
I wonder how many other people simply "switched off" on that site or any other that doesn't work with their chosen browser?

[Speedway]

Thanks for the info Rick, all fixed. Deleting IE now.
Keith.

[Miaow]

interesting thing using cc cleaner i always find a heap of stuff in the IE cache? and i dont use it????

[redstocks]

OK, can someone explain it to me....................

I realise I can download Firefox, when it's installed do I just click on that to use the internet?

Can IE still remian on the hard drive?

If I'm using Firefox and can't get onto a site (I'm thinking internet banking here cos I use three banks regularly each week) can I then open IE alongside Firefox to do the banking or whatever?

[I @ M]

OK, can someone explain it to me....................

I realise I can download Firefox, when it's installed do I just click on that to use the internet?

YES, do it.

Can IE still remian on the hard drive?

YES but preferably don't do it, dump IE instead.

If I'm using Firefox and can't get onto a site (I'm thinking internet banking here cos I use three banks regularly each week) can I then open IE alongside Firefox to do the banking or whatever?

YES But the best option is to use firefox and then tell your bank / banks that since they don't build websites that support firefox that you are going to a bank that does.

[Scotty72]

Thanks for the info Rick, all fixed. Deleting IE now.
Keith.

I didn't think you could completely delete IE.

Can you?

Scotty

[Tannin]

I realise I can download Firefox, when it's installed do I just click on that to use the internet? Yes


Can IE still remian on the hard drive? Yes. In fact, it should, because IE is needed for some particular tasks*, notably Windows Update, which is essential. Just don't ever use it to surf the web.

If I'm using Firefox and can't get onto a site (I'm thinking internet banking here cos I use three banks regularly each week) can I then open IE alongside Firefox to do the banking or whatever? Yes But do that with the likes of Firefox, Opera, and Seamonkey, not with Internet Explorer. Why would anyone even half-sane want to use the most insecure browser on the market for the most security-critical tasks? It just doesn't make sense.

Right now, I'm not aware of any internet banking site in Australia which doesn't work just fine with all the major browsers. (I'm not saying there isn't one, just that if there is, I haven't heard of it. I know for a fact that Commonwealth, Westpac and NAB work just fine with all browsers, and that ANZ used to, presumably still does.)

But if, by some chance, your bank's internet banking software is so bad that it doesn't work with the safe, modern browsers, how much trust can you afford to put in the institution at all? Would you deposit money at a bank that didn't know how to build a secure strong room? No? So why would you deposit money with a bank that doesn't understand internet security? Close your account pronto! You can't afford to take those sort of risks.


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* Note for pedants: yes, of course there are workarounds. If you are enough of a geek to know about them, then you don't need any of the advice in this thread, and you will only confuse people if you make a song and dance at this point.