Clark Computer Consulting Port Jervis, NY » Internet Explorer

Why I still avoid Internet Explorer like the plague

Scott — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:47:40 +0000

I just saw a commercial on TV for Internet Explorer 8 and I felt the need to do a quick post. Most web pages are a sloppy mess of code because web developers need to appease the the market leader (Internet Explorer) by hacking their HTML code. Microsoft’s buggy, sorry excuse for a web browser does not fully comply with the current web standards. When asked the question “do I use Internet Explorer ?” I continue to answer…” I only use IE on sites that require me to use IE”. As I said, Internet Explorer does not follow all the current web standards. A perfect example is the Acid3 test which Firefox, Safari and Chrome pass with flying colors and IE8 fails like a screen door on a submarine. I have posted about this test in the past, you can find out more information at http://www.webstandards.org/action/acid3/ Acid 3 test results for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 are displayed below. Click the images to see a larger view and check the versions tested.

Out of Band Security Update for Internet Explorer

Scott — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:11:59 +0000

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS10-018 – Critical

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (980182)

This security update resolves nine privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer.

The following links provide info on the latest round of updates and also explain how to install those updates.

If you have never done Windows updates the following link will help you along the way. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/overview.mspx

Microsoft Releases Emergency Internet Explorer Patch http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224200804

Emergency IE Patch Fixes Zero-Day Flaw http://www.pcworld.com/article/192887/emergency_ie_patch_fixes_zeroday_flaw.html

Security Bulletin MS10-018 Released http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/03/30/security-bulletin-ms10-018-released.aspx

Microsoft Announces an Out-of-Band IE-Patch

Scott — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:02:06 +0000

Microsoft plans to release an “out of band” IE patch today to address the Aurora vulnerability.

Microsoft announces Out-of-Band IE-Patch

http://techblog.avira.com/2010/01/21/microsoft-announces-out-of-band-ie-patch/en/

Old MacDonald Bought the Farm IE IE 0-day

http://www.eset.com/threat-center/blog/2010/01/20/old-macdonald-bought-the-farm-ie-ie-0-day

Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification for January 2010

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-jan.mspx

Microsoft will patch Internet Explorer today

http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/microsoft-will-patch-internet-explorer.html

Operation Aurora: Microsoft knew about Internet Explorer flaw for four months

http://www.sophos.com/blogs/gc/g/2010/01/22/operation-aurora-microsoft-knew-internet-explorer-flaw-months/

Make sure you you check your Windows updates later on this afternoon by using Internet Explorer to access the following link http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ or by going to Start-All Programs-Windows Update

Don’t be an update slacker…do your updates and have a nice day

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Internet Explorer 8 is still Internet Explorer

Scott — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:48:18 +0000

Internet Explorer 8 was officially released yesterday. You might be asking yourself should I rush out and get the latest most secure version of IE that has ever browsed the web? The simple answer is an emphatic “NO” but let me explain.

First things first…its still Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is notorious for being a non standards compliant browser. The Web Standards Project currently has 3 tests that show if your web browser is in compliance with current web standards. Microsoft touts that IE8 passes the Acid2 test… the only problem is that is horribly fails the newer Acid 3 test scoring only 20 out of 100. The newest versions of Firefox, Chrome and Safari all score over 70 out of 100 on the same Acid3 test. Firefox 3 Beta 3 scored a 93 out of 100 on the same Acid3 test. Its almost like Microsoft just doesn’t want to play nice with globally accepted web standards.

The in-house web application at one company that I support is still only working with IE7 and will not even load with IE8. Do not roll out IE8 in your office without first thoroughly testing it on a non-production system. A complete feature list of IE8 can be found at the following link http://tinyurl.com/ckglh4

All web browsers need improvement in some area and IE8 still could just be the most needy of the bunch. IE8 may eventually end up being a fine replacement for IE7 but I would wait a few months before making the switch.

For full disclosure let me say that my primary web browser is Firefox, the only time I still use IE7 is when the website that I’m visiting will only supports IE. The current beta and soon to be released Firefox 3.5 looks to be another winner for the free and Open-Source community. Happy browsing

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