The first thing that may come to your mind are words of disbelief. Yes this is a shock to anyone who knows anything about browsers. Actually 60 percent of companies use Internet Explorer 6 as their default browser.

There’s a huge gap between the number of companies that use Internet Explorer and companies that use other browsers. Between IE 6 and IE 7 they control 78 percent of the market. Firefox is in second with 18.2 percent, Google Chrome has 2 percent, and Safari has 1.4 percent.

So why do so many companies lead towards IE6? One of the reasons is that they go with the browser that was already installed on the computer. Since Microsoft creates Windows, Internet Explorer is always the first browser on the computer therefore a lot of companies just go with IE.

Once a company has decided to use a browser they will usually stick with it and block other browsers. This is because most companies worry about the security on new browsers as well as programs that may come with them.

Many companies don’t upgrade their browsers even though the upgrades include faster browsing, better security, and better tools. So if you’re in a company that’s looking at choosing a browser or you think your company has chosen the wrong browser, what can you do about it?

Each browser has pros and cons for each type of company. The four main browsers your company will look at are Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Firefox 3, Google Chrome, and Safari 4. So what are the differences between them?

Internet Explorer is great for companies that use several Microsoft programs and applications such as SharePoint. It’s also good for letting the company control what web pages can be used. It’s great for a company that wants a lot of security. The main downside is that the browser updates rarely include new features.

Firefox is a great browser in terms of all of the add-ons that you can get for it. There are several cool gadgets that you can have fun with however they are mostly geared towards consumers. Firefox is great for having better innovation than the others but has some lack in LAN control.

The New Google Chrome is questionable when it comes to security since it is so new.  However the browser itself is clean, fast, and offers many features that make it easier to work.

Safari 4 is also newer and therefore has questionable security. Safari allows for Mac and iPhone features that the other browsers don’t offer.

Overall which one should your company go with? Most likely the answer will be IE7/8 or Firefox 3 because of the security and features that they offer.

Source: CNET

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The news that Microsoft will not release Internet Explorer 8 to the public is not something that is surprising. Microsoft’s latest browser IE8 will remain in beta until 2009.

The announcement was made on Microsoft’s official blog. Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of Internet Explorer project noted that they will release another beta next year. “We will release one more public update of IE8 in the first quarter of 2009, and then follow that up with the final release,” he said. The browser is currently in Beta 2.

Tech enthusiasts on the other hand agree that the decision is very just. A review on ArsTechnica noted that they are perfectly fine with more testing and bug fixing being done. Internet Exlorer 8 Beta 2 is noted with numerous bugs and crash errors, something that is not present in its grand rival Firefox 3.

As of this writing, Microsoft encourages users and beta testers to submit bug reports to help improve the once leading browser.

Source: PopuTech and ArsTechnica

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Google Chrome is fast becoming like Firefox and Greasemonkey with its future support for Add-ons and Plug-ins.

According to Aaron Boodman, Greasemonkey founder and a member of the Google Chrome team said that Chrome will use both add-ons that extend browser features and use scripts.

Google Chrome is the latest browser to hit the web, and within a few weeks from its release it already reached almost 2 million downloads. Many users believe that Chrome will soon be a serious competitor of Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer as it offers different features such as browser tab isolation.

Suggestions and ideas as to how Google Chrome add-ons should include are already pouring in. Experts of other browser groups are interested in the development of the open source browser made by the big G. Among most notable feature of Chrome are its tabs.

Brendan Eich, Mozilla CTO is studying the Chrome’s stability using tabs and he is very positive on the developments on the latest browser. “There are good process-isolation tricks that Chrome does that we’re looking into, so we’re simply going to look at better isolation techniques for security and integrity,” he said.

Source: InformationWeek

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If the claims and ads of antivirus software makers are to be believed, then all that separates us from a Trojan-free PC is $19.99 + VAT. Indeed, almost all security suites claim that they could prevent malware infection by up to 99.9%. However, as many of you might have already noticed, that .01% that’s unaccounted for almost always stands out.

I guess I’ve already told you a couple of times already that the battle against malicious programs should not be left to security suites alone. They can’t ward off all attacks, especially if the user is careless and gullible enough to click on every pop up or ad that tickles his fancy.

Every program must be conscripted in the fight against computer viruses. I’m not saying that Microsoft should include a virus-scanning feature on Excel or Powerpoint. That would be absurd (but somewhat cool, don’t you think?). Each application could contribute to the fight by keeping their fences intact, meaning that every hole or weak spot in their algorithms should be patched.

The most important application that should be patched well is the Web browser. We all know that browsers serve as our PCs gate to cyberspace, and we all know, too, that cyberspace has lots of tiny programs that bear crossbones tattoos.

Hence, when choosing a browser, pick the one that has an extra layer of cement on their wall. Mozilla and Opera have already acknowledged their products’ role and responsibility in the fight against malware by incorporating antiphishing functions, as well as anti-pop up features. Microsoft would also be photocopying the same features in the final version of Internet Explorer 8.

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No matter how fast your processor is, chances are is that your surfing speed would soon drag down due to unwanted data build up, plug-in issues, or failure to update your browser. You don’t need an antivirus or anti-spyware program for these problems. Putting grease into your laggard browser is as easy as clicking a few buttons.

If you’re using Internet Explorer, just click on Tools • Internet Options then click on Delete Browsing History. If you’re using a third-party utility suite, such as Norton Systemworks, then you have to open up its control center and choose the appropriate option to delete unwanted browser clutter.

For plug-in problems, all you have to do is disable it. In Firefox, just choose Tools • Add-ons, then Disable. In Internet Explorer, click on Start • All Programs • Accessories • Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).

As for the updates, you don’t have to worry about Internet Explorer if you’re using Windows and Windows Update is set to automatically receive patches. For Firefox, just click on Help • Check for Updates.

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The advent of broadband Internet has immensely changed the way we surf the Web. Gone are the days when most of the Web sites that we browse or log on to contain plain text or feature very few pictures. At present, a Web page designer would definitely lose clients if he doesn’t know how to integrate audio and video in his creations.

But this wasn’t the order of things a decade ago. If you were able to go around cyberspace during the 90s, you would notice that there were no streaming audios or videos in 90% of all the Web pages on the Internet. There were even music sites that didn’t contain any MP3 or WMA file. All they had back then were lyrics and pictures of singers who topped the charts.

You might even think that the MP3 file format hasn’t been invented yet during that time. If you did, then you thought wrong. Most of the multimedia features that Web pages have today were already available 10 years ago. Sure, Real’s audio player was still quite primitive that time. However, the technology to upload multimedia presentations on the Net was already present back then.

So why weren’t our parents or older siblings able to experience the sensory overload that we’re getting right now every time we’re opening Internet Explorer or Firefox? The answer is obvious.

14kbps during the 90s was already considered “warp speed.” Dial-up still reigned during this period as the primary mode or means of connecting to the Internet. That all changed when DSL, cable Internet, and wireless access became available. The bandwidth that these connections offer is many times faster than their predecessor. As a result, Web site makers have stocked their designs with tons of audio and video files to make it more interesting and interactive. Accessing Web sites loaded with multimedia presentations would’ve been virtually impossible on a dial-up connection. However, songs and videos can be seamlessly played when surfing at 512kbps or higher.

So does this mean that the demise of the dial-up is near?

Wait for part 2 of this article I’ll give you a hint, though. The answer is in the negative. There are ways by which you could boost up your dial-up connection to dizzying speeds. However, there are several disadvantages in injecting steroids on your slow connection. For one thing, it could mess up your registry. I’ll discuss the pros and cons of this “jack up” next week.

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