Browser Beware

September 2010

Browser Beware

It's almost Fall and that means the end of two a day football practice, summer jobs are coming to an end, and school is starting back in a few weeks. I have a few cousins that will be going into their sophomore year at college and have asked me update their computers. The one in Fayetteville is on a PC and the one in Conway is on a Mac. The first thing I do is backup their systems. You never know what problems you may face when updating older systems with new software updates. I then check their hard drive space and RAM. Without space to store their files and ram to push their systems, they might as well be dead in the water. I then connect to the Internet and download all of the latest software updates for their malware and virus protection, instant messengers, Adobe Reader, OpenOffice and Microsoft Office, Windows Media Player, QuickTime, and iTunes. The last update is the browsers. There are three major browsers: Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox.

Most people who buy a computer from Target, Best Buy or Walmart purchase PCs. These computers, no matter the name brand HP, Dell, Acer, etc, all come with Microsoft Windows 7 operating system preloaded onto their hard drives. Very few will carry Microsoft Vista or Microsoft Windows XP as of Fall 2010. They will also come preloaded with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is up to version 8 as of Fall 2010. Between Internet Explorer versions six through eight, Microsoft has about 30 percent of the browser market. Since PCs and Microsoft are the most commonly used computers, they are also the systems that are infected with the most viruses. One way viruses get on to these computers is through the browser. Since Vista and IE7, Microsoft has been beefing up their security measures on their browser. With IE8, Microsoft has enhanced the navigation, improved the favorites settings and history management, and allowed for instant searching with Bing. They have also incorporated automatic crash recovery, private browsing and now use built in malware, phishing and SmartScreen filters. Still, with all the new features of Windows 7 and Microsoft IE8, you still get viruses and eventually see the blue screen of death. I only use Internet Explorer when I am locked out of the system and cannot download other browsers. However, if you take safety steps and only view and download things from people you know and companies you trust, you will be ok, for a little while at least until China launches its latest batch of attacks.

Safari is the web browser that comes preloaded on Mac computers. Safari is up to version 5 and has also incorporated new features to entice users to switch. Apple played it smart with the development of their latest computers that run off an Intel chip. That chip allows a user to either run the computer as a PC or a Mac, using Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard (Apple's operating systems) or Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. Apple also wrote code for Safari that would allow it to run on a Mac or a PC, as well as QuickTime and iTunes. Safari used to only take up about 5 percent of the browser market, but there are less viruses that enter the system through this browser. Not many viruses are written for Mac users in general, so that makes surfing the Internet with a Safari browser much safer. All of the features that IE8 has, Safari had in version 3. Safari also has enhanced search capabilities, tighter security and privacy settings, a top sites button allowing you to see all of your favorite websites on one page, accessibility enhancements for hearing and seeing impaired users, a built in RSS developer tool for coders, and HTML 5 elements, which will soon become the new standard instead of Adobe Flash for viewing media over the internet. I use Safari anytime I am on a Mac. Oh, and I never run Windows on a Mac through Bootcamp, VMWare or Parallels. That would be as bad as putting a Ford engine in a Chevy truck's frame.

Firefox, version 3.6, is the hands down favorite by users garnering almost 47 percent of the browser market. This may be because Firefox is a browser that thousands of people across the world work on to improve its capabilities daily, or maybe because it’s open source, which means it’s free. They do accept donations through Paypal. Firefox offers private browsing for multiple users and password manager so you will not have to continue to input and remember your passwords each time you login in to check your email. The browser also has one click bookmarking for your favorite sites and customizable tabs and toolbars. The anti-phishing and malware add-ons are awesome and it even notifies you when your plug-ins are out of date. Firefox is almost crash proof, it's super fast when loading webpages, and it has a really cool RSS reader and a spell checker built in. This browser prides itself in being multilingual and places a strong emphasis on accessibility to users with mobility disabilities and visual impairments. To top it off, the live support for this browser is outstanding. The communities of people working behind the scenes are dedicated to the belief of this market-dominating, open-source, monster of a browser. Firefox also works on PCs, Macs and Linux boxes.

When navigating the Internet this fall, make sure to keep in mind the website you visit, the programs you download, and the people you have in your contact list. They may be using a browser or program that has allowed a virus to attach itself to a file they have unknowingly sent to you. By using one of the three browsers mentioned you would not have any problems staying ahead of the attacks, keeping your files secure and getting your assignments turned in on time. Browse, but be cautious.

still keeping an eye out...