Internet Explorer Alternatives

The US Government has recently issued an alert that says Internet Explorer is not safe, due to a recently discovered vulnerability.  This affects ALL versions of Internet Explorer currently in use. Now’s the time to use Internet Explorer alternatives to protect your personal data.

This isn’t the first time the US Government has issued an alert about Internet Explorer.  While we don’t feel Internet Explorer is fundamentally riskier to use, we generally recommend people use Internet Explorer alternatives like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox for most browsing needs instead.  Chrome in particular is generally faster than all but the latest versions of Internet Explorer (which are only available on Windows 8). Chrome is also not without occasional security flaws, but it is continuously patched in the background; IE has a slower patching schedule.

Unfortunately some online services require the use of Internet Explorer. In that case there really is no choice. Luckily our clients have several other security systems in place that can help prevent issues.  It’s not possible to prevent all security holes or attacks but the wall is considerably higher for our clients than it is on a home computer (for example.)

Our recommendation would be to steer away from Internet Explorer for most daily use but don’t worry too much if you must use it for certain applications.  Microsoft will likely have a patch very soon for this hole and we will push it out ASAP to our contract clients.