Shad

Take a look at the program that you’re using to view this page. Look in the upper right hand corner, do you see a little “e” there? That means you’re using Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) as your browser. Some of us have been using the internet long enough to remember that there was a time when you actually had to choose which browser you wanted to use. Then one day, Microsoft started bundling their browser with the Windows Operating System. Most people didn’t really notice or care. To be honest, I didn’t either. As long as I could get to the internet, I really didn’t care much about how I got there.

The problem is that IE has some issues. A lot of issues actually. Many of these issues stem from the fact that Microsoft, in their attempts to make your life better, made it possible for web sites to embed executable code directly into their web pages. This was supposed to make it possible for sites to create more dynamic, useful and interesting content. A noble goal.

Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t really think through all the repercussions of this decision. And, as is usually the case, bad people have found the “loopholes”. Some of them just want to show off (hackers). Others are openly malicious and reek havoc on your machine (viruses). Some just want to make money (adware). There are even some that want to watch your every move (spyware).

Internet Explorer has become the platform which all of these people use to exploit users of the internet. Microsoft knows this. They’ve tried to fix it, but the code behind IE is immense and they have not yet been able to fix it. Actually, it seems to just keep getting worse. Fortunately for Microsoft, even with all of it’s warts, IE was still really the best browser on the market.

That has now changed. There’s now a choice. It’s called Firefox and it’s been created by a community of developers from around the world. It’s safe and secure (no popups, adware, virus or spyware). It’s sleek and easy to use. It has some really great features and comes in a relatively tiny package. It’s easy to install and even remembers all of your IE Bookmarks. Best of all, it’s free. Take a look. It really is that good.

Yes, I am a geek. Thank you.

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