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Thinking of ditching IE? Think again

• Tags:
• IE,
• CSS,
• JavaScript,
• ActiveX

Jonathan Yarden

Published: 18 Oct 2005 18:50 BST

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Long before Internet security became a mainstream concern, many users chose to dump Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) and switch to other Web browsers, most notably products from Netscape. And given IE's chequered security history, that trend continues — particularly thanks to the growing popularity of the Firefox browser.

However, while I'll be the first to criticise Microsoft, I'll also say that companies shouldn't be so quick to look to alternative Web browsers. As anyone who has switched to an alternative Web browser has discovered, security isn't always the only issue. Companies often focus so intensely on security that they manage to overlook areas that are just as vital — such as functionality.

It's an undeniable fact that IE sports some functionality that simply isn't present in other Web browsers. In addition, a considerable number of Web sites don't function properly if you're not using IE to access them.

Over the years, Microsoft has adamantly maintained that IE is a part of Windows — not an add-on. In fact, the software giant has spent a great deal of time and money ensuring that users can't easily remove IE from Windows. (It is, however, much easier to disable IE on your system.)

If your organisation has decided that using IE on a regular basis exposes it to security risks, it's not necessarily wrong. The majority of browser-hijacking malware targets IE — and for good reason. Hackers are taking advantage of features designed to make IE more extensible to create malware that takes over the operation of IE.

For example, a primary way that spyware and adware infest a Windows system is via the use of the Browser Helper Objects (BHOs) that alter IE's behaviour. This is another case of the common conflict between functionality and security — to the detriment of average users.

The security of the Web browser itself is often a primary motivation for searching for an IE replacement. In the past, exploitable programming errors in IE have resulted in viruses and other malware infesting a Windows system.

But this is the point where most organisations go astray in their logic: They assume that switching to an alternative browser will keep them safe. Yet, just because IE has suffered from security issues before doesn't guarantee that a replacement Web browser won't experience similar issues.

Yes, IE is a common target for hackers, but that's primarily due to its...

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