Almost 70% of our customers' systems do NOT use Internet Explorer to surf the Internet. That 70% of our supported systems run with at least 90% fewer problems than the other 30%.
While that seems like a very bold statement and possibly difficult to understand or to believe I assure you there are very good reasons why. .
It is pretty well understood in the computer community that Internet Explorer is a dangerous program. It may be the most dangerous program you have on your system. At the bottom of this page are several links to outside sources that should cause you to strongly consider using an alternative.
At most WEB sites that offer to check your system for virus infections or security problems, (and at Microsoft's Windows update site), you can't get what they are offering without Internet Explorer. The reason is a technology supported in Internet Explorer called ActiveX that is not natively supported in any other browser. That's a good thing because ActiveX is one of two technologies in Internet Explorer that allows a WEB site to talk directly with your computer. Not a good thing.
Try running this real-time virus scan with Internet Explorer. No problem. Try it with any other browser and you get a message telling you it can't check your system unless you are using Internet Explorer 5.0 and above. An interesting item regarding that Symantec site is that the page you are looking for is a pop-up that you would need to authorize if you were using Firefox as your browser but comes right up in Internet Explorer. (unless you installed additional pop-up blocker or reconfigured Internet Explorer).
We are aware of several technology managers in the area who have taken Internet Explorer off all the workstations or at least made it inaccessible to the users. Yes, it can be done, and most people can operate just fine without it. It will instantly make your systems more secure and eliminate tons of potential problems.
A few Internet Explorer Problem links
CNET IE7 vs. Firefox 2.0 (no contest)
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