Many people are now discovering that Internet Explorer is full of security holes and making the switch to Firefox, a far superior browser by Mozilla. Even the Department of Homeland Security recommended that users switch from IE to another browser. However, some people might argue that they don't want to make the switch because all websites don't necessarily support Firefox. However, rather than avoid Firefox, you should just avoid the sites that don't support it. Holes Holes and More IE Holes Those who are up-to-date on internet security, know that Internet Explorer is constantly plagued with security holes. Type "IE Security Holes" into google and you'll get over a million search results listing articles ranging all the way back to 2000 and before. Let's review just a few in chronological order.

• In 2000 CNET reported that IE was "open to a potentially dangerous vulnerability allowing a malicious programmer to take over a computer through local and remote folders."


• In May 2002 PC World reported "Microsoft Patches Six IE Security Holes - Vulnerabilities in latest versions of Web browser could allow attackers to run code on your PC."


• In June 2004 BBC ran an article entitled "Web browser flaw prompts warning," saying that "Users are being told to avoid using Internet Explorer until Microsoft patches a serious security hole in it."


• And in recent news, August 29, 2005, Microsoft investigates a new hole in IE. An independent security researcher in California found that, "If a user browses to a bad Web site, malicious software can be installed on their PC without their knowledge." - ZDNet

It doesn't seem to end, and as one opinion columnist wrote "Rest assured, we'll all be dealing with IE vulnerabilities for a long, long time." - Informationweek.com Sometimes holes are good though. For example, 9 out 10 Law enforcement officials prefer you to use IE because it makes it easier for them to see which websites you've visited while investigating your computer. In IE's defense, Microsoft creates patches for all these holes, but really, I don't want to spend my valuable time downloading and installing patches all the time. Just give me something that works the first time. So why doesn't Firefox have so many security holes? Well, Firefox is developed by the Mozilla Organization, a non profit organization that made the browser code "open source". Because the code is open source, computer geeks from all over the world have been able to see the code and detect if there were any security holes. Any major hole should have been found and fixed by now. Also, because IE is a Microsoft product and more widely used, it is a larger target for hackers. Better Standards It has recently been discovered that Internet Explorer 7 will not support the new CSS standard, CSS2. CSS Standards are important because they make sure that all websites look the same on all browsers. So why would IE7 not support common internet standards? One can only speculate as to why IE 7 won't support CSS2. Perhaps Microsoft likes broken browsers because it helps their monopoly. If they don't support standard html, then developers have to write to IE standards. In this way, they're forcing people to write broken html. I don't know if I want to visit a site that's written only to support broken html. Developers should care about standards, especially if they want me to give them my personal information or credit card number. Or maybe, IE can't support CSS2. One blogger explained that because IE7 is coming out this summer, they don't have time to make it support CSS2 Firefox on the Rise Up-to-date web developers care about security and standards. With more than 80 million users and counting, Firefox continues to spread like fire and the internet community has taken notice. Most computer geeks are now using Firefox and creating websites that support it. Those who aren't, aren't paying attention, or don't care. In that case, I don't plan on using their website. It's all about trust When you make a purchase online, you're not just trusting a company to fulfill your order, you're trusting them to keep your information safe and secure. If their programmers are using IE as their only browser, then they don't care about security. Don't give them your credit card.