I agree that IE as "shipped" leaves a lot to be desired (like many other
apps including firewalls and Avs until tweaked) however once set (and
granted critical updates applied) it is safe enough in my opinion.I have
ie set fairly tight as you put it (activex/ script set to prompt etc)
and it runs extremly well and very fast,with the added bonus that if
there is a legetimate site that runs activex etc then i can view it if i
desire (unlike a few other browsers that make the choice for you and wont
let you view at all) .As for trojans you cant blame ie for the lack of a
good resident AV/trojan scanner , and spyware is also bundled with many
legit programmes that has nothing to do with ie.
me
I must say, I was in complete agreement with you a month ago (after
investing an incredible amount of time and energy tweaking I.E. and
adding half a dozen supplemental security programmes, it worked rather
well.)
But then, on a slow Saturday morning, I downloaded Mozilla Firebird on
a whim, and it was love at first sight. I believe this browser
deserves the title "Freeware Application of the Year." It does almost
everything I might desire by default. It has really been quite
enjoyable to uninstall all the popup blockers, cookie managers,
password managers, and form-filler-outers I have accumulated to make
I.E. functional, and I am looking forward to getting rid of I.E.
altogether.
On my machine Firebird is a bit slower to load initially, then it
transitions from page to page with lightning speed. Plus, I no longer
have to look at any advertising at all , by following the simple
expedient in the options, "Load images from originating web page
only." The popups are, of course, eliminated by default.
I really recommend that everyone try this browser, no matter what you
have been using.