NOTE: This article contains no genealogy information. However, it does contain information of interest to all Windows users.
If you have been following the news lately, almost every computer columnist is clamoring for every Windows user to abandon Microsoft's Internet Explorer (I.E.) and switch to one of the safer Web browsers, such as Mozilla, FireFox, or Opera. It seems that Internet Explorer has more security holes than a pound of Swiss cheese, allowing miscreants to steal your personal data, install viruses, and perform other nasty operations on your PC. Indeed, I wrote about this in a newsletter article on July 1. You can read that article at http://eogn.typepad.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2004/07/major_windows_s.html.
If you have been reading all the comments on the newsletter's blog since then, you will note in follow-up comments that many references to articles have been given. Those comments refer to several articles by various computer experts. Surprisingly, even the Department of Homeland Security says the same: get rid of Internet Explorer. You can read more about that at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=74&e=3&u=/cmp/20040702/tc_cmp/22103407. Even Slate Magazine, an on-line publication owned by Microsoft and hosted on MSN, has warned users to switch from Microsoft's Internet Explorer to something safer. You can read Slate's article at http://slate.msn.com/id/2103152/.
This is a "preview" of a Plus Edition article. The remainder of the article is available at http://www.eogn.com/plus/currentedition/20040713a.htm (a Plus Edition user ID and password is required).If you subscribe now, you will be able to read this article. You can subscribe at http://www.eogn.com/plus.
I noticed the article did not mention Netscape. I still use Netscape and would like to know how it compares with the other browsers cited in the article.
Posted by: Tony Burroughs | July 19, 2004 at 01:27 AM
Netscape and Mozilla are very closely related although not exactly the same. Quoting from Fred Langa at: http://www.pcsympathy.com/article234.html:
"Mozilla" eventually became Netscape, which later got eaten by AOL, which then released the Netscape browser source code to the Open Source community, which used it to produce a new, reborn Mozilla browser. AOL/Netscape then used that reborn Mozilla code as the core of a new generation of "Netscape" branded browsers: In other words, Netscape browsers are today really just AOL-modified cousins of the Open Source Mozilla browser. (Whew! That's a practically Biblical series of "begats...")
Posted by: Dick Eastman | July 19, 2004 at 06:42 AM
I have taken on-board your comments regarding Mozilla FireFox, I'm interested to know what conflicts, if any I am likely to encounter, using as I do, AOL as my ISP?......Barry UK
Posted by: Barry Lindley | July 19, 2004 at 04:20 PM
I cancelled my AOL account a long time ago so I cannot help with your question. I am hoping that a present AOL user will jump in here and answer.
Posted by: Dick Eastman | July 19, 2004 at 08:08 PM