Ever had your desktop wallpaper change, without your consent? Tired of websites with countless popup ads? Did your startup page change, and now you can change it back to Google, Yahoo!, or MSN? These are just a few of the hijacks (programs that run without your knowledge to do something malicious, annoying, or intrusive to your computer) and aggravations primarily caused by Internet Explorer and unscrupulous website developers.
There are alternatives to Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer most likely came with your computer, or was installed with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) software. In fact, Time Warner only supports Internet Explorer, but from our experience, switching to another browser has been more rewarding than Time Warner tech support.
Mozilla creates two browsers, both of which we feel are the best on the market, and both of which are free to download, Mozilla (which is the also the name of one of the browsers) and Firefox. Over the last few months, the percentage of Mozilla web browser users has increased from around 3% to around 10%. Most features available in Internet Explorer come with these browsers with standard installation. You will have to install plugins for flash, acrobat, java, and a few other things, but well worth the effort.
Both browsers come with popup blockers built in, and Firefox allows for a configurable search tool, which defaults to search Google. These browsers all but eliminate the need for software such as Adaware from Lavasoft, which is also free. We recommend you use this software after you cease using Internet Explorer to remove all the annoying hijacks that occurred without your knowledge.
If you are an avid Internet Explorer user, we recommend you safeguard yourself as well as you can. Installing the Google Toolbar will block most popup windows, and allow you to search from the toolbar at the top. There is some speculation that web developers have discovered how to deactivate the Google popup blocking, so this may not be a long-term solution. We recommend you run Adaware regularly to get rid of known hijacks.
2004-08-07 19:05:27
Jason Hargett
Testimonial
I want to take a minute to sincerely express my gratitude and thanks for your help in improving my business. I was so impressed with your creative work on our corporate logo that I wanted your help in working on some industrial designs that would be used to drive a laser. This was trailblazing work and your assistance directly with the vendor made all of the difference.
Unlike so many suppliers today, Ocular Box did exactly what they promised when they promised it. Thanks again and I look forward to doing business with you again.
