Reasons Why Internet Explorer Sucks

There’s no question that there are still people who love to use Internet Explorer (IE), although not as many during the early 2000s. If you’re still holding on to Microsoft’s browser, here are the reasons why you should not use Internet Explorer.

Hackers’ Favourite

IE being a product of Microsoft, it is frequently targeted by hackers. Switching to Opera, Firefox or other browsers makes you less vulnerable.

Buggy

IE is notorious for its many bugs. What makes it worse is the fact that Microsoft releases fixes on a fixed schedule. The problem is bugs don’t follow schedules. They can appear anytime. If a bug shows up, you have to wait for Microsoft to release the patch and hope it works.

Other browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome aren’t bogged down by scheduling. Even worse, IE doesn’t check if your plugins are outdated. This makes you more vulnerable to hacking. If your network has sensitive data, this can be a serious problem.

Confusing Active X Controls

Active X control security alerts often pop up and they can be confusing. Figuring out the settings for these controls are also a pain. With numerous Chrome extensions and Firefox plugins, you won’t miss Active X much. Ironically, Active X was created to provide extensions for IE. Only a few are available, with those for Chrome and Firefox outnumbering it.

Limited Compatibility

Internet Explorer 9 only runs on Windows 7 and later. There is no support for Windows Vista and other operating systems. A lot of users have more than one computer and deal with many OS. The Metro version of IE 10 doesn’t even support Flash. Chrome and Firefox are cross-platform. IE 9 cannot be used on Mac and Linux.

No Synchronization

Chrome and Firefox are equipped to synchronize bookmarks among different browsers. IE cannot do this. If you are using IE as your main browser, you have to download a plugin to synchronize bookmarks. If the plugin doesn’t work, you have to manually compare and edit the bookmarks or import them.


No Portable Version

A portable app doesn’t have to be installed to run it. Chrome and Firefox have portable versions; IE does not. A portable version of your browser is something you can copy on a flash drive and bring with you. These apps have many benefits.

For one you can use them to test an extension while keeping your main copy intact. Some people worry that extensions can get personal information about you. In this case, use Chrome or Firefox with no extensions. The other copy can have them. You cannot do this with IE.

No Backups

Perhaps the biggest benefit of having portable copies is you can make backups of your browser. If something goes wrong with IE, you have no choice but to download a new copy. If your portable Chrome or Firefox doesn’t work, just delete the folder and use the main browser.

32 or 64 Bit?

Those using the 64 bit version of Windows 7 have to figure out the difference between the 32 and 64 bit versions of IE. There is no confusion in other browsers.

There are many other reasons why you should not use Internet Explorer. It is clunky and slow. Tests have repeatedly shown that it is one of the slowest in loading web pages. Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari are free. With all these issues and effects, why would you still use IE?

Charlie is a free lancer writer and content builder of http://www.rolo.org/ and has written many useful genuine Articles.