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Internet Explorer question

Started 6 months ago by zephyr
Latest reply from clark5080

zephyr
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I am moderately computer literate but sometimes need advice or explanations. Hopefully someone in the blog community will have an answer.

I have a PC running Windows XP. The browser I prefer to use is Internet Explorer, though I have Firefox that I use as well. I still enjoy IE and have been reluctant to switch from IE7 to IE8 for the past couple of years.

Initially there were problems with IE8 when it first came out and I was reluctant to make the switch. However, my browser has become so unwieldy with Flash problems right and left that I feel it’s time to make the switch.

If I download the IE8 browser, will I have problems with my Bookmarks? Will I be able to keep those or will I lose them when making the transition?

Will I be terribly surprised with the new appearance of IE8 versus IE7? Are there any issues still going with IE8 that I should be aware of?

Thanks, ~z

Posted 6 months ago #
chrisma
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IE 8 is as high as you can go with XP, and you should check the system requirements to make sure you have enough system overhead to run it. With Microsoft, it's often useful to double their minimum requirements if you expect the software to be usable.

When I upgraded from IE 7 to 8, I had no problem with bookmarks or saved passwords. The interface is a little different than 7 and may take a little getting used to. The menus are not where they used to be, but hey, that's SOP for Microsoft.

Keep in mind that Flash is an Adobe product and runs as a plugin to your browser(s). You may want to try updating your Flash plugins. In each browser (Firefox and IE) go to http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

It will either update or tell you that you have the most recent version. You can also try uninstalling the Flash plugins and then re-installing them. In XP you go to Control Panel, then Add Remove Programs.

My username links to my email, zephyr, if you have any other questions.

Posted 6 months ago #
NFiorentini
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XP is more than ten years old. In addition to what Chrisma has said, you should consider upgrading to Windows 7. For me, switching from XP to Windows 7 on six-year old HP laptop gave the machine new life. As you're finding out, it is becoming more difficult to find things that work with XP and MS will soon (if they haven't already) cease updating XP, which if you go online with the computer, will make it increasingly less secure and vulnerable to malware.

It may also be worth simply buying a new machine with Windows 7 already on it.

One last thing, I'm a huge fan of Firefox. The NoScript and AdBlock plug-ins are absolutely essential these days and are better versions of similarly-named plug-ins for Chrome. About three years ago, I was on a college football discussion board, and someone somewhere figured out how to get the Google Ads in a banner to start downloading malware onto computers. I was using IE at the time, and if I had been using FF/NoScript I would've been fine. Since using FF exclusively, I've been able to avoid problems such as on Facebook where someone posts a link, but the link is actually malware or getting a message about being tagged in a photo...click here! The first time, I fell for it, clicked, and NoScript would not let the site do its thing unless I "allowed" it (which I realized I shouldn't do). Until IE gives the user the ability to control which specific sites on a webpage are allowed to do stuff, it will always be a risky browser.

Posted 6 months ago #
metrognome
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zephyr -- I'm running an old HP 4540 laptop with barely enough memory to remember how to spell HP ... I've been using IE8 pretty much without a problem and had no problems with losing favorites, etc. during the upgrade; it does seem to work faster if I delete browser history, etc., on a very regular basis, esp. after watching streaming video. On occasion, some of the toolbars do not load properly and I have to reboot, sometimes repeatedly. Their latest patch seems to have fixed that problem, tho. I also have a problem watching some TV shows online, altho I think that's a function of inadequate memory, not IE8. I am also starting to get messages from some sites that I should upgrade to IE9, which you can't do with XP.

The good news is that you can uninstall IE8 if it doesn't work for you; I believe you will go back to the default version that was included in XP when you bought your computer. If it wasn't IE7, you may not be able to reinstall IE7 from Microsoft as I don't think its available.

I agree with Chrisma as far as updating Flash or uninstalling it and reinstalling it if you're having problems with it. There are also other management tools with XP and on the Microsoft website to identify and resolve problems with either XP or IE.

Posted 6 months ago #
Jiggers
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I am using IE 9 on my Dell Inspiron laptop. Lots of memory Awesome! Remember, you get what you pay for.

Posted 6 months ago #
zephyr
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Thanks for all the great responses. Yes, I am on the verge of getting my system overhauled or replaced. But I wanted to try switching to a new browser first. I have been having Virtual Memory error messages these past few months. So there's that.

I have looked up the system requirements for IE8. I think my computer is ready, but I will email Chrisma a quick question to be sure.

Thanks, ~z

Posted 6 months ago #
NFiorentini
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Zephyr-Your browser, bookmarks, and Flash issues are the *least* of your worries. When an operating system is old (in this case, more than a decade old), people who make viruses and malware have ample time to develop exploits and to perfect tactics. Using a new OS which is still being continuously updated (like Windows 7) is perhaps the most important thing that you can do to keep safe. If it were me, I would *never* enter personal data online (anything requiring a log-in, or some other personal identifier) with a machine running XP because of the risk. Even innocuous places, as I wrote above, can be risky.

Here's an analogy: people using the Internet are like a herd of zebras and the lions are watching for an opportunity. If you're using XP and IE7/IE8, you're amongst the slowest, easiest prey in the herd. I'm a significantly harder for the lions to catch (up-to-date Windows 7, FF w/NoScript and AdBlock). Mac users who keep their stuff updated are difficult prey. And linux distro users (Mint, RedHat, Ubuntu, etc) are snickering at us right now, but that's another issue.

I don't mean to offend anyone (and I apologize if I have...not my intent!), but safety on the Internet should be a much bigger concern than it is for people currently.

Posted 6 months ago #
zephyr
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NFiorentini,

Awesome analogy. I get what you're saying. I appreciate your advice and will definitely consider getting Windows 7. I have to contact the folks locally who made my machine to see if will take the upgrade.

Thanks, ~z

Posted 6 months ago #
NFiorentini
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Cheers, Z!

Posted 6 months ago #
chrisma
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@Zephyr: you can get the System Builder's version of Windows 7 Home Premium for $99 from Amazon. I'm pretty sure you'll need the 32 bit version (link).

[EDIT: Actually, looks like your processor is 64 bit, so I would go for the 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium then (link).]

It will run on your current hardware, based on the specs you gave me. Wouldn't hurt to add another 2 GB of RAM, if you can swing it (shouldn't cost more the $50), but it will run with your current 2GB.

If you can afford it, I'd second NFiorentini's recommendation. XP has had a great run, but is getting a bit long in the tooth now.

Just to prepare you, Windows 7 is quite a different user experience from XP, so it will take a little getting used to for awhile. But, I think you'll appreciate the improvements that have been made.

Posted 6 months ago #
zephyr
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Thanks, again chrisma for the tips. Okay, I have successfully downloaded IE8 and additional updates. The look is somewhat different. But the first thing I notice is now I seem to be unable to open more than one hotmail account at a time. I have different ones for work or social use. In IE7, I could open a hotmail account and then with a new browser window, open a second account. Now if I open that second browser and click on my book mark for hotmail, it opens the email account already in use. :( Does anyone know of a workaround for opening more than one account in hotmail using IE8? Thanks, ~z

Posted 6 months ago #
dhg
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That's what Firefox is for! Logon in IE to one account, a different one in Firefox!

Posted 6 months ago #
chrisma
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@zephyr: you can link your different Hotmail accounts so that you only have to sign in once and you can access all of them from the dashboard by clicking a link. Here's a tutorial:

http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/LinkAccounts/StepByStep

Posted 6 months ago #
zephyr
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Thanks for the suggestions. @dhg, yes, I could do that, but I prefer to use IE for hotmail. If necessary though I will do that. Thanks.
chrisma, I will view the tutorial, but I am not sure that I want to "link" the HM accounts. My reasoning is probably a little fuzzy on this issue, but I will consider this option too. It's just interesting how this "feature" appeared with the browser update. It made me wonder if there was a setting I could click on or off. ~z

Posted 6 months ago #
chrisma
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I can spend a little time looking into that later tonight. The only thing that I think linking does, is allow you access to each account from the dashboard of hotmail. I don't think that the accounts themselves see each other or that one can send from the other (unless you set that up in a different area). I believe this is more a way to manage multiple accounts without that hassle of having to logout/login to reset the cookie.

Posted 6 months ago #
clark5080
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Look into windows live mail. You can do multiple accounts with Windows live mail. You are using srevice pak 2 or later arn't you? If you are not using SP 2 or higher Microsoft is no longer updating your system

I hardly think it is worth putting more money into this computer with how old it is and you can get a newer much faster computer with windows already on it for under 500.00.

Posted 6 months ago #