There are tons of reports out that there is an Internet Explorer (probably the web browser you are using) exploit that allows hackers to take control of your computer, steal your passwords, take pictures of you as you trim your nose hairs and may even allow them to launch missiles from silos in Nebraska.  Of course, there is always stuff going on out in the ether but this defect apparently impacts all versions of IE and there is not yet a fix.

I decided to take this as an opportunity to explore other browsers that are not currently suffering the problem.  I do not intend to bash Microsoft or IE.  Since they are the biggest player, it should not be a surprise that they get the most negative attention from the bad guys.  Still, since they have the spotlight, I think I will try to avoid some of the negative attention.

I have off and on used the Firefox browsers and the latest version mostly works pretty well.  However, firefox is also becoming more and more popular so I figure that they will soon be getting more attention from hackers as well.

I have also tried Google’s Chrome and the Opera browser by…Opera.  They are both very cool looking and sort of sexy and fringe-popular.  For now, I am planning to use chrome just because I have a chrome dome (bald is beautiful!), but I’d recommend that anyone who hasn’t tried one of these alternate browsers give one a shot.  Microsoft’s IE is still my favorite, but I don’t want to harass any cows in the fields of Nebraska when the silo doors open.  Stuff just looks better in IE also.  There are many sites, this one included, that don’t look exactly right when viewed with non-IE browsers.  I know, people say that firefox et al.  render pages according to the standards and IE does not.  I don’t really care much about the standards though, if a lot of sites I visit don’t look right.  I am using WordPress and it handles a lot of the layout issues internally so how some of the layout details of this site work are out of my hands.

Anyhow, make sure your spyware and antivirus programs are up to date, consider checking out other browsers, and think about whether you want IE or any browser to save your passwords. Bad guys are out there and my virus issues of last week are still fresh in my mind!