Get away from the browser wars: How to uninstall IE6 in XP, which has become obsolete, and update to the latest Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Hello there, this is Mike from Windows 7 Forums. I am just here to notify you about a problem we've identified with Internet Explorer 6 when browsing Windows7Forums.com. We have known about this problem for some time. Several weeks ago, we upgraded our forum software to vBulletin 4.0. And ever since then, we have been having problems with our users, with compatibility, in regards to Internet Explorer 6.
In the past, to make the site useable for Internet Explorer 6 users, we had performed several hacks on our site to make certain types of images render properly in the Internet Explorer 6 web browser.
Unfortunately, in the world of the Internet, and computing in general, Internet Explorer 6 is an old and out of date technology. It was released in 2004, and since then, thousands of security vulnerabilities have been fixed and created in both Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8.
Furthermore, you will never get the best experience possible when using Windows 7 Forums while using Internet Explorer 6. Times simply have changed. I urge you, as a member of our site, to check out Internet Explorer 8, which is the latest Internet Explorer browser, as well as Mozilla Firefox.
Both browsers are equally sufficient. They both provide different levels of service. They are both competitors, and they work well, That is a fair assessment of both browsers. But you need to be using the latest web browser when browsing the web, irregardless of whether or not you are an Internet Explorer wizard, computer wizard, or whether or not you use Windows 7 Forums: we really don't care.
To know that so many people are still on Internet Explorer 6 is mind boggling. The majority of Internet users are still on Internet Explorer 6, and this is just unacceptable. So much has changed since 2004, that you cannot expect web browsers to render properly any longer in Internet Explorer 6. For years, we made accomodations to try to make the website useable for Internet Explorer 6 users, and those times are just over.
We've encountered the problem over and over again, and we've made many changes to make the site useable in Internet Explorer 6, and it certainly is. You can certainly use the basic functions of the site in Internet Explorer 6, but you will never get the full effect and the full experience that we want you to have when you use Internet Explorer 6.
So what you should really do is go to Microsoft.com and download Internet Explorer 8, or the latest version of Internet Explorer. Or go to Mozilla: getfirefox.com, and download the latest version of Firefox.
In this brief tutorial, I will show you how to upgrade, in Windows XP, to the latest version of Internet Explorer. At this time, that version is currently Internet Explorer 8. In the future, it will be Internet Explorer 9. What we do, is we launch our web browser in Windows XP, which is currently Internet Explorer 6, and we type in, in our search engine of choice, Internet Explorer.
We come to the Microsoft website, which for allows for the Internet Explorer download, which is Microsoft.com. We can see that it is an official website, and we can see that we can download the latest version of Internet Explorer.
What we do from here is very simple: We simply click on the download link, and proceed to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8. We don't want Internet Explorer 8 with MSN, because we simply don't need it. We download Internet Explorer 8 here, we click on Run, the download will progress, we click on Run again, and the files will extract.
You can choose to help to improve Internet Explorer, or you can choose not to help improve it; either way it doesn't matter. We agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA); we accept. We agree to install updates to Internet Explorer, and we download.
The process will take a very short period of time, and when it is done, you will in fact be updated to Internet Explorer 8. The installation will typically take place without a hitch, you will receive a notice that a restart is required, and we will go through that phase now.
It is important to state that the reason we upgrading to Internet Explorer 8 is not because you can use Windows7Forums.com better with Internet Explorer 8, although that is one very good reason to upgrade: But the primary reason is because thousands of security vulnerabilities have been repaired from internet Explorer 7 to Internet Explorer 8. What you need to realize here is that it is very simple to install this software, and it comes down to the fact that Windows Vista shipped with Internet Explorer 7 and, subsequently, Windows 7 shipped with Internet Explorer 8.
The only difference between these three browsers is that they are coded better. Internet Explorer 8 has better programming, it is easier to use, there is a compatibility mode for sites it does not work with.
Here we go, setting up: we just hit next. We can turn suggested sites on. We can use express settings and worry about customizing those settings later. And we're right here, right where we belong. And let's see how Windows 7 Forums looks now. It looks absolutely great. We have everything here. Scripts are rendering properly. We are able to see everything on the screen. If we register for an account, we dont have any problems. Transparency is working properly. And the website is generally working a lot better it normally would under Internet Explorer 6.
This example can be shown many times and in many different places.
Firefox Install
Upgrading to Mozilla Firefox is equally simple and easy. We launch Internet Explorer and we go to the website: Firefox web browser | Faster, more secure, & customizable. This is an official Mozilla website. We click on the Firefox logo. We hit run, under Internet Explorer: we wait for the product to download.
Installing Firefox does have its benefits. The one disadvantage of Firefox is that you can't use Microsoft ActiveX. Microsoft ActiveX technology is used primarily on a lot of ASP and Microsoft powered websites. Its not, generally, a technology that is used widely anymore, but it still is very much in use on a lot of relevant Microsoft websites.
Firefox does have its advantages, and it does have some disadvantages, but for the most part Firefox is an excellent web browser, and an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer.
In many cases, it claims to provide better security than Internet Explorer, and really do is hit Next, Standard Installation, "Use Firefox as my Default Web Browser" (you can turn that on or off very easily). We hit install.
We can launch Firefox now. And we can choose to import our bookmarks, history, and passwords from Internet Explorer.
And of course we get the notice that its not the default browser. The browser wars continue to this day. I remember back in the days when Netscape was still popular.
And we can see here that Firefox will also pull up Windows 7 Forums, and surprise, surprise, we have some rounded edges on our site now, because Firefox actually supports rounded edges, and a little bit more HTML standard than IE does, but its pretty much the same thing.
Some claim that it runs a little bit faster. I would say that in Windows XP, it definately does. I would say in Windows 7, the performance difference it is definately negligible. Ultimately, you are able to use Firefox. It is a great web browser, and if you have both you have nothing to lose.
THE IMPORTANT PART IS THAT YOU KEEP BOTH OF THEM UP TO DATE, AND YOU DON'T USE INTERNET EXPLORER 6 WHICH IS NOW 6 YEARS OLD, IRONICALLY. SO PLEASE, UP DATE YOUR WEB BROWSERS AND STAY SECURE. KEEP YOUR COMPUTER SAFE FROM MALWARE, VIRUSES, TROJANS, AND OTHER THREATS.
Important Highlights:
Both Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and Mozilla Firefox do interpet certain elements of the HTML standard slightly differently. This results in different rendering of certain web pages.
Internet Explorer 6 is now starting to break compatibility with some websites, and vice versa. Using this web browser is strongly NOT RECOMMENDED.
Timetables suggest Internet Explorer 9 will be released soon, but this should not deter you from upgrading your browser from IE7 or IE6.
The main advantage of Internet Explorer 8 on a network is that it can be controlled via group policy with Windows Server. Nearly every option can be controlled through a Windows Server. This functionality does not exist with Firefox.
Firefox will not render any Microsoft ActiveX pages properly, but one of the main advantages of using Firefox is its large archive of user created customizable plugins and scripts.
Internet Explorer 8 offers unique and interesting features such as InPrivate browsing, Compatibility Mode, and the ability to use addons known as Accelerators.
If you are still under Windows XP or Windows Vista, STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER 6 OR INTERNET EXPLORER 7 UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. There are no excuses for websites which break compatibility with the latest versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer, and IE8 has intentionally created Compatibility Mode to avoid this problem altogether.
Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 are a departure from IE6 in the fact that they provide a more modular interface and codebase. While IE6 was previously capable of taking down the entire Windows XP operating system upon a system failure, IE7 and IE8 are less tied to operating system resources and IE8 can even be uninstalled from the operating system itself.
I am also shouting at you in this video.
