Chapter 24: Browsing the World Wide Web with Internet Explorer

What Is a Web Browser?

A Web browser is a program that your computer runs to communicate with Web servers on the Internet so that it can download the documents you ask for and display them. At a bare minimum, a Web browser has to be able to understand HTML and display text. In recent years, however, Internet users have come to expect a lot more. A state-of-the-art Web browser provides a full multimedia experience, complete with pictures, sound, video, and even 3-D imaging.

What Are Plug-Ins?

Plug-ins are programs that are independent of your Web browser but "plug in" to it in a seamless way, so that you might not even be aware that you are using software that is not part of the Web browser. Typically, plug-ins arise when a software company develops a way to display a new type of data over the Web such as 3-D animation or streaming audio. Rather than create a whole new browser with this additional capability, the software company writes a plug-in for popular Web browsers like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Users who want to extend the capabilities of their browser in this particular way can install the plug-in, which then operates as if it is part of the Web browser.

Typically, installing a plug-in is fairly painless. Web pages that contain content requiring a special plug-in usually include instructions for downloading and installing the plug-in. The main inconvenience is the length of time necessary to download the plug-in (which is not even that long if you have a broadband Internet connection). Installing the plug-in is usually a simple matter of clicking a few buttons and perhaps registering with the company that makes the plug-in. You can find a wide variety of plug-ins at the Tucows Web site at http://www.tucows.com.

As with any kind of software, downloading and installing a plug-in requires faith in whoever created and distributed it. A plug-in can introduce viruses into your system, modify files without your consent, or transmit data from your machine without your knowledge. Plug-ins from reputable software companies are as safe as any other kind of Internet software, but you should be cautious about downloading plug-ins from Web sites that you know nothing about.

What Is the Default Web Browser?

The default Web browser is the application that Windows uses to open a Web page when you haven't told it what browser to use--for example, when you click a Web link in an e-mail message or choose a Web page from the Favorites menu. Initially, Internet Explorer is the default Web browser, but you can choose another browser to be the default if you want.

You can, of course, open any Web browser you want and use it to browse the Web, whether it is the default browser or not. You can even have several browsers running at the same time--for example, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

What Is Internet Explorer?

Internet Explorer (IE) is Microsoft's Web browser. It intentionally resembles Windows Explorer, and it is an integral part of Windows XP--Windows uses some of the same code for displaying the Control Panel, Help And Support Center, and other pages. Having Internet Explorer doesn't depend on any decisions you might have made during installation, and you couldn't uninstall it if you wanted to, because many other Windows programs use Internet Explorer's code for displaying HTML-formatted information. You can uninstall or delete the shortcuts to Internet Explorer from your desktop, taskbar, and Start menu, but the program remains installed.

Internet Explorer 6 is the version that comes with Windows XP. It has a few new features compared to previous versions, which we spell out in the remainder of this chapter. Fundamentally, though, if you have used earlier versions of IE, you won't have much trouble figuring out how to use IE 6.

What Is MSN Explorer?

MSN Explorer is a utility that pulls together several of the free online services offered by the Microsoft Network (MSN). Its icon is a butterfly, which you can probably find on the task bar. (If not, check the Start | All Programs menu.)

When MSN Explorer is running, as shown in Figure 24-1, you are one click away from your Hotmail e-mail account, your local weather report, quotes on your stock portfolio, the appointments you have listed on MSN Calendar, and many other services. You do not have to get your Internet access from MSN to use these services--you can continue to use your existing ISP account.

Figure 24-1: MSN Explorer pulls together MSN's free services.

Running MSN Explorer has security implications. The MSN Explorer Security Statement says: "If you have chosen security settings that will interfere with MSN Explorer, then your security settings are temporarily changed to allow MSN Explorer to work properly. In addition, while MSN Explorer is active on your computer, the special settings for MSN will apply to any Microsoft Internet Explorer window you may have open." Frankly, the idea that some program is mucking around with our security settings behind the scenes gives us the willies. For this reason, we do not use MSN Explorer, no matter how cute and convenient it is.

Should You Use Internet Explorer?

Internet Explorer 6 is the latest version of the most popular Web browser, and it has a lot going for it. It's free. It's already installed as part of Windows XP, and because it is the most popular Web browser, you can be sure that the people who create Web pages will make sure they work properly with Internet Explorer.

We know of no compelling reason not to use Internet Explorer, but it does have competitors and each competitor has its respective advantages. The most worthy competitors, in our opinion, are Netscape and Opera.

Netscape Navigator once dominated the Web browser market, but when Microsoft integrated Internet Explorer into Windows, IE quickly became the most popular browser. Navigator lost a lot of its remaining fans when Netscape's new browser, Netscape 6, was late on the market and then was rushed out before it was ready. However, Netscape 6.1 appears to have fixed the problems of Netscape 6, and is once again worth considering. Netscape 6.1 matches Internet Explorer feature-for-feature and we like its security and privacy features better than Internet Explorer. Plus (to us, at least) it just looks cooler. It is a huge download, however, and if you don't have a broadband connection it is probably not worth the effort. You can get Netscape to send you a Netscape Navigator 4.7 or Netscape 6.1 CD-ROM for about $7. Either download or order the latest version of Netscape from the Web site http://home.netscape.com/download.

Rather than try to compete feature-for-feature with IE and Netscape, the Opera Web browser focuses on being small and quick. It is widely regarded as the fastest Web browser at downloading and displaying Web pages (though claims like these are hard to prove), and because it has a smaller program, it takes considerably less time to download and install than Netscape.

Opera has two main disadvantages compared to either Internet Explorer or Netscape:

• It's not free. You either have to accept a small advertising bar or pay $39 for the advertising-free version.
• Finding and installing plug-ins for special kinds of Web content can be tricky. In general, any plug-in that works with Netscape Navigator can be set up to work with Opera also, but the process is not always transparent.

To download Opera, go to http://www.opera.com. To check out dozens of other Web browsers, go to http://download.cnet.com.

Don't be afraid to try out a new Web browser. All browsers work more or less the same way. For an Internet Explorer user to use Netscape Navigator or Opera is about as difficult as a GM driver driving a Ford or Chrysler.