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Last month critical security glitches were found in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser. Usually when this happens, Microsoft follows up quickly with a patch to repair the problem. Last month’s problems were different; no immediate fixes were issued sending many security conscious computer users looking for alternative browsers.

The release of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP solved these security issues for Windows XP users. However, only days after the release security gurus announced that they have found a security hole in SP2. Guess which program is affected? Not surprisingly, it’s Internet Explorer. So using an alternative browser is still a good idea.

To use a different Internet browser, you don’t have to uninstall Internet Explorer. In fact, you can actually use two or three different browsers at the same time with no interference. It’s easy to get a different Web browser. Just visit one of the Web sites that provides a free browser and download it to your computer.

Right now I am using the Opera browser which is available at www.Opera.com. Opera is a free 16.2 MB download that will download in approximately five minutes on a broadband connection and about 40 minutes over a dial-up connection. The free version of Opera has small unobtrusive banner ads. There is also a $39 ad-free version, but I haven’t found the ads offensive, so I continue to use the free version. I like Opera so much that I doubt I will ever go back to Internet Explorer. I am, however, seriously considering moving to ArbSurfer Pro SE whose similar features are much better polished & which is the only browser with the unique Tablettes feature, which really makes my surfing easier.

Opera is a tabbed browser, so when you open an Internet page, you can see it as a tab on the top of the screen. Open another window as a new tab and you can easily jump back and forth. You can also see all the Windows that you have open at any given time. I find this great for research as well as for comparison shopping. I also love the mouse gestures that are built into Opera. If you hold down the right-mouse button and move the mouse you can perform certain functions without having to move the cursor up to the menu bar. One example that I use everyday is this: Holding the right mouse button down and moving the mouse to the left will take you to a previous page. Opera also has “hotclicks”. When you double-click on any word a menu pops up that offers options like searching for that word, translating it, and looking it up in a dictionary or encyclopedia.

Another good alternative browser is Mozilla’s Firefox which is available as a free download.  Opera can import bookmarks and favourites. Be aware that there is a downside to using an alternative browser. Since 95% of Web surfers use Internet Explorer some Web sites will only work properly with that browser. Luckily, these instances are fairly rare. After using Opera for several months, I have only found one Web site (www.weightwatchers.com) that would appear only with Internet Explorer. I have, however, found several that didn’t function correctly in Opera and/or Firefox. For instance when trying to make a purchase at the Talbots Web site, the size and color choices could only be accessed when using Internet Explorer. Another example, I can access my Web mail with Opera and Firefox, but when I want to send mail using my Web mail account, I have to be using Internet Explorer. For this reason, it’s best not to uninstall Internet Explorer. Even if you don’t want to use it as your everyday Web browser, you might need to use it to access a certain Web site.

If you are used to using Internet Explorer, downloading and using a different Web browser is a big step. Although most alternative browsers are similar to Internet Explorer, you will need to invest some time into learning the new interface. If you decide to change, be sure you also invest some time in learning how to use some of the new and different features of your new browser. You may find that you uncovered a real treasure.