Alpha Technical Solutions

Over the last few weeks much has been said regarding the safety of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web Browser, things got so heated that the governments of France and Germany recommended that you no longer use Internet Explorer and Microsoft itself rushed out a unscheduled security patch to help alleviate the situation. This has led to a lot of recommendations regarding browser security, and this can be boiled down in the simplest and most general terms to do not use Internet Explorer 6, and remember that Internet Explorer 8 is the better option.

Many people say do not use Internet Explorer.

You could do that. In fact I personally favour the Firefox and Chrome Browsers.

However if you stop using Internet Explorer you may actually not be stopping using Internet Explorer. Allow me to explain.

Microsoft uses Internet Explorer throughout Windows and the Office range of products. For example you will find that Outlook uses Internet Explorer to display emails. This means that if you display an email that contains a payload (such as some malware or a link to a web site containing malware) then you will be as exposed to the same risk as someone using Internet Explorer. A lot of people use the preview pane in Outlook to quickly look at whichever item of email you are pointing at. That is very convenient. It is however very easy to look at an email that you should not, and that can cause you big problems. So what to do about it?

My tip here is a very simple one. Turn off the preview pane and look at the senders name on every email you open and check the subject line on every email you open. You should then only open emails that look like things you should be opening. If the email is not opened, the security flaws in Internet Explorer cannot be accessed and you are in a safer position.

So turn off the preview pane, and think about what which emails you are opening. You will be safer.