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Internet Explorer 7

Type of Program: Browser
Supported Platforms: Win XP
Company Name: Microsoft
Version: 7
Price: Free
Installed Size: 3.50Mb

Download/Homepage

The installation of Internet Explorer 7 is intrusive and a pain in the butt. Microsoft almost forces you to download Internet Explorer 7 these days and of course being Microsoft they decide where the program files go, not you. Also being Microsoft they can't just do a stand alone product that doesn't mess with the core of Windows either. In other words ZoneAlarm warnings come up until the cows go home. Plus Internet Explorer 7 also puts an icon in the Quick Launch tray without asking. Plus of course no matter what you had chosen in the past as your default web browser Internet Explorer 7 takes over that position without asking.

The first time you run Internet Explorer 7 you get a Welcome screen that has these choices:

Required Settings:
Please choose your default search provider

Optional Settings
Help make your browsing more secure by setting up Phishing Filter
See webpages more clearly (ClearType)
Help customize webpages to your current location
Help improve Internet Explorer: Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program

At the bottom underneath the:
Help improve Internet Explorer: Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program
There is a link to their Privacy Statement. It is not really that bad except for the part that says they have the option to change it at anytime and post the information, but they do not have to notify you.

After looking at that I pushed the back button and discovered that the page where I had been with both the Required and Optional settings was gone. What was now there was a page with the:
Required Settings:
Please choose your default search provider
The optional choices had vanished - poof!

I then went to my Homepage. I notice then what might be a new tab on the top next to the tab for the page I was on so I clicked on it. Internet Explorer 7 then loaded a page giving an explanation of using the new tabbed interface. At the bottom of the page was a link to more information about Tabbed browsing, so I clicked on that. Voila! up popped:



The page that opened was a FAQ about tabbed browsing. And strangely enough the header on the page said " Windows Vista - Help and Support" I thought that a bit strange since as of the writing of this review Windows Vista has not been released.

Ok so let's finally get down to the nits and grittes. Is Internet Explorer 7 better than IE 6? Well yes it certainly is, the big reason being the Tabbed browsing, but hey there is nothing wrong with the Phishing help either. Other than that? Well nothing really stands out. Certainly there is nothing there that Opera, Firefox and my favorite NetCaptor haven't had for a coon's age.

In conclusion, if you are an ordinary user that has only used IE 6 in the past, have been happy with it and have no desire to check out the other Browsers out there then Internet Explorer 7 is for you. Especially since they practically shove it down your throat. And the Phishing help could prove valuable. Though if you have been using other browsers than IE 6 you are probably not going to be really impressed.

Performance:
User Friendly:
Cost:
Ease of Installation:
Support:
Reviewed by Joe Tex


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