Internet Explorer is a web browser created by Microsoft in 1995. It’s one of the most popular web browsers on the market and actually comes pre-installed in a wide variety of computers. It’s one of the oldest web browsers still available today but it’s highly criticised for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives of Internet Explorer.

Advantages of Internet Explorer

Users of Internet Explorer love the fact that there’s no charge to use the browser. It’s available in every single country that accesses the World Wide Web. Computers sold with Windows operating systems automatically come with the browser. The browser enables users to stream video and audio without having to install extra plug-ins. It even supports an amazing amount of applications that many other browsers simply don’t support.

Internet Explorer also lets users easily re-open previous browsing sessions that were closed by mistake. It supports a variety of extensions that enhance functionality and boost efficiency. The browser supports nearly all applications, a claim that some other browsers can’t make. It’s a reliable browser that’s very easy to use. Its “user experience” design is better than most other browsers. The Internet Explorer toolbars are easy to understand, simple to operate and quite appealing to most users.

Users concerned with security can use Internet Explorer with pop-up blockers to block potentially harmful browser windows from appearing. They can also easily and quickly delete the browser’s cookies, web cache and browsing history. Perhaps the biggest advantage of Internet Explorer is that it’s quite familiar to most people since it’s one of the oldest browsers around.

Disadvantages of Internet Explorer

Many users complain that Internet Explorer is slower than other browsers like Google Chrome, for instance. Critics also point to the fact that users can’t customise the browser as much as they’d like to. It also offers less plugins, add-ons and extensions than the Mozilla Firefox browser and Google’s Chrome browser. It’s not possible to switch between the features of the browser through extensions and plugins. Other critics complain that the browser’s toolbars are too simplistic and should be more customisable. Internet Explorer also has no track filtering.

Internet Explorer’s user base has declined since the early 2000s as there has been a jump in competitors. Yet it’s still incredibly popular so hackers and other web deviants target it more than any other browser. Compared to Mozilla’s Firefox, Internet Explorer has fewer security options. This lack of customisation means that users won’t be able to customise their privacy settings to the extent that they might desire. Unfortunately, users won’t be able to hold or transfer in their lists of websites that they’d like to block.

Finally, Internet Explorer operates inefficiently at times. It develops bugs that seem to come out of nowhere, far more often than users would like. This is part of the reason why many web surfers are moving on to other browsers that might not have the same longevity as Internet Explorer but operate more smoothly.

Are you using Internet Explorer? Comment below.

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