"I've read many articles about Internet Explorer 7's new security features and coupled with the imminent release of Vista this got me interested. I recall seeing a rather funny screenshot (which I found on the internet), which showed Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP stuffed full of spyware/toolbars/etc. I wanted to see if IE7 was any better than that screenshot of IE6, how would it cope with a user that simply clicked 'yes/allow/next/accept' to everything that was presented to them. In addition, I wanted to see how the User Account Control reacted to this, and in the end, could I restore IE7 to it's former glory."
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Member since:2005-11-27
I don't think the point was that IE's security is terrible, I think he just wanted to have some fun and see how much he could screw up IE. I know somebody who enabled all the toolbars of word (on a mac), which I guess would be similar to this; they covered most of the screen, so I got a pretty good laugh out of it. One of the toolbars actually acted as a launcher for other MS apps...
Member since:2006-09-10
You seem to have made the assumption that the article is attacking MS despite the fact that the author repeatedly emphasises in bold text that IE7 made it very difficult to install these pieces of malware (and adware), and further that it was very easy to clean up.
The article seems to be pretty positive about IE7 to me.
Member since:2005-07-06
I would not say the article is useless. I clean up computers for people frequently and I can tell you the average user will install any toolbar into IE. If they don't know what it is they allow it. The fact that it can be reset without having to spend a couple of hours manually cleaning out the junk is definitely good news for me.
It seemed to me he was just trying to see what the limits were. I have seen just about all that garbage on computers. Not mine, of course, but some people think toolbars are really cool and the more the merrier.
Member since:2005-07-07
Well, windows did in this case present the user with warnings, and defaulted anything to Do Not Install...
Not the case, user WILL ALWAYS CLICK YES
This user sincerely _wanted_ to get the toolbars installed, and even went through great extents to install them (actually manually downloaded and installed smileycentral's)...
So even though MS actually has improved a lot, this guy thinks it's cool that he can install a bunch of plugins...
User does that if he wants it or not.
Never thought I'd be the one defending Microsoft, but this article is completely useless...
And I'm as much linux guy as I can be... so? His article did much better presentation than any MS presentation of IE7 so far.
He presented the only thing I need from browsers. To clean up after users mess it up.
Not even one single article so far didn't spike urge or even a slight intention to move on IE7 for me. Well, this one did. And the result? My IE users (10%) will be upgraded as soon as possible, my FFox users (90%) will stay where they are and I will still use epiphany.
Member since:2005-07-06
Did you read the article before jumping to the conclusion that it contains some sort of anti-Microsoft slant? If anything, the difficulty of installing those toolbars reflects positively on the changes in Vista, as does the ease with which the article's author was able to remove the toolbars.
The cynic in me suspects that installing crap on Vista/IE 7 will become a lot easier once that platform starts being specifically targeted - but the linked article was pretty matter-of-fact/even-handed about the current situation.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Well, windows did in this case present the user with warnings, and defaulted anything to Do Not Install...
This user sincerely _wanted_ to get the toolbars installed, and even went through great extents to install them (actually manually downloaded and installed smileycentral's)...
So even though MS actually has improved a lot, this guy thinks it's cool that he can install a bunch of plugins...
Never thought I'd be the one defending Microsoft, but this article is completely useless...