PC Upgrades

Ah yes, the wonder of the world (of technology lol) that inspired many and opened up many opportunities.

But here are some tips you probably never knew.

Subtopics
* The Secret Behind IE6 And Above
* Speeding Up Your Internet Experience
* A Comparison Of The Most Popular Browsers*

The Secret Behind IE6 and Above

Never knew, huh? That IE6 and possibly IE7 are actually INCLUDED with SPYWARE THEMSELVES? Yes, you read that correctly. Internet explorer actually comes pre approved with it's own little dose of SPYWARE.
Microsoft contradicts themselves quite a lot. (Curse them, that’s why I’m an Apple freak. )
Going more into detail, IE6, as I know, was included with the Alexa plugin, which came with it. Now the Alexa plugin is a hidden plugin that my friends never knew existed. It tracks your actions online and sends you advertisements based on what you look at.

The plugin can sometimes receive personal information, which is BAD.

To get rid of it, you can either get the trial of TuneUp Utilities and disable the plugin from that program, or get a trial of ZoneAlarm Security Suite and scan with the spyware tool, as I know that it detects Alexa.

Speeding Up Your Internet Experience

There are many ways to speed up the Internet - the worst is through the registry. However, for all you Firefox users,Myself included in there(if you are not yet a firefox user i highly reccomend switching over) you've come in luck - the FasterFox plugin increases the number of connections made to web servers to increase the bandwidth transmitted.

By using Fasterfox, I could load up the main Apple website 2 times faster than regular.

You can also use TuneUp Utilities to optimize your Internet connection with a few simple clicks.

A Comparison Of The Most Popular Browsers

All of these browsers, compared with each other. Its ultimately your choice on what browser you want to use. What i do highly recommend is Firefox because it is safe, you can tweak it, plus many cool skins, but there are others too. Its all up to you.

Now here is a comparison of a couple of them.

Internet Explorer 7

I actually found it alright, but not what I expected. The new interface looked terrible, well maybe good thing is the tabbing, but thats in Firefox too, and web page load times were still the same as IE6. Security was still filled with bypasses and flaws, but Anti-Phishing is a nice addition. I’m a bit suspicious about this browser, as IE6 was included with the Alexa plugin, considered spyware, and it could be included here too. The application load times were good, ranging from 1 to 3 seconds.

Mozilla Firefox 3

My favorite pick. It’s secure, and versatile with the many plugins available, such as IE Tab, ForcastFox, Fasterfox, etc. Anti-Phishing is also on here. What I don’t like about Firefox is that some websites are screwed up by Firefox, ex. Xanga and Googlepages. Plus it has many skins you can add to make it look cool! It also loads slowly, tests ranging in around 5 seconds. However, this is my favorite. If you don't have firefox and would like to try it check it out here.
www.mozilla.org

Safari 3
Its the best browser if your running Osx Leopard but for windows its average speed but still better than ie. The interface is pretty neat looking so you should give it a try if you want.

Google Chrome Beta
This is one of the fastest browsers i have seen yet running on windows. Sadly it is not Mac compatible yet, so lets hope it will be MAC compatible in the distant future. Even though this browser is still in beta i see it as having very good potential in the future for its great interface, usability and what it offers compared to some of other browsers.

All in all Firefox is my personal favorite and if anyone asks it's the only way to surf the net.
Hope you enjoyed. Happy Upgrading!