Still Using Internet Explorer?

Every now and then, I check out the Google Analytics on the blog to see who's visiting, where they're coming from, and what browsers they're using. I was surprised to see that of the almost 1500 visitors in the last month, 28% of them (the green portion of the graph if the jpeg is fuzzy) are using the old, antiquated, prone to being attacked, inferior browser, Internet Explorer. I am not as technically savvy as my Computer Science, Web Security, and Web Designing / Sales friends are, and I initially resisted letting go of Netscape back in the 90s, and then finally letting go of IE5 years ago... but really, Mozilla Firefox is a MUCH BETTER browser (the Blue part of the graph). I've heard Chrome is awesome too, but I like Firefox and all the add-on bells-and-whistles it already includes, and my beta trial of Chrome left a bad first impression.

Of course MAC users run Safari and some people run Opera, and that's all well and fine and good, and BlackBerrys and other mobile devices have their own flavors... but honestly folks, if you are running Internet Explorer, you're opening yourself up to phishing, malware attacks, zombie-ware, trojan viruses, avoidable ads, easy identity tracking and browsing traceability. It's like walking through a gross dive bar's bath room in bare feet, or sitting on a bus seat naked. Ew.

I run Mozilla Firefox (link here)
with ad ons
Ad Blocker Plus (link here) [works GREAT!]
Track Me Not (link here) [a little annoying, but not so bad]
Ghostery (link here) [occasionally hangs, but tolerable]
Screengrab (link here)
BetterPrivacy (link here)

Each one was easy to install, even for a person like me who's not fluent in html, C++, or much else besides English and French, with a smattering of German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Mandarin and Polish thrown in for flavor. Each one runs flawlessly, and the system has no problems, 29 or 30 days each month (a hang up here and there, if I am researching a post and visiting strange and malicious sites) - but nothing that's un-recoverable.

I know some anachronistic corporate computer policies insist on running everything through IE, but hopefully the world is progressing away from that vulnerable and incapable dinosaur, little by little. Would be awesome if a year or two from now, the IE users all upgrade to other better browsers, and save themselves lots of head aches and hassles.