But the larger issue is
IE??™s underlying design??”and its cozy connection with the underlying operating
system??”which permits any web site to install software on your PC. At
first, web site designers used this capability sparingly, mostly to install widgets
and small helper programs to add trivial features to their pages. But it
didn??™t take long for unscrupulous hackers and greedy corporate executives
to learn how to exploit Internet Explorer??™s open nature, which is why we
now have spyware, adware, browser hijackers, pop ups, and other nasty
Web and Email | 429
Networking and
Internet
surprises. Despite these problems, Microsoft has too much corporate strategy
tied up in this design to change it now, which leaves you with two
choices: hobble Internet Explorer by turning off the most dangerous features,
or use a different browser (or both).
If you want to stick with Internet Explorer for now, open Control Panel and
then Internet Options (or in IE, open the Tools drop-down and select Internet
Options). Choose the Security tab, and turn on the Enable Protected
Mode option if it??™s not already enabled. Then select the Internet ???zone???
globe icon at the top, and then click Custom Level below to open the Security
Settings dialog box shown in Figure 7-35.
Next, go down the list, and set the options as follows. (Note that your list
may differ slightly as the result of recent updates from Microsoft.)
Figure 7-35. Use the Security Settings window to turn off some of the more dangerous
Internet Explorer features
430 | Chapter 7: Networking and Internet
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