1. It ignores doubleclick, etc., cookies, but lets you use cookies so your little friend's site will still recognise you.

2. There is an on/off switch for pop-ups. This is so you will not have those damned casino ads in your face, but can still read your pop-up e-mail.

3. They cannot falsify your page history (like how they falsify your page history so the back button does not do its job)

4. They cannot commit the heinous act of SAVING FILES TO YOUR HARD DRIVE WITHOUT YOU KNOWING (at least one version of MSIE allows this). Ditto with changing your bookmark list, etc.

5. Basically, any information you give the browser is erased by default when you close the browser, except for what bookmarks and cookies you choose to make permanent.

6. It does not guess URL endings for you. Those that do do more harm than good.
-- juuitchan3, Apr 26 2002

Opera http://www.opera.com/
[mcscotland, Apr 27 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

konqueror http://www.konqueror.org/
[mcscotland, Apr 27 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

mozilla http://www.mozilla.org/
[mcscotland, Apr 27 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

OmniWeb http://www.omnigrou...plications/omniweb/
[wiml, Apr 28 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

PC Mag's CookieCop 2 Review http://www.pcmag.co...8&app=6&ap=7,00.asp
Just select the check box Remove referrer commands [thumbwax, Apr 28 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

shoddy http://online.secur...om/archive/1/267561
One of many reasons why I don't use IE [mcscotland, Apr 29 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

No New Windows http://www.halfbake.../No_20New_20Windows
Partly half-baked [mwburden, May 03 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Does this all make sense to a Mac user?
-- arora, Apr 26 2002


If it should - I don't understand anyway.
-- arora, Apr 26 2002


At least some of this is baked in Internet Explorer 6 e.g. allowing/blocking cookies from specific URL's. Do some looking around if you're using IE. There are a fair number of security options that might help you out.
-- half, Apr 26 2002


I'd rather see an operating system and accompanying browser that ‘underloads’ itself over time based on the uselessness of many system features. So, if I've pointed and clicked online for eight days straight, only the system minimum for pointing and clicking will load -- if I want more I can either:
a. Use more features, or
b. Limit my use of other features to another system.

Admitting to all that I realize MS is moving in this direction, all the while doubling the size of the mighty XP over its Win9x predecessors.
-- reensure, Apr 26 2002


So, basically you want a web browser that isn't Internet Explorer. :^) Your best bet is probably Mozilla or one of the open-source offshoots thereof (Konquerer, etc). An open source program is more likely to provide all these features because its design is not compromised by a desire to please the Evil Corporate Overlords (tm).
-- Jeremi, Apr 27 2002


4, 5, and 6 are doable in IE as-is.
-- magnificat, Apr 27 2002


As is 1 through 3. #1 by turning off 3rd party cookie acceptance. #2 by killing script execution or by add-on utilities. #3 by killing script execution

Of course, you could avoid evil Web sites that pull these stunts, too.
-- bristolz, Apr 28 2002


Any utilities to turn off "Referer:" on cross-domain pictures?
-- supercat, Apr 28 2002


[Supercat] You could simply use Opera, which lets you turn the refer header on and off at ease, or you could download the excellent Proximitron software (website down, I'm going to mirror it if it takes too long to come back up) and tell Angelfire that you're coming from nowhere and you're running Sakurazilla 3.0.
-- ashibaka, May 01 2002


Proximitron, yes, good. I use IE 6 when I need all-the-frosting access to do online transactions (banking, taxes); a pared-down kludge (a poor thing but mine own) which uses the IE parsing engine when I'm posting to forums and hunting academic-type info; and Netscape filtered through the Proximitron software when I know I'm going to be hitting commercial websites likely to throw a lot of popups, cookies, advertising, and animations at my hard drive.

But I agree fully with juuitchan3's intent, and with others' comments. The internet is in tension between low-bandwidth, user-empowering structures on one side and high-bandwidth, coporate-empowering push structures on the other. Nothing new or surprising in that, but since the user-empowering side seems to be most often furthered by the freeware/GNU faction and by small, clever companies, in my opinion it's very important to encourage these efforts. The corporate side will take care of itself handily, I think.

Viva small.
-- Dog Ed, May 02 2002


That's funny... half the 'net disappeared when I activated it...
-- RayfordSteele, May 03 2002


everytime you use IE, there is an ever-growing "system" file that never gets deleted even if you choose delete history from internet options. my guess as to the purpose of this mysterious file is as good as yours. i believe this was worst in win98.

i stay away from IE as much as possible. opera all the way since i don't need a thousand 3rd party programs. everything is already there in a small package. i've been surfing happily with Opera since 2001. it's only getting better. IE hasn't changed in what 3-4 yrs?
-- y4, Jan 15 2004


Mozilla Firebird (XFT) is pretty good. [1. Check; 2. Check; 3. ?; 4. Check; 5. Check; 6. Check]
-- Detly, Jan 16 2004



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