Upgrading to IE8 or IE9

[D-Dey65]

A couple of other websites I'm on are pressuring me to upgrade to Internet Explorer 8. If I do, will I lose the password to this site and any of the others I'm on?

[hbelkins]

People still use IE?

[J N Winkler]

The upgrade should inherit all the favorites and saved passwords you had with the previous version of IE.  Whether IE should be used in lieu of any other browser is a separate question (I use IE only with sites which either won't allow or won't work properly with Firefox).

[D-Dey65]

Okay, at least now I only have to worry about space-related issues.

[algorerhythms]

What version of IE are you currently using? If it's IE6, you probably should have upgraded a long time ago.

[D-Dey65]

Nope. IE7. I remember upgrading to a newer version of Internet Explorer, and I had nothing but trouble from it.

[formulanone]

People still use IE?

Many companies and corporations still tie everything into Internet Explorer, and usually annoyingly and clumsily so.

To me, I don't complain, because I prefer separate "work and play" browsers.

[kphoger]

Re:  IE....

At my work, we use one program that works best with IE, and one that works best with Firefox (among others...we each have dual monitors for all the c.r.a.p. that's open at one time).  Interestingly, the IE-friendly one doesn't work well when I log on at my house.

[Duke87]

Many companies and corporations still tie everything into Internet Explorer, and usually annoyingly and clumsily so.

Indeed. While I am allowed to have Firefox on my work computer (and do), our expense reporting system only works properly in IE (for whatever reason). Same for our corporate filesharing service (because the method of tying an MS Office Program to the site only works with an MS Browser).

[JREwing78]

I would strongly recommend using LastPass to keep track of your passwords; then, it doesn't matter what you do to your computer; as long as you can remember your LastPass password, you'll have secure access to your passwords. You can use other browsers at the same time, and all of your passwords get saved to your LastPass account.

Same deal with XMarks (which LastPass owns), except for your bookmarks/favorites instead of passwords.

If you have Windows XP, you can only upgrade to IE8. Vista and Windows 7 can go to IE9

[bugo]

Then this Last Pass company will have all your passwords.  What if they are hacked?

[Duke87]

One assumes the password data is stored on your hard drive, as with any such password remembering software - not remotely on a server which LastPass maintains. Because then yes, that would be a huge security risk.

[JREwing78]

Not quite. LastPass went to very extensive lengths to design the system so that nobody but you can see your data, because otherwise, what's the point?

If you want the full explanation, Steve Gibson of Gibson Research and of the popular Security Now podcasts did an in-depth investigation of LastPass and how it works. To get the transcript, go here: http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-256.htm. Or, just watch the episode: http://twit.tv/sn256

Brief Explanation:

Yes, LastPass stores the data on its servers. But they built an encryption scheme that's done entirely on your computer, based on your LastPass username and password. It uses your computer to encrypt the usernames and passwords you're storing in LastPass first before being sent to LastPass's servers.

But better yet, LastPass built the system so that, if they're ever hacked, all the hackers get is a bunch of pseudorandom noise. That's also all LastPass employees will ever get, or the government with a subpoena. LastPass went to great lengths to NOT have access to the information needed to decrypt your user data, both to bolster confidence in its security and to prevent law enforcement harassment to turn over data. This is as much about protecting themselves as it is protecting you.

I understand your apprehension, Bugo, and the "what if they are hacked" question prevented me from signing on until I got the full explanation on how it works. The "Security Now" podcast link I provided goes into mind-numbing detail on the specifics of LastPass's scheme, and as a result of this information I have complete confidence in LastPass.

[hbelkins]

IE is still the default browser at my workplace. But I would not choose it for personal reasons.

On my Mac I use Safari, Firefox and Chrome. Safari is the Mac default but for some reason, on my computer it does not render a lot of sites properly. Chrome and Firefox both have their good points.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Re: LastPass: Most online password managers will use your master password as a salt combined with a good encryption system (AES, Blowfish, whatever), with at least 256 bits. Your master password is kept as a hash; hopefully SHA-1 (which was designed by the National Security Agency, by the way) with a decent salt. Long story short, they don't ever see your passwords, nor can they, even with a government subpoena. They'd have to have you master password which they can't see either. There might be badly-designed services (after all, even large companies have been proven to use weak hashes or clear storage; PSN is among those) but hopefully they're not the norm.

Re: Internet Explorer: Please do get a newer version. As a programmer, I can testify that it is a pain in the arse to support old versions of IE, because of the sheer amount of bugs and quirks they have.

Also, a public service announcement: It is a bad idea in general to forget your passwords.

[SteveG1988]

Use Firefox, IE8 is the last for Xp, IE9 is the last for Vista, IE6 Sp1 is the last for 2000 Pro.

Firefox will be supported far longer than the OS itself, Firefox 13 will not run on 2000 Pro for example, or XP pre SP2.

[JREwing78]

Windows 2000 Professional isn't even supported by Microsoft anymore. In April 2014, neither will Windows XP.

[Scott5114]

Windows 2000 Professional isn't even supported by Microsoft anymore. In April 2014, neither will Windows XP.

Didn't one XP end-of-life date come and go already? I seem to recall Microsoft reluctantly extending the support date due to large business concerns being unwilling to upgrade from XP. (My workplace still uses XP throughout, for example. I don't think there's a single Windows 7 install anywhere in the building; not in the slot machines, not in the SAS, not in the offices...)

I think this is one of the advantages of the release cycle of most Linux distros. Because there is a release every six months or so, most of them are fairly incremental; it is usually no big deal to go from Fedora 13 to 14 or whatever, which makes it easier to justify upgrading. Which means end-of-life comes much earlier for old versions. (Of course it helps that upgrading is free, and generally as easy as typing a few incantations into the terminal.)

[vdeane]

I can't see it going much further.  These days Windows 7 is probably as common as XP in businesses, and new XP roll-outs are rare.  Plus, when 2014 comes around, calling XP a dinosaur would be generous.

[Scott5114]

These days Windows 7 is probably as common as XP in businesses, and new XP roll-outs are rare.

We just had one of our vendors replace their entire complement of slot machines with newer model cabinets. Guess what OS they're running!

[froggie]

DOD still uses XP...probably a big reason why Microsoft is still supporting it.

[Stratuscaster]

As a systems integrator, I can tell you that, yes - there are still big corporate businesses that still use XP. Win7 is gaining ground. And we have a couple that have actually standardized on Vista.

[realjd]

These days Windows 7 is probably as common as XP in businesses, and new XP roll-outs are rare.

We just had one of our vendors replace their entire complement of slot machines with newer model cabinets. Guess what OS they're running!

For embedded, kiosk, and other single-use systems like slot machines, there are usually zero compelling reasons to upgrade operating systems, particularly if the device isn't networked.

[Stratuscaster]

That's what "Windows XP Embedded" was intended for.

Now there's "Windows 7 Embedded."

[realjd]

^^^
But for a fielded embedded system, what's the motivation to upgrade? If it works with XP, upgrading to 7 adds cost and risk while providing no functional benefits. There is a reason some kiosk terminals like ATMs out there still run Windows 3.1 or even MS-DOS. They already have a mature product and don't need any of the new functionality found in a more modern OS.