Penn State vs. Microsoft

Article, The Chronicle for Higher education, December 17th

In an unusual move, IT officials at Pennsylvania State University recently recommended that its professors, students, and university staff discontinue the use of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser.

According to an article in the Chronicle for Higher education, the university posted a warning on its website about Internet Explorer, saying "the threats are real, and alternatives exist." These threats include computer viruses and computer security breaches that are programmed to enter computer systems through Explorer software.

The popularity of Microsoft's Explorer browser - it control's approximately 90% of the market - has made it a huge target for Internet hackers. This coupled with the fact that the software is riddled with bugs makes it particularly vulnerable.

University officials are recommending that its university community channel the Internet by downloading alternative software, such as Netscape Communicator, Opera, or Firefox, from its official website. These other programs are supposedly safer because they generally have fewer internal bugs, and aren't targeted as much by hackers.

While recommending that its members not use Internet Explorer, Penn State will still support the software, because it has to be used in some circumstances. For example, Internet Explorer must be used to download Microsoft product upgrades from the Web.