Removing Internet Explorer !!!!

[Tayesin]

Recently I began using Mozilla Firefox for my Browser.   Suddenly I stopped getting Hijack attempts, Adware and Viruses trying to get past AVG (some do).  Now AVG tests, Ad-Aware Se and Spybot S&D have nothing to do anymore !!!!  Poor things are in retirement for now.

Since I was so happy with this new situation I decided to see if IE6+SP1 could be removed from the system entirely.

I found an article describing the problems with IE and it provided a link to get a free download to remove IE from Windows 98 etc.   You can safely bet I was at the site getting the download in a flash !!

After reading the official blurb about IEradicate I ran it on my system.

Wow!!!!!  What a difference.

My computer is ancient, 8 years old and a dinosaur now.. 166MMX.

Without IE and all it's various components clogging the system my old puter is zooming along doing everything I ask much more quickly than ever before !!

I did not know that every time we upgrade IE from 4 to 5 then version 6, the previous version just sits there squatting on my precious little supply of hard drive space.  Lazy thing it is.

So this free little download will remove the lot, it gave me about 45 MB space back and with all the components gone the system is now freed up to run a whole lot faster.  Very noticeably faster !

Here is a link to the LitePC site.  
[url] http://www.litepc.com/getieradicator.html

They also have versions for XP etc .  Please don't try using the 95/98/SE version for XP.  

Have fun with it folks.  

Update....
Found a free download for the XP version too, so put away your credit cards folks.  

Here is the link...  [url] http://ddl2.com/downloads/25.html

[Van-Stolin]

Just got done with it and I must say that all of the spam pop ups that I got came from internet explorer and now there haven't been any and they always pop up within just a minute of using it.  So yeah, this is great.

[TheDarkApprentice]

It did work pretty well.

I reccomend that you have another server before you delete internet explorer. Or that you have a disk to download IE

[Tayesin]

It did work pretty well.

I recommend that you have another server before you delete internet explorer. Or that you have a disk to download IE

Totally agree TDApp.  I was thinking the same thing before I hit the go button, just in case there was a problem or I hated it and wanted IE6 back.  

Fortunately I found that once I had learned about the Mozilla Browser and set it up to run how I like it... maximum control in my hands, that the idea of ever going back to IE6 was long gone.

And maybe this type of performace gain might be maximised with my little processor.. you know, throw a turbo on a V8 and you get more Bang, throw it on  4 Cylinder and it will give the same Bang increase !!  Weird huh ?

C ya

[Tayesin]

Two weeks into using Mozilla now, and one week without IE.. and the others, etc.  So far all I can report to you is good news still.

Although I'm not able to use MS Works 6 because of it's reliance on some IE components !!  But hay, who wants to use that program anyway when there are so many smaller, quicker and easier word processors to use ?  I just downloaded Jarte, and it is a wonderful little program with all the usual bells and hooters too.  So out the window goes another Microsoft Program !!

At this rate I'll be left with Windows as the only Microsoft Software on this Puter.  Who knows, maybe a different OS is in order too ?  Any suggestions ?    Anyone using Linux here who can give me a run down on it ?

Tay    

[cinnabardk]

If you want to try Linux, try Mepis Linux (http://www.mepis.org/). It is free, and there is a live boot CD available for download, so that you can try it before you install it.
I would not recommend it with a slow computer though.  I don't use it as it is just not possible to find the applications that I want for it - and it is sometimes very difficult to install applications.

On my old computer (350 MHz AMD, 96 MB RAM), Windows XP ran faster than Windows 98, and FAR more reliably. Perhaps 166 MHz is too little for it.

You might also want to use more than one anti-virus program, as one program just isn't enough to catch all the viruses running around. (try http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/ - free, but requires Internet explorer, it is very good though)

[Tayesin]

Hi CinnabardK,
Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.  I agree this 166 is way too small for many applications, and so far I am happy with how I have it set up now.

You ran XP with only 96Mb RAM ?   How did that work ?  I recently bought extra RAM (DDR 256) for my girlfriend's computer as it was too slow even with the 2600Mhz Processor, the experts told me XP requires at least 256 to run !!!   I'd love to see your old puter running, that would give the experts something to think about !

The Panda Online Virus Scan is great, it found things AVG didn't.  It seems IE is really a conduit for Virus attacks, as I haven't had a problem since formatting the HD and dumping IE for Mozilla.

Another online scan is offered by Trend Micro, it is likewise excellent.  But as you said, not for anything other than IE !!  Ahhh, Mr Gates has it all sewn up.

Thanks again.
Tay

[WalkerInTheWoods]

I have been playing around with Linux for the past several months now. I really like it. One bad part about it for a newbie can be just trying to get it set up and running. It all depends on your computer. If the OS recognizes all your hardware then it is a breeze. If not then it can depend. One of the biggest hardware problems are modems. Most modems that come with computers today are Winmodems, meaning they rely on Windows to function. But this not always a problem as you can usually find a driver to make it work with Linux, especially if you are using a popular distribution. Check out www.linmodems.org for your Linux modem needs. You can do a search on the net for all your hardware, but that seems to be too much work just to find out if it will work considering you usually don't have to spend much money to get a Linux distro, though you can if you wish to do so. You can search if you find something don't work. If you are really interested in trying out Linux you can find CD bootable OS so you don't have to install anything. Knoppix is popular, and depending on your internet connect I think you can download it for free. But if you are serious about testing out a switch I highly recommend buying the book Linux for Non-Geeks. This is a great book for someone new to Linux, plus it comes with an OS, Fedora Core 1. This book is about setting up your computer to do the stuff that most "non-geeks" want to do; listen to Cd's and audio streams, surf the net, email, chat, etc. I used the OS and this book for my laptop and it works great. I don't know about Linux running faster. It seems about the same to me, but I have heard if you know what you are doing you can make it pretty speedy.

OpenOffice is Linux's answer to office software. It works really well. I am not sure if there is a version for Windows or not but if you are looking for something other than MS Office it would be worth a search. OpenOffice has came with every Linux distro that I have tried out, so if you are going to try out Linux you can get it that way.

Linux is about choice. That is why there are so many different distributions. Everyone has different tastes and there are different distros tailored to those different tastes. So if you can, try out several different distros to see what is out there and what you like. Though Fedora Core 1 that comes with the suggested book is a great distro. I like it and like I said use it on my laptop.

[Tayesin]

Hi Fallnangel,
Thank you for the run down and suggestions about Linux.  I saw a copy of the book you mentioned in my local library, so I will grab it for a read.

I like the idea also of trying a demo before taking the big step, as mentioned by you and Cinna.  
Tay

[WalkerInTheWoods]

Well the book is not exactly a book you want to just pick up and read. It is more of a work book, stepping you through setting up your new OS. Though it can give you an idea of what you can do. Maybe your library has the Cd's to go with the book. You might want to check. Most Linux OS's can be freely distributed and thus unlike Windows you can use the same Cd's to put the OS on many machines legally.

[Gul666]

Well,

I was just smiling while reading this threat...most of people using Microsoft programs are complaining about them.
I'm working in an IT company where we construct Local Area Networks for other company and supply software.
And since I'm using Mozilla Firefox myself, I totally understand those people.

But a big problem of removing the IE from your windows machine is the security issue. How do you think about updating your system with the newest security patches for the OS? ('Windows Update' - as far as I know this is only possible if you have the IE installed)

Better you install a Mozilla Browser and let IE sit in its 'tiny' directory on the Hard disk.
If you still think that the IE takes too much space from your drive...you seriously should buy a new one ( 120 GB is best at the moment [Price - Performance - Ratio]).

Linux based OS' are nice ones, but still too complicated to use. I recommend continue using Microsoft OS' for everyone without very good knowledge of the Linux syntax. And the compatibility isn't the best for most programs...unfortunatly Windows programs aren't compatible to Linux software. So if you are thinking, you can simply install a Linux and Microsoft word (or another program written for win32) you will be disappointed.

sincerely,

Gul666

[cinnabardk]

Tayesin,
Here are the minimum requirements of Windows XP: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/sysreqs.mspx

For basic word-processing, surfing the Internet, playing music, my old 350 MHz AMD worked very well with Windows XP - as long as I did not use bloated software (some anti-virus programs can really clog up your system), and defragmented my harddrive once in a while.

If you want to play the latest 3D games however, only the latest hardware will do.

Are you behind a firewall ? - if not, I recommend Zonealarm from Zonelabs (free version available). It has caught a surprising amount of intrusions for me.

[WalkerInTheWoods]

Linux based OS' are nice ones, but still too complicated to use. I recommend continue using Microsoft OS' for everyone without very good knowledge of the Linux syntax. And the compatibility isn't the best for most programs...unfortunatly Windows programs aren't compatible to Linux software. So if you are thinking, you can simply install a Linux and Microsoft word (or another program written for win32) you will be disappointed.

While Linux OS's can be a bit complicated, this is merely due to the fact that it is a different OS and so you have to learn a bit, much like when one first starts using Windows. But depending on what you want to do Linux is far from being unusable, atleast in my opinion. You don't have to be a computer wiz to do the basic every day stuff. There is a ton of info out there on how to get things up and running the way you want. If you do not want to make an effort and learn a little then no Linux is not for you and so stick with Windows if that is the system you know.  But to learn how to do simple, every day things is not that difficult in Linux. I am far from being a Linux guru but I have it running just fine on my laptop and dual booting with Windows on my desktop, using Linux most of the time. Linux is not perfect, but it does keep getting better. Can one say Windows is perfect?

Windows programs don't work on Linux, directly anyway. There are programs for Linux that will, in theory, allow you to run Windows programs on Linux, with varying success. But most of the programs for Windows has Linux alternatives, such as OpenOffice. OpenOffice can read and write all MS Office files. Some Linux programs are better than their MS counterparts. In my opinion the email program that has become the standard in Linux is much better than Outlook Express.

By the way, Mozilla Firefox ROCKS!

[WalkerInTheWoods]

For those interested, OpenOffice is available for Windows and can be downloaded for free at www.openoffice.org