03-27-2013, 02:22 AM | #1 |
Gregg Bell
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what's the significance of making Google Chrome my browser?
I use Google Chrome all the time now, and the browser is always asking me if I'd like to make it the default browser, but this Microsoft tech once told me how so much of the Microsoft stuff was dependent on using Internet Explorer as the default browser. Anybody know about this sort of thing? If I'll be okay making the Chrome my default browser? Thanks.
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03-27-2013, 02:48 AM | #2 |
Wizard
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a) You are perfectly okay. If Chrome is the browser you like best, make him your default one and get rid of these messages.
b) The many times when you actively open a browser to use the internet, it's not important which one is your default browser. The purport only shows in the situations when another application tries to open the browser. Then it will look into an internal list and choose the default browser. c) If you decide otherwise in the future: the next time you open the Internet Explorer or Firefox or something else - they all will prompt up a question to be made the default browser. So you lose nothing and you're not bound to Chrome till the end of times. As HarryT advised you in another thread: try posting in the right subforum. This is a lounge question. |
03-27-2013, 04:40 AM | #3 |
Surfin the alpha waves ~~
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I made Firefox my default years ago.
Unfortunately, Microsoft does make it necessary to use Internet Explorer for manually installing updates, etc., so just don't uninstall it. You'll always be able to call it up manually when you need it. |
03-27-2013, 04:42 AM | #4 |
350 Hoarder
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Or just use a plugin like IETab in Firefox that emulates IE and let's you do anything within Firefox that would normally require IE.
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03-27-2013, 04:43 AM | #5 |
monkey on the fringe
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03-27-2013, 07:48 AM | #6 |
Wizard
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I use all three at one time or another. Firefox is my default, though, and I've never regretted it.
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03-27-2013, 07:49 AM | #7 |
eBook Enthusiast
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That was certainly true on older versions of Windows: Windows Update required Internet Explorer. I'm not sure it's true with Windows 7 and 8, though. Windows Update is now a standalone program, I believe.
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03-27-2013, 08:27 AM | #8 |
Nameless Being
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Changing the default browser doesn't change anything outside of which browser starts when you double click on an HTML document or when another program tries to start the web browser externally. Programs that use IE internally will continue to use IE to render HTML internally, so nothing will break. It's even safe to remove IE from Windows 7 or 8, provided that you use Microsoft's add and remove features tool, since it only removes the web browser and leaves the bits that programs use internally installed.
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03-27-2013, 08:51 AM | #9 |
Cheese Whiz
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I've made Chrome my default.
As an Android/Google user, it made sense for me to do so on my PC. It really makes working with Google applications easier in my mind. No regrets so far! (Though I prefer a non Google browser called Dolphin for my android phone - go figure! I'm a complex guy!)
Occasionally I will still run into a website that simply won't run on anything but Internet explorer. Since I haven't deleted ie, I just manually launch it. Once I get a 'stubborn' web site launched successfully in ie, I bookmark it for easy retrieval in ie. I would guess I have only about 5 or 6 stubborn sites bookmarked at this point and I have decided to use them as little as possible. These stubborn web sites seem to be financial web sites mostly. Which is odd to me considering IE's historical vulnerability to security exploits. I think financial institutions are just slower to change than most. I have noticed that these sites are decreasing in number and many former stubborn sites will now work with other browsers. I noticed this shift happening after Chrome went mainstream. I don't know if it was a coincidence of timing, or if Chrome 'validated' the alternative browser idea for the managers of these sites in some way. But I applaud the steady decline in 'stubborn' web sites. |
03-27-2013, 09:00 AM | #10 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Quote:
Probably not very important other than semantically, but I think it's important to understand that IETab is not a substitute for IE. Feel free to write this message off as just another example of online pedantry. Last edited by DiapDealer; 03-27-2013 at 09:09 AM. |
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03-27-2013, 09:23 AM | #11 |
Cheese Whiz
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03-27-2013, 01:31 PM | #12 |
Guru
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The replies have been generally accurate regarding how Windows will react. However, none have discussed the consequences for you.
You will be a slave to the Googlemonster. It will swallow your life. Your privacy will be gone. You will be a mere husk of your former self. Lost for eternity. So, basically no changes. |
03-27-2013, 01:55 PM | #13 |
Wizard
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03-27-2013, 01:58 PM | #14 |
Resident Curmudgeon
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I've made Firefox my default browser. I've tried Chrome and did not like it.
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03-27-2013, 02:18 PM | #15 |
Nameless Being
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Most web browsers have settings that will limit the amount and type of information being leaked. Chrome also have add-ons that will offer further protection of your privacy. It isn't perfect. Then again, no web browser is. Ultimately you have to face the reality that the Internet is a lot like a public street: people can see who you are and what you're doing.
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