what's the significance of making Google Chrome my browser?

Gregg Bell · 03-27-2013, 03:22 AM

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.

Billi · 03-27-2013, 03:48 AM

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.

cromag · 03-27-2013, 05:40 AM

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.

Ripplinger · 03-27-2013, 05:42 AM

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.

tubemonkey · 03-27-2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cromag

I made Firefox my default years ago.

Same here

jersysman · 03-27-2013, 08:48 AM

I use all three at one time or another. Firefox is my default, though, and I've never regretted it.

HarryT · 03-27-2013, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cromag

Unfortunately, Microsoft does make it necessary to use Internet Explorer for manually installing updates, etc., so just don't uninstall it.

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.

BWinmill · 03-27-2013, 09:27 AM

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.

GlenBarrington · 03-27-2013, 09:51 AM

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.

DiapDealer · 03-27-2013, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

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.

Slight correction. IETab isn't emulating IE. It's actually embedding IE in a Firefox window. What you are seeing IS IE, in essence. It's dependent on IE being installed.

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.

GlenBarrington · 03-27-2013, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Slight correction. . .

Feel free to write this message off as just another example of online pedantry.

If WE don't maintain pedantric standards, what will the pedantrists of the future aspire to?

Fluribus · 03-27-2013, 02:31 PM

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.

taustin · 03-27-2013, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

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.

Does it run ActiveX controls?

JSWolf · 03-27-2013, 02:58 PM

I've made Firefox my default browser. I've tried Chrome and did not like it.

BWinmill · 03-27-2013, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluribus

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.

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.

03-27-2013, 03:22 AM	#1
Gregg Bell Gregg Bell Posts: 2,266 Karma: 3917598 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Itasca, Illinois Device: Kindle Touch 7, Sony PRS300, Fire HD8 Tablet	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.

03-27-2013, 09:51 AM	#9
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	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.

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03-27-2013, 03:48 AM	#2
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	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, 05:40 AM	#3
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 26,765 Karma: 459765791 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	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, 05:42 AM	#4
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,587 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	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.

03-27-2013, 08:48 AM	#6
jersysman Wizard Posts: 1,747 Karma: 3761220 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD	I use all three at one time or another. Firefox is my default, though, and I've never regretted it.

03-27-2013, 09:27 AM	#8
BWinmill Nameless Being	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.

03-27-2013, 02:31 PM	#12
Fluribus Guru Posts: 891 Karma: 8893661 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Kindle	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, 02:58 PM	#14
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,782 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I've made Firefox my default browser. I've tried Chrome and did not like it.