Winferno cleans up IE surfing

For novice users who dont want the hassle of locking down Internet Explorer to surf the Web, Winferno Softwares Secure IE provides a simple program to tighten security for surfing as well as for stopping annoying pop-ups.

Ironically, the company uses pop-up advertising itself. Its Internet Security Adviser ad, a pop-up that bears a striking resemblance to a Windows Update dialog, will take unwary users to Winfernos Web site to download Secure IE if they click on the advertisement. (See www.eWEEK. com/labslinks for a recent Tech Directions column on this topic.)

Most tech-savvy professionals are better off managing browser security themselves; I prefer not to use another program to browse the Web and instead use plug-ins to secure my Web surfing.

To reap its benefits, users must surf the Web using Secure IE, not the standard IE browser.

In my tests, I had the option of allowing Secure IE to automatically configure browser security settings after the initial installation. Users can also configure Secure IE themselves.

The Secure IE interface let me tab among many open browser windows, a useful feature. I could also enable or disable ActiveX, JavaScript and VB Script on the fly simply by hitting an on/off button.

Other handy features include highlighting and sticky notes, but you can have only one sticky note per page.

A 15-day free trial of Secure IE is available for download. The software is priced at $39.95, which is on the high side. Those who dont want to deal with pop-ups or configuring IE to run securely might want to try the free download.

For more information, go to www.secureie.com.