IE9 beta Review: How Does the New Internet Explorer Stack Up?

Internet Explorer 9 is far more compatible with new W3C web standards than any of Microsoft’s other browsers, despite early claims  for IE8. While estimates vary, Microsoft’s own testing indicates a high percentage of compliance. What they are not showing is other browser versions' update compliance, especially for the Firefox 4 beta.

They have made an enormous amount of information available to developers, hopefully creating the possibility of many useful apps and plugins to work with IE9. They have also been releasing early stages to developers - and getting feedback on issues from them. Now, Microsoft is ready to get feedback from the general public, and it is possible that feedback will influence Microsoft in its final version of the browser.

Security is a concern for many people using Microsoft products. Partially, it is a result of having the largest share of both the operating  system and browser market, which makes them a target. If someone has a malicious mind, and creates viruses, spyware and other tools to damage computers or steal people's money, then they work on things that will affect the greatest number of people.

 Microsoft also has a reputation for not always searching out security loopholes, and patching them after the fact. However, in IE9, Microsoft is approaching security seriously. As well as the browser precautions we are already familiar with, they have incorporated a SmartScreen filter which you can activate on any website you visit. It takes the URL, checks it against a list Microsoft maintains, and returns a message as whether there have been any complaints or issues with the site. They are playing fair, too. I went to Microsoft's Windows site and used the SmartScreen, and it reported no problems - and then warned me that, despite the lack of reports about the site, I should look at the URL and make sure it seems trustworthy.

Another feature that I like shows up in the address bar/search box. The default setting is not to allow the search engine you use to  remember your keystrokes. It is often easy to not set security precautions in place if you need to go out of your way to set them up, so having one in place that you must remove deliberately is a nice touch.

It does strongly seem to want you to set up autofill for forms, based on the number of times I got the message. I thought for a bit that the browser was actually reacting to the lock sign in the address bar, and not asking if you wanted your password remembered under those circumstances, but I was wrong. Since the reason most places put a lock sign in their browser for secure signin is because your credit card information may be stored on site, not asking if you want a password remembered would actually be an excellent idea.

I do have a bit of a bone to pick with them, however. They want your feedback on the browser, they have a item in the tools menu to leave feedback, and they insist you have a WindowsLive ID to leave it. I don't feel they need to know that to receive feedback, or insist you have one.

I am giving them a 4 of 5 for security. I think they are going in the right direction, but I also think they are nosy.