If you were directed to this page, it means that you are using Internet Explorer 6 as your web browser.
What does any of that mean? Well, your web browser is simply the tool on your computer, like a word processor or email software. In this case, the browser is the tool that lets you visit web pages like this one. In this day and age of information at your fingertips, it’s as important a tool as either of the other programs you’ll use.
The problem is that, unlike your word processor, a web browser connects to the Internet and downloads information to your computer. And there’s always a chance that you might pick up a file left by some unscrupulous person who, for whatever reason, wants to vandalize people’s computers.
That’s why you were directed to this page. The web browser program that you use, Internet Explorer 6, is very old. It was released on August 27, 2001. In the computer world, that’s an eternity. And in that eternity, people learn to find flaws in software that let them exploit your machine for their purposes.
We’re not telling you these things to try to frighten you; rather, it’s important that you know the problems with your software so that you can keep your computer and all of the valuable information stored there safe and secure. And we want you to know that there’s something easy that you can do about it.
First of all, you can update your copy of Internet Explorer. Just go to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer website and follow their instructions on how to upgrade. The current version, Internet Explorer 8, is a pretty decent browser. It is more secure than version 6 by far, and will improve your browsing experience. (Even this website will look nicer!)
Another possibility is to use an alternative browser such as Safari, Firefox, or Opera. These are all excellent web browsers that make this site look even better than Explorer 8 does. They’re all pretty easy to install and use, too.
Whatever browser you choose, we hope that you’ll enjoy a more secure, more pleasant experience on the Internet by upgrading.