Leo writes:

When security expert Steve Gibson of ShieldsUp fame was on he told us he still uses Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in Windows, despite the security and spyware issues.

For Windows Users:

Here’s how Steve uses IE safely:

Only add sites you know are safe to your trusted list.

To prevent browser hijacking I recommend installing Spyware Blaster. (This is unnecessary if you have security set to high, but it’s useful just in case you accidentally give access to a bad site.)

UPDATE: Windows XP SP-2 adds a new zone to XP: My Computer, and locks it down. This is a very effective way to combat browser hijacking. Microsoft provides instructions for people who have not yet installed SP-2 here but it’s not for the faint of heart.

Although this will make Microsoft Internet Explorer a little more secure it will never be as secure as Mozilla Firefox

For Macintosh Users (by bruceb):

Internet Explorer for Mac is more secure than IE for Windows, as the Mac version of IE doesn’t support ActiveX controls and other Windows “features” that can also create security holes. But, IE for Mac hasn’t been updated by Microsoft in a long time, and they don’t plan to continue developing it. So, you might want to switch to another Mac browser for reasons other than security—such as performance, or in order to have support for all of the web’s latest “bells and whistles.”