Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 7 is a newer version of the popular web browser from Microsoft that lets you surf the web, check your email and even watch videos. Microsoft added new features to this browser to make it more competitive with other options like Firefox.

This version of IE comes with some of the classic features that you might expect like an address bar with a search bar located to the right. Clicking on the arrow at the end of the address bar brings up a drop down menu that shows the sites you visit most often. You can also enter a letter in the address bar to see all sites relating to that letter that you visited in the past. Microsoft uses MSN Search as the default in the search bar. Clicking the button beside this bar brings up a menu of other search engines you can use, including Google and AOL Search.

IE 7 is the first version of Internet Explorer to come with tabbed viewing. Instead of opening multiple windows to view several sites at once, you can now open new tabs. Switching between tabs is as easy as clicking on the one you want to view. The program has a tendency to slow down a little when you have multiple tabs open though. It can create a lag time or make the videos that you want to watch buffer when loading.

Built-in security includes an anti-phishing feature that checks the security of the site before you visit it. When doing a search, this feature will show you which sites are potentially dangerous and which sites you should avoid. If you manually enter the address of a site, the feature will bring up an alert that tells you it will block the site because it detected the presence of phishing software. Some users will find that IE 7 doesn't have as many security features as they want though, and some may not like that it lacks some of the customizing features found on other browsers.

Microsoft also gives you some convenient buttons that correspond with different features right at the top of the screen. One of those is a favorites button that keeps track of all your favorite websites, but you can use another button to view your bookmarks. It also comes with buttons for viewing all the feeds that you follow and for checking out your history. If you want a browser that doesn't come with a lot of bells and whistles, Internet Explorer 7 might be your top choice.