internet explorer

I just upgraded an old Dell laptop from IE5.0 to IE6.02. The upgrade will not work, 1st impression it trashed my TCP/IP setup or my modem driver. Can't receive anything. I haven't had a chance to trouble shoot it yet, but why should I? Why can't upgrades from Microsoft just work. I think the new bells and whistles are sometimes more trouble then good. The only reason I upgraded was a vendor I need to work with upgraded and his 6.0 Bell wont work with my 5.0 whistle :(

Downgrading to IE 5.5 from IE 6 depends on what OS you have.

For Windows XP, I don't believe it is possible to run IE 5.5

For the other versions of Windows, IE 5.5 may be more "functional".
This is very true if you are running Windows 98 and have an older video card. IE 6 does not run well under Windows 98 unless you can get a newer (last 6 months) video driver. Preferably one that supports DirectX 9.

There are a few problems in going back to IE 5.5:

Removing IE6. You may need a program like IEradicator to remove IE 6. There are links to IEradicator at www.voodoofiles.com

Getting IE 5.5. The only source I know of for IE 5.5 SP2 is the browser archive at www.evolt.org
It is around a 40MB download.

Security: Microsoft is VERY stingy on security patches for older versions of IE.
It was announced that the leaked code did allow hackers to find a new hole in the older versions of IE to exploit. As yet, Microsoft has not released a patch.

A very good alternate would be the Mozilla web browser. www.mozilla.org
In many ways, I like Mozilla better than I do IE. The built-in pop-up blocker is excellent.

Chas