Internet Explorer 8

The competition to gain the title of The Best Internet Browser is getting more fierce with every new release, as the major players in the industry continuously come up with new and appealing features in order to gain more more popularity compared to the others.
Internet Explorer 8 may not be the latest flavor available on the market for this browser, but it is still very much in use especially by those still running Windows Vista.

User interface

From the user interface perspective, you'll love it if you're used to a more crowded environment (which is totally different from the minimalist attitude of Firefox or Chrome). Keep in mind that you can organize and customize basically everything, so you get a lot of freedom in operating it.

Tweaks during the installation process

When installing IE 8, you are prompted to configure all sorts of options and settings, while the custom settings include a default search provider, search provides updates, accelerators, SmartScreen filter, and compatibility settings.

Security features

The SmartScreen Filter will protect you against malicious activity, such as viruses and spyware, and it has been upgraded since IE 7. Also related to security is the InPrivate Browsing mode, which allows users to protect their privacy by making sure no cookies or other traces are left behind after web browsing.

Speed and Web Slices

Accelerators are a new feature in Internet Explorer 8 and they are meant to grant you speed. They let you easily access various web services once you have found a page of interest, thus reducing the need to open several webpages to find specific information.
Internet Explorer 8 also features Web Slices, and this option literally lets you visualize parts of information from a particular area, without having to open a new tab and navigate away from the current page.

Bottom line

In conclusion, Internet Explorer 8 comes both with new features and upgraded functions, all in an attempt to fix its issues and optimize performance. It is definitely superior to Internet Explorer 7 so it is worth given a chance.