Weary of security vulnerabilities such as spyware and phishing, and interruptions like popup ads in Microsoft's ubiquitous Internet Explorer, many Realtors are trying other browsers such as Mozilla's Firefox or Opera as alternatives to surf the Internet. Now they're running into minor problems with those programs, too.

Their Websites are there, but some consumers can't view them.

Many agents' Websites are designed for viewing only with Internet Explorer. With a number of consumers now using Firefox or an equivalent Web browser, agents are between a rock and a hard place - they really can't afford to write those potential clients off.

"I suspect this problem will only be compounded in the near future as new vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer are discovered," says Chris Lambert, a technical advisor for Realty Times.

The problems began with the onslaught of security vulnerabilities present in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, explains Lambert. Many private and government groups including the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, are advising consumers to switch from IE to an alternative Web browser. Microsoft's IE, while still the dominant choice for users, is quickly losing ground to its competitors. With so many people deciding they've had enough with seemingly endless security patches, they're now turning to alternatives such as Opera or Firefox, the open-source browser created by The Mozilla Organization, which also offers pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, and numerous other features.

The problem is that alternative browsers do not allow many sites to be viewed properly because they take advantage of features such as Microsoft's ActiveX Controls rather than a platform-independent alternative. This prevents the content from being displayed as it was intended in some browsers because the code is Internet Explorer-specific and is not utilized by standards-compliant alternative browsers.

While this can be bit of a headache for some in the real estate industry, the recommendations to abandon Internet Explorer won't be going away any time soon. With the number of Firefox downloads alone quickly approaching 10 million, Realtors don't have the luxury of alienating such a large number of consumers.

"I suggest that Realtors, and anyone else publishing Websites, should use only techniques that are approved by the web standards bodies, and avoid including things that are specific to Internet Explorer," Walter S. Mossberg, personal technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal told Realty Times.

If you're concerned about security holes in any browser that you choose to use, you can check Cert.org for updates. More information about the World Wide Web Consortuim's (W3C) Web publishing guidelines can be found at W3C.org.

Published: December 10, 2004

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.