Off Topic .....nothing to with Avast

[midnight]

My new windows 8.1 will be delivered today but I'm just wondering if it's okay to set it up today.

Isn't Internet Explorer the only browser on a new computer.  I read where people shouldn't use IE right now due to a security flaw which hasn't been patched yet.

Any replies would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[Eddy]

If IE is the only browser depends on where you live.
In Europe MS must give the user a choice on what browser to install.

Next to that, IE is about to be gone.
MS has Edge now (on Windows 10)

I would say, install Windows 8.1, security software like avast etc.
And if you want a fast browser...
Start "my computer", in the address bar : ftp://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/win/1217/ click go to.
That way you can get Opera without having to use IE

[midnight]

I live in the USA and I think all new computers have only Internet Explorer installed.

My computer has McAfee pre-installed for a year but as soon as I install Avast I'll ask for uninstall link.

I use Firefox ESR so I will have to down load and install that along with a lot of other programs.

The computer is still in the box which I haven't opened yet.  I'm not in the mood to set it up yet.  I'm sure their will be a lot of Windows Updates to install.  sigh

[DavidR]

Do your browser download (or other programs) from another system and transfer them across on a USB stick, etc.

This avoids using IE to download them.

[Para-Noid]

+1

I have a flash drive with nothing but important software downloads.
Transferring files is super simple using a flash drive (USB stick).

@-midnight  You may want to keep a few extra flash drives handy for future use.
                   Any more the smallest are 8 GB which is plenty of room for my use.
                   Best part is with back-to-school sales here in the USA you can buy them for under $10.

[polonus]

Hi -midnight,

In the States there are still a lot of folks that think that IE also known as Blue E is the only way of going to the Internet, so many folks are so in the habit of using the Windows browser they think there is no alternative. There is other browsers to make or set to be your default in Windows 8.1 (I use firefox and Google Chrome on my Windows 8.1 notebook my wife gave me). I leave IE on, but do not use it for browsing, and download all the updates for Windows.
Some ill-informed users now als shun updating and installing new versions of their Google browser (users afraid of privacy reasons as the recent revelations made that a lot of people that are not so technically in the know and do not know where to start shun Google updates because they are freaked out by the recent global monitoring  news. Not to update and fully patch is the dumbest thing one can do security wise. Always update everything reliable, so also Google chrome and extensions, firefox and add-ons!

With Windows 10 Microsoft is to introduce a brand new browser named Edge. Edge will be more secure. It will have MemCG, no more ActiveX,  there will always be a sandbox, a complete new extension model with a lot of API's that will be dumped like for VBscript, VML and BHO also some old document modi and XHU-header are left. But it will partly still depend on old IE code, but there are certainly improvements.

Bad thing is they will make it harder for users to set their default browser to be another browser with additional clicks to perform. So they properly will have the same trouble again in Europe considering free choice of browser! They are going to that same river again and making that same protectionistic mistakes again (Some American giant firms never learn ).

There are several reasons to better wait to install or upgrade to windows 10 and with the free updates possible for all of the coming year, you'd better advised to wait a bit. So for instance with Windows 10 they no longer will support desktop gadgets anymore, so you'd miss news and weather gadgets there.

polonus

[polonus]

Hi -midnight,

Just a tip when you start to set it up. Whenever asked by MSvia a message if you want ads denied do this at that very moment when asked the first time. They won't ask you again and then it is too late. This is during the early phases of that install procedure and when you allow it then, you will have an impossible task of getting rid of it's ad-launching later, like I had with the MS ads in the desktop gadgets. Now with the new notebook I denied while installing I denied right away and do not miss those "inobtrusive personalised ads" one bit.

Uninstall the McAfee pre-install is easy-peasy, do this in downloads via the file icon next to the blue e icon, then delete that program and start to install avast after a re-start and perform the avast install as a custom-install taking those parts of it that are necessary (I did not have the grimefighter, but had the software updater and all of the shields, online security, cloud bit, etc.).
Whenever you have a lightest doubt about what you are doing come here and ask us, we gladly give you some info like this advice here and it comes free and will get you to smile when you work that computer when it works without a sound and plays as snug as a bug in a rug  .

polonus

[midnight]

My neighbor is going to set it up tomorrow evening.  I've done it before he can do in 10 minutes.  I don't plan on upgrading to win 10 for a few months.  When that time comes and I have problems I'll come back here.

[digmor crusher]

If your using Windows IE will be the only browser you get, its safe to use, just do all the Windows updates first, should be no harm in going to the Microsoft website to do that. If Mcafee is pre-installed do not activate it, you can go to their website to get the uninstaller, if your worried about going to the Microsoft and Mcaffee websites just activate Windows Defender first, once you have Avast installed just de-activate it. Should be no problem activating Defender with Mcafee pre-installed.

[midnight]

Really appreciate every one's advice.   I don't have any flash drives but will buy some.  My neighbor uses his to transfer my pictures, downloads and documents.  I made a list for all the programs I want to install, also the firefox add on's.