Microsoft’s latest incarnation of its web browser, Internet Explorer Version 8, is being rolled out and taaking a stranglehold on innocent windows Computers everywhere.

As has become the custom for Microsoft browsers, the upgrade(?) makes its presence felt. Even if users have removed previous Internet Explorer startup icons from their quick start bar on Windows Vista or Windows XP, the upgrade enforces its resurrection.

To make things even worse for people who have chosen to use Firefox, Chrome, Opera or other high quality browsers that they have actively chosen to use, IE 8 tries to hijack windows PCs. Upon starting up IE8, it imports user settings from Firefox and comes to a choice of “Express” or “Custom” settings. Unfortunately, embedded in the “Custom settings” is a clause to Hijack user preferences for another browser. When choose “Express”, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 always becomes the “Default browser”.

The implication of this hi-jack is that many users’ choices to use non-Microsoft products are actively ignored, by an automated upgrade. Many users may have difficulty switching back to their chosen product. And why should they have to actively remake a choice that they have already made.

Internet Explorer may be an improvement on it’s predecessors, but the forced switch over to it being the default browser shows Microsoft’s continued arrogance, that nobody should be allowed to choose to use non-Microsoft products, and those who do will continually have to make additional efforts to keep to their choice.