This is something i don't like to write, but i have too.

My boss is blackmailing my into working with Internet Explorer (MS crap). If i don't, i can't reach the office through the web.

So i can install Internet Explorer through Crossover Office, no problemo. But what are the security risks for my system (suse 9.1 pro) when i use it?

Can anybody give me some good advice, and not by saying sack your boss or talk some sense into him.

Greeting
Marcel (Lynxgogo )

You have two advantages. First, you are only using IE to access a known, trusted site where the risk of someone planting an exploit is (hopefully) pretty low.

Secondly, you are running IE on Linux (and, I assume, as a non-root user) so most of the exploits probably wouldn't work anyway - or at least wouldn't achieve very much.

Overall, apart from having a generally unpleasant browsing experience I doubt you've got too much to worry about. Nothing's perfect, but I doubt the risk to your system is great enough to be too concerned. (I take it you've got a decent firewall running too).

Thanx Iain,

Yes it's a secure connection; and i only run the user when doing normal work and of cause i have got some firewall (hard & soft).
But, thanks for the reassurance.

greetings
Marcel

there's more you can do.

you could run iexplore as a seporate user that only owns just enough to run it

you could also try getting your other browser to report it's ID as Internet Explorer

Jago

Your remark

you could also try getting your other browser to report it's ID as Internet Explorer

sounds very interesting, but how does it work?

greetings
Marcel

When a browser connects to a web server it tells the web server what type of browser it is (e.g. IE6, Netscape 5, Opera) which can be picked up in CGI scripts. This allows web sites to block certain browsers (weird and nasty, but some do) or to behave differently with different browsers.

To get round this, a lot of browsers (e.g. Konqueror, Opera) have the ability to pretend to be a browser that they're not. They could present themselves as IE6, for example.

This works if the only reason you use IE6 is because someone has coded the web server to block other browsers. However, in a business environment it's quite likely that someone has coded an app than works with IE6 and not other browsers (e.g. uses ActiveX) in which case it doesn't help you much - you can connect, but you can't do what you need to.