There are some intriguing features in Internet Explorer 8. It is a little faster than Internet Explorer 7. It has got a lot more to protect you from the bad guys on the Web, and it easier to find what you are looking for, and to rapidly make use of that information once you track it down.
There are lots of the more important features:
Smart Address Bar:
The address bar in Firefox 3 is so good, it is been nicknamed the Awesome Bar. As you type, it searches a database containing your history and bookmarks and comes up with suggestions, based both on the Web address and the site 's title. It is my favorite feature in Firefox, and now there is a similar implementation in Internet Explorer 8. Microsoft calls it the "smarter address bar," and it adds RSS feeds and search suggestions to the mix. It also fixes a problem in Firefox 's version, because it sorts the results based on their source. This makes it much easier to spot the result you want.
Accelerators:
I have mixed feelings about this feature, which reminds me of the lame "Smart Tags" from Internet Explorer. In this case, when you highlight text, an icon appears. Click it, and you can map a location, define a word, translate a foreign language, blog selected text and more. This uses a set of Web services which, by default, are supplied by Microsoft. For example, the default mapping service is Windows Live Maps, but you can change this to Google or Yahoo if you prefer. This can save a few clicks, but the same thing can be accomplished with some good bookmarks.
Web Slices:
This is similar in concept to the Web Clips feature found in the Mac version of Safari, but not nearly as useful. There, you can highlight an area on a Web page and turn just that section into a widget available from the Mac 's Dashboard. In this, you can highlight content on a page and it will show up in detailed form in Internet Explorer 8 's search suggestions. But there is a big caveat: The Web site operator has to include code on its pages to make this feature work. If your favorite sites do not do this, it is worthless to you.
In Private Browsing:
Nicknamed "porn mode," In Private Browsing lets you surf the Web without generating a history of either your searches or visited pages. There is also a feature called In Private Blocking that will block content on one site that is being pulled in from another. But blocking does not start until the third-party site delivers content with a high enough frequency. You can customize this to always allow some sites to deliver content, and to always block others. Both in Private Browsing and Blocking are turned off by default. One you close your browser, it reverts back to standard behavior.
Crash Recovery:
Firefox has long had the ability to restore pages that were loaded when it crashes. In Internet Explorer 7, the browser restarts after a crash, but only displays the home page. Now, Internet Explorer 8 restores all open pages - but chances are, it will not need to. That is because if a crash is caused by content on a site, it will only shut down that page, not the whole browser.
Better security:
Microsoft has improved windows Internet Explorers' security filter to also detect sites that might distribute security. The Smart Screen Filter will alert you if the site you are about to visit is suspicious. I usually turn off Internet Explorers' security filter because it seems to slow browsing, but the Smart Screen Filter seems much faster. In fact, I was unaware it was even on and functioning until I went to check its settings. There is also new support to detect and block Cross Site Scripting attacks, a common method for exploiting browser vulnerabilities.
Improved search:
As with both Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, a search box is built into the Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 that lets you choose from multiple search engines. You are now able to switch between engines quickly, which makes jumping from a search on eBay to one on Amazon much faster. Searches here also include the sites in your history and favorites, just as in the smarter address bar. In addition, downloading a search plug-in for participating engines enables visual search suggestions, including images, charts and maps.
Operating Systems Supported
* Windows XP 32-bit with Service Pack 2 or higher with a minimum of 64MB RAM and 150MB disk space
* Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit with a minimum of 512MB RAM and 115MB disk space
