Browser Management Brett Burridge Computing Service University of
Browser Management Brett Burridge Computing Service, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
Scope of presentation • • Why have a browser policy? What browsers are there to choose from? Using browser administration kits Modifying the browser interface Browser security User Agent negotiation A few new developments to watch. . .
Why have a browser policy? • Most institutions will have a clearly defined list of which applications are supported (e. g. spreadsheet, word processor etc. ) • Should there also be a policy for web browsers? – Difficult to provide in depth user support for a large range of browser versions – Difficult to develop Intranet apps on a wide range of different systems – Browsers could be a big security risk, especially for staff working with confidential information etc. – May not want staff installing their own browsers - can lead to problems for support staff
Browser policies • An increasing number of companies specify which browser employees should use: Data from Zona. Research (zonaresearch. com)
Browser policies • Of those with browser policies, an increasing number recommend Internet Explorer: Data from Zona. Research (zonaresearch. com)
What browsers are your users using? • Knowing the answer to this is important. . . – Your web designer(s) will find it useful – You need to make sure your users don’t have obsolete web browsers • Requests to web servers should contain a HTTP_USER_AGENT header (e. g. Mozilla/4. 5 [en] (Win. NT; I)) – Most server log analysis programs (e. g. Analog) produce detailed browser reports – On IIS servers, use the Browser Capabilities component to automatically parse the user agent header
Browser survey - overview • Used IIS Browser Capabilities component to record all sessions to our main IIS NT server over 4 days in August 1999 • Quite a small scale study (2786 sessions) Essex users Other users
Browser survey - operating systems
Browser survey - Internet Explorer by version
Browser survey - Netscape by version
Browser survey - statmarket. com statistics (1) • Essex survey resembles statistics from other sites: Data from statmarket. com
Browser survey - statmarket. com statistics (2) • Some more statistics. . . Data from statmarket. com
“Conservatism of Web users” • Increasing reluctance to upgrade – More non-computer experts using the web – Latest browsers don’t have any essential new features – Browser downloads get ever larger Data from useit. com
Which web browsers are worth supporting? • According to Zona Research we have a “Coke and Pepsi world” in the browser market. • Is it even worth considering… – – Opera? New Netscapes? Lynx? Others?
Netscape vs. Internet Explorer • Netscape – Available for a wide range of platforms – Users are familiar with the product – But… • Netscape not exactly the same on all operating systems • Still no support for XML/Data Binding etc. • Massive loss in market share over the last 12 months • Internet Explorer – Now more popular than Netscape – Integrates well with Windows (some applications require it) – Companies are choosing it for DHTML, databinding, XML support and other technologies – Good accessibility features – But… • It’s from Microsoft! • Only the Windows versions have all the features
Opera • • • Small download & installation. Works on old machines Good accessibility features Non-Netscape or Microsoft product Have to pay for it Difficult for people used to other browsers No administration kit (and a charge for customisations)
Mozilla • In early 1998 Netscape source code released • Mozilla is the term for browsers derived from this code • But. . . – The current version has plenty of bugs – Development has not gone as well as hoped. Will probably be another 6 months before anything substantial is produced - if ever?
Palm tops/mobile phone devices • Gimmicks or the next big thing? – The latest Palm VII connected organiser has wireless access to parts of the Internet – Many palmtops allow downloading of web pages – Mobile phones are gradually turning into web appliance • Essex home page in IE 5 (Win. NT) and Avant. Go (Palm. OS):
Web. TV • Another gimmick, or the future of home Internet access? • Currently only available in USA, Canada & Japan • Authoring for Web. TV has many considerations. . .
Uses of browser administration kits • Make simple modifications: – change homepage URL – specify web cache settings – install other apps at same time (e. g. Acrobat Reader) • Also make more complex modifications: – specify which components to install – enable or disable features (e. g. enforce cache usage) – make “kiosk mode” browsers • Both Netscape and IE have free administration kits
Availability of browser administration kits • Netscape Customization Kit – Available for PC and Mac only – No Unix or Linux version • Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) – IEAK for Windows makes IE 4/5 for Windows 3. x, 95, 98, NT 4 and Unix. – IEAK for Mac makes Mac versions – IE 5 version better than IE 4 version: • Can save previous settings more easily • More can be customised (including browser’s toolbars) • Includes foreign language support
Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) • Synchronise to the latest version of the browser. . .
Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) • Specify various installation options. . .
Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) • Customise a large number of other settings. . .
Using the Netscape Customization Kit • Use the Configuration Editor to set program options • The Install Builder will build the application with the specified options
Modifying the browser interface • Modifications to both Netscape and IE quite easy (i. e. adding toolbar buttons & menu links) • Simple modifications to Essex version of IE 5: Preset “favorites” Customised search panel
Browser security • What to do if a significant security hole is discovered? – Windows Update|Netscape’s Smart. Update for individual machines – SMS or other apps for managing lots of machines – Don’t do anything because it doesn’t matter? • Most browser security problems caused by users surfing dubious sites • Automatic downloading of Excel Word files a problem (ensure a virus checker is installed) • Fake updates to programs always a problem • Stealing of data through “cut and paste” bugs?
User Agent negotiation • The Browser Capabilities component of IIS converts HTTP_USER_AGENT headers into a list of properties that can be used in Active Server Pages. . . • Could also use Java. Script to determine many of these properties
Uses of User Agent negotiation • Example 1 (Java. Script): Essex website only loads CSS in Netscape 4+ and IE 4+ (with a different CSS used for UNIX versions of Netscape). • Example 2 (ASP): visit Essex website in a non-English browser and get a link to a localised welcome page. . .
Summary & Conclusions • Things to consider. . . – – Should your institution have a browser policy? What browsers are your internal and external users using? Is it worthwhile moving from Netscape to Internet Explorer? If you install large numbers of browsers, would a browser administration kit save time and money? • Need to investigate further… – – Browser security Management of plug-ins Growing use of Web. TV type devices and PDA browsers The use of User Agent negotiation
In the parallel session. . . • Browser administration kits – Hands on look at Netscape/Internet Explorer kits – What browser features should we modify? • Hands on look at Opera, Mozilla, PDAs, Web. TV • Should we monitor browser usage? • Making kiosk mode browsers
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