There is a lot of concern these days over whether those responsible for securing our borders are up to the job. So it's a bit unsettling to learn that they seem to think it's a good idea to force overseas businesses to use that most insecure of browsers, Internet Explorer, in order to communicate online with U.S. Customs.
"Maybe I'm just naive, but I can't believe a federal government that spent X mil
Such times occur far more often than the reader, whose company uses Thinstation clients running off a Linux server, had expected. "In fact, we've pretty much made the decision to go back to Microsoft because there are just too many sites and standalone software packages, many specific to our industry, that require either IE or an entire MS client to run. Even with the full Crossover license we still can't get most of them to work properly. One feature on the CBP site that I've also seen on a customer's procurement site is the little plus sign that indicates a directory tree but that feature isn't displayed at all in Firefox."
Just as the ACE site forced him to use IE with its constant stream of warning messages, the industry at large is wearing him down with a lot of minor incompatibilities. "Speaking of security and IE, our facilities management department recently bought a security camera system that you can access from a browser, but it has to be IE too! And the sales guy didn't even have a clue that other browsers existed or why you might want to use one of them. And we recently committed to getting an ERP package as a SOA implementation because it runs on an IBM iSeries (we didn't want the hassle of managing one of those since we have no in house IT dept.), but you MUST have MS fat clients to run the IBM Client Access software! Yes, there's a Linux version, but the ASP doesn't support it."
Put in that light, the reader's experience with the Customs' automated website should really have us all feeling much less secure. After all, organizations that fail to support viable alternatives to Microsoft such as Firefox are just making it harder for all of us to use the products we think are best performing, least buggy, and most secure.
Have you run into websites that won't let you use the browser of your choice? Post your comments on my website or write me at Foster@gripe2ed.com.
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