Can I "mask" Firefox or Opera as IE?

NOTE: 62-year old "tomboy" female with moderate computer skills = in ten years my computer has only crashed once and never been infected by anything (largely thanks to listening to people like you from the very beginning).

Here's my problem: I was happily working for a mid-size company as a contractor, going in to work on weekends, doing a good job, and getting paid a fair wage. Then (shark sounds in the background), a mega-corporation bought the company and forced us all to become "employees" or lose the work. So far, so good = some losses, some benefits. But....

Said mega-corporation has some extremely lazy programmers (not my words, but it's what my friends say) and will only communicate on their dedicated website, on which we're supposed to log in daily (even though we only work weekends), and which is the only place where we can view our pay-stubs, our project scripts, future project availability, etc.

My problem for you guys/gals is: we can ONLY log into this website using the latest version of Internet Explorer (remember the "lazy" comment above?), and I absolutely, categorically, emphatically REFUSE to install that piece of trash on my computer. (Probably the reason I've never had any infections....).

So, is there some version of Firefox or Opera (which I use interchangeably) or Chrome or something which can masquerade as IE so that I don't have to go to the library or a friend's house to log into my "employers" IE-specific website?

 

Just use IE to log into their site.

 

REPEAT! I absolutely, categorically, emphatically REFUSE to install [Internet Explorer] on my computer.

Thus, my problem for you guys/gals remains...

...is there some version of Firefox or Opera (which I use interchangeably) or Chrome or something which can masquerade as IE so that I don't have to go to the library or a friend's house to log into my "employers" IE-specific website? :banghead

 

You can always try lunascape browser which has 3 engines in 1 - webkit for chrome, gecko for firefox and trident for ie, That might work for you.

Here is the link - http://www.majorgeeks.com/Lunascape_d6004.html

 

Whether or not you know it, you already have Internet Explorer - it's part of the Windows operating system and cannot be removed. But to answer your question, Opera has such a setting. It can be set to identify as IE or to mask as IE. But Opera comes with its own set of issues. It's a very "geeky" browser with a lot of bugs that never seem to get fixed. And many web pages don't properly display or don't work at all. I used it for years, but got fed up and switched to Firefox (which, as far as I know, does not have the setting you're looking for).

 

Nothing you can do about it, because IE is embedded into the Operating System. There really is nothing wrong with IE, when the end user uses it properly. Same with that there is nothing wrong with using it to log into your employers website.

 

MD2lgyk -- Thank you! I'm not a "geek" but I absolutely adore Opera and will be quite happy to try your approach. (I jump over to Firefox whenever a webpage won't display w/ Opera.)

Follow-on Question: Would you please "hold my hand" and walk me through the process of disguising my Opera as IE? (I had to do it once before, a few years ago, and don't remember the steps.)

And yes, I know the original IE is on my hard drive -- but one of my wonderfully geeky former house-mates walled it off at my request.
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Sexy Andy 81 -- I just took a peek at Lunascape and will check it out further in the next few days -- it looks very promising. Thank you!
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Brown IZs -- When someone posts a specific question and gives background on why they need an answer, I respectfully suggest that you NOT answer them by telling them to do what they just said they didn't want to do. You don't know better than me why I refuse to download the latest version of IE just so that I can log into the website of one of six companies I work for. [As an aside: why "colemanguy" would thank you for giving me a lame answer is beyond me.]

 

I don't know but there are some extensions called IE Tab in Firefox. But since you say that IE has been put out of commission I'm not sure if these extensions would work for you. IE has got Active X which Firefox doesn't have. IE Tab extension is supposed to work with IE, although I don't know with which version of IE. Try it and you'll find out if it works or not. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?q=IE+Tab&cat=1,0&appver=17.0&platform=windows

PS: I used to have IE Tab years ago but had to delete it because my then newly acquired Logitech mouse doesn't support middleclick.

 

You cannot "wall" off Internet Explorer on machines running Vista or Windows 7. You can change it so it does not show, by making those changes in Windows Features, which can be found by clicking on the Orb on the Taskbar, then type "Windows Features" in the search box.

 

Because i think brownizs is right, and the fact is just because you dont use ie doesn't make you more secure in any fashion, and anyone that relies on that fact is sadly, sadly mistaken about there computer security. Thus stating that right off that bat like that really makes me question your other methods. Basicly by uninstalling it from windows features, its like deleting the shortcut to it and saying the program doesn't exist anymore.

Anyhow, you can spend a bunch of time trying to make these other programs work, or just use it ie, for that particular job, and continue to browse in other sites, and not spend time coming up with workarounds. Frankly time=money, and id rather not waste time when simple easy solutions exist, not to mention your workarounds might cause issues for your employer by excepting certain things from your browser that wont be supported correctly. In fact if your skipping internet explorer related updates because you "dont need them" your machine is likely to have those same holes open.

As far as your said lazy programmers comment, why do you expect programmers to spend millions of hours coding for every possible random browser someone can use, when they can program for a standard browser that ships with every version of windows that exists?

 

Which is precisely why I'm happy with Firefox and don't use IE = what some other posters don't "get." And thanks for the additional work-around

 

Pardon me for being an old-fahioned lady: it is simply not your place to thank someone for an answer to a question someone else asked; nor is it your place to tell me that the question I'm asking isn't the right way to go; nor is it your place to clutter this thread with your opinions regarding the safety of my computer -- not while others have given me several useful answers! Fact remains that I've used this machine since 2001 with no problems; can you say the same of most other "amateur" users?

#1: if you had read my OP with any care, you'd see that the comment came from a friend -- whom I would not have quoted if he were not an experienced software designer -- when I asked him why I could not log into [insert name of megalomaniac company here] website using anything but IE.

#2 I have a feeling that several million users might object to you calling Opera or Firefox or Chrome "random browners."

 

From your original post. "extremely lazy programmers (not my words, but it's what my friends say)" Does that state any qualifications of what your friend does for a living?

It starts with making firefox work, which might require thousands of additional lines of code to make work to replace functions already done in an active x, then a thousand more for opera, then a thousand more for safari. And so on, so on. Frankly, if you dont like what you hear in a public free advice forum then go somewhere else or ignore it. Fact is your wrong when you state you removed ie, as thats not possible with vista/seven and if my clicking like on a post bothers you, your welcome to go to any other free forum. Good luck with your workarounds though.

 

Who says I'm using Vista or Windows 7? And why are you still posting to this thread? Please leave me and the posters who are actually helping me alone. :***

 

http://maketecheasier.com/how-to-view-websites-with-ie-mode-in-google-chrome/2012/09/05

 

I have to use IE at work, because that is what we are required to use. I use Firefox on my home machine, because adblock works better with FF, than it does with IE. But all in all, the browser is only as secure as the person sitting in the chair at the computer, not the other way around.

Matter of fact, just loaded IE10 up on my Win7 machine, and so far it is a good alternative, but have not had a chance to add adblock to it, which I will when I get time.

 

I am now going to lay this out on the table. YOU are the one who asked for help. YOU are the one attacking others for their suggestions. I would just suggest to lay off the personal attacks and just take the suggestion to do the easy route and use the browser that your employer requires you to use for accessing their sites.

There is nothing wrong with IE, and the comment about lazy programmers, yes there are some out there, but if the company you are working for is a multi-million or multi-billion, their programmers are not going to be lazy. They chose IE for a reason, and again there is nothing wrong with IE with using it for web browsing.

 

As I pointed out earlier in this thread, Opera can "identify" as IE or "mask" as IE. Whether or not either of those options is "masquerading" I'm not really sure. But they sure sound like it.

 

Re: FOLLOW-ON Q: to "Can I 'mask' Firefox or Opera as IE?"

Dear MD2lgyk -- You may have stopped reading this thread after posting your reply, and I haven't posted 50 times, so I can't PM you. None-the-less, I hope you happen to notice this repeat:

Follow-on Question: Would you please "hold my hand" and walk me through the process of disguising my Opera as IE? (I had to do it once before, a few years ago, and don't remember the steps.)

 

Dear Major Sir -- I did not notice 'til I had just re-set my "number of messages per page" option that you had weighed in. Thank you. All I'm saying is that I wanted posters to respect the fact that I don't want to use IE for ANY reason, and that arguing with me about why I don't want to use IE just clutters this thread and doesn't change the fact that I asked for and got several useful work-arounds.

Thank you for the clarification. My use of a computer is restricted solely to my home, so I stick to the basics which, for me, are Firefox and Opera.

I am quite happy and grateful to explore the wonderful plentitude of options provided by several of your "troops." I was just trying to express my frustration at the people who were loading this thread with comments that just told me that I was wrong without adding anything helpful.

PS: I am one of the 47% who stitches together a living working for five or six employers at any given time; it is therefore a moderately easy option for me to go to work for a different company -- it's just that I really enjoy this weekend work, and it WAS absolutely fantastic before "small, Solo-owner company" got bought up by "big, impersonal mega-corp." This wouldn't be the first time I decided I'd rather clean toilets than buckle under to "the Man."

PPS: I only post questions here when I need something unique -- that doesn't mean I don't look at your wonderful site OFTEN and find answers every time I have a generic concern or question. Thank you again!

 

http://www.opera.com/support/kb/view/843/

 

I believe you are perhaps choosing not to understand the etiquette issue I brought up; in other words, compare what you've been posting to the succinct and quite helpful replies I got from SexyAndy81, cipher and others.

I wasn't "attacking" YOU, I was just trying to express my frustration at the TWO posters who were loading this thread with comments that just told me that I was wrong without adding anything actually directly helpful to my inquiry. Please also note what I posted above to the Major:

"I am quite happy and grateful to explore the wonderful plenitude of options provided by several of your "troops."

Over and out.

 

I will always try and help if I can but if not others on here will help you.

 

Re: FOLLOW-ON Q: to "Can I 'mask' Firefox or Opera as IE?"

Sorry, but I cannot. I got fed up with Opera and haven't used it in a couple of years. Just look through the Options (or Settings) tabs - it's in there somewhere.

 

Use the article that Colemanguy linked to:
Hiding Opera's Identity from Certain Sites

I am a loyal Opera user and I have used this method to access a web site, which I will not name, that always popped up a page
telling me that "my browser is too old" even though I (usually) had the latest version.
It would not accept Any version of Opera.

Try the Identify as Internet Explorer first.
Be sure to click the OK button.
Then quit the browser, reload and try the site.
If it still does not work, try Mask as Internet Explorer.

Here is a discussion about this topic on the Opera Forums:
Browser Identification

I am currently using version 11.64 until I'm sure that version 12.xx is really stable.

Opera 11.64 for Windows

My experience is that Opera is more 'web site friendly' than it was several years ago.

P.S.
Using a "standard" skin and disabling Special Effects may help.

 

It looks like "mjnc" has jumped in and given me the complete answer (in conjunction with "colemanguy." Thank you for putting me on the right track in the beginning. I for one continue to love Opera's speed and easy-to-use functions.

 

Dear David: I'll definitely get back to you with an answer -- right now, I've figured out that -- averaged out weekly -- this one employer (out of my five or six) nets me 10% of my income while costing me 40% of my time. So this whole issue is going on the back burned for the next few days.