Bad Java, sloppy HTML code can wreak havoc on browsers

Q: While I am searching various websites I often get the error, “Internet Explorer has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.” Windows never closes the program, so I click Close Program, and I’m returned to the site I was using. Do I have hardware/software problems, or is this something I have to live with? A: The problem here is almost certainly software. Internet Explorer is having trouble rendering the web pages you are visiting. This could be a problem with your browser or the code of the websites.

There are poorly constructed web pages out there with bad Java, sloppy HTML and other design flaws that can wreak havoc on your browser. But these tend to be sites from small organizations that don’t have the budget or expertise to deploy something that is well constructed and robustly functional. Big names like major news outlets, banks and retail providers don’t tend to fall into this category.

To troubleshoot, I would start by assuming the issue is local to your computer and try resetting Internet Explorer to its default settings.

Start by clicking on Tools, then Internet Options. Under the Advanced tab click on Reset and hit Reset again in the window that pops up.

Follow the prompts and then restart your computer when complete.

If this does not solve the issue, perform a malware scan on your system to see if you have an issue there. Much of the malware and spyware out there is designed to interact with your browser. Behavior like what you describe could be a sign of infection.

On a side note, I am no fan of Internet Explorer or the Edge browser. I prefer Google Chrome and recommend it for its reliability when surfing the internet. Mozilla Firefox is my second choice.

You can have more than one browser installed on your PC, so you might consider installing all three so you can test them out to see which one gives you a better experience.