So far, early reviews of Internet Explorer 7 have been mostly positive, but I can confess from early experience that certain web pages (especially those with complicated forms) don't render properly in the new browser.

Problem: If you use a browser to do actual work (or even find IE7 is incompatible with your bank's website) you might not want to leap headlong into IE7 until you've given it a thorough going-over. But you don't have a choice: Microsoft will be pushing IE7 to PCs automatically through Windows Update. Wake up one morning (and no one knows what morning that might be; the release date hasn't been announced) and you may find your old familiar IE6 has been replaced with Folgers Crystals.

Solution: If you don't want IE7 automatically pushed to your PC, you need to install this simple IE7 Installation Blocker, which Microsoft released back in July. With the blocker installed, you'll still be able to install IE7 through Windows Update, but you'll have to select it manually by visiting the Windows Update website (click Tools > Windows Update) and selecting it by hand.

Alas, the blocker that Microsoft released is a script designed for administrators and is hardly user friendly (it requires running a command line instruction as administrator). If you want an easier solution, check out the simple, free, and seamless IntelliAdmin Blocker, which puts a pretty face on the Microsoft script. There's a version for local machines (pictured) and one that lets you do local or remote computers on your network. I've checked them out and they work perfectly.