Remember black and white television? It was great at the time, but now it's seriously behind the times. Metaphorically, you may be surfing in black and white, if your web browser is outdated.

About a third of the visitors to PQ Systems' websites have outdated web browsers, half of which are more than four years old. It's true that they work, but they are definitely not giving the best picture.

Certainly, many organizations have valid reasons for not updating their browsers. A company may have made an older browser version the company standard; perhaps you fear an upgrade will cause a conflict with other applications; or maybe you just like the look and feel of your browser's interface. But there are also some very good reasons for updating:

1. The most important reason for updating your browser is that security flaws in older browsers may allow malicious websites to read or damage files on your computer, steal your passwords, or infect your computer with viruses. Because newer browsers fix known security flaws, updating your browser will reduce the risk.

2. Outdated browsers have more bugs. Bug fixes are often why there is a newer version.

3. Newer browsers support new web capabilities that improve speed, navigation, and appearance.

4. Newer browsers are standards-compliant. In early versions, both Netscape and Internet Explorer followed their own paths in supporting HTML. In some cases, different HTML tags were needed to display pages properly, regardless of the browser. Newer browsers support the HTML and CSS standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3c.org), which develops and promotes standard technologies for the web.

5. If you use Netscape or Internet Explorer, browser updates are free. If you are a registered Opera user, upgrades are $15.

How old is your browser?

If you find that your browser is indeed outdated, it's easy to address the problem. To upgrade, you can go to an appropriate website, such as the following:

Netscape upgrade: http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/download.jsp

Internet Explorer for MacIntosh upgrade: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx#IE

Opera upgrade: https://secure.bmtmicro.com/opera/upgrade-opera.html