Note: This review addresses v11.5 of the software.

Back when Internet Explorer was languishing without a major update, a few enterprising developers figured out how to build a tabbed interface and other missing amenties around IE's basic web-page engine. One of those products, Avant Browser, was a boon to IE 6 users, adding much-needed tabbed browsing and newsfeed support.

Even today, the program still improves on IE 7 with ad blocking, a flash animation filter, mouse gestures, and skins. The program also lets you store your bookmarks, saved passwords, newsfeeds, and other configuration data online allowing you to synchronize your browsing experience among multiple locations.

--Scott Spanbauer