That's the problem with computers these days. Give people too many options and it becomes confusing to use. I've heard macs are great machines. I've never used one myself.
I'd suggest using Firefox and getting the Noscript add-on, but even that can open up a whole other can of worms as far as ease-of-use goes. Internet explorer is great because it's easy to use, familiar and everything just works. The problem with it is that it allows viruses and trojans to work easily as well. Willy, if you were using Internet Explorer version 6, you brought this on yourself. It's the most unsafe web browser on the planet. That's not just an opinion. It has more holes than swiss cheese.