I'm running XP on an older laptop (Dell) with the latest version of Firefox. I'm also running the latest version of CCleaner. My QUESTION is this, when I run CCleaner it shows a lot of files for IE like temp internet files ect. However I never use IE. can someone please tell me what is happening in the background, and is there any way to remove IE from my system completely? IE is embedded in Windows. I have not seen a successful method to remove it myself and still have Windows function properly. As LONG as you perform security updates and have firefox also up to date with its updates and have Firefox as your default browser, the only way IE could be a problem is if malware explicity calls for IExplore "www.google.com" where google is replaced with a nasty URL using redirection to a website that can take advantage of an IE exploit, and start IE on your system and hit that nasty site which usually will take advantage of exploit and then send in a payload such as trojan horse etc. Surfing the web thru Firefox you should be pretty safe as long as you dont downoad a problem thru that that uses an IE Explicit Redirection instruction. Firefox has a pretty good antivirus built into it, but I also always double check downloads with another AV to be safe. The only issue with XP is that its COMING to an end for security updates, so you might want to GO with Vista, 7, or 8 or Linux to stay supported and secure.Programs for windows can actually 'embed' IE into them. Windows Explorer does a bit of this too, and other parts of windows depend on components of IE. Because of this too, it's not safe to remove it completely (if possible). This 'embedding' behavior may be related to your temporary internet files issue. Another thing is that http(s):// URLs accessed with windows explorer (e.g. to open an image file) will go through IE or on of its components and create temporary internet files.Thank you both very much! Which would be better to upgrade to from XP , Vista or 7?First you need to find out if your hardware is compatible with W7. Then you need to find out if there are drivers available for W7. If EITHER of those answers is no, your choice is limited.Thank you! I will check on the compatibility of my hardware!