Vista Browser

[brainiac]

I have an old laptop which works perfectly, but it runs Vista, which is no longer supported by Chrome. To get the best deal from my energy supplier I have to manage my account online but I can't because it keeps telling me to 'upgrade your browser', and so I cannot access my account. Really frustrating because otherwise I'm faced with much higher non-online tariffs.

I've downloaded Slimjet to no avail (same message) and tried to download Firefox but can't. Can anyone please suggest a browser for Vista that would enable me to access my energy account online?

[Buenchico]

You might be out of luck, I'm afraid.

The majority of modern browsers (including Chrome, Slimjet, Vivaldi and the latest version of Edge) are based around the Blink browser engine (which, in turn, is part of the Chromium project). When, for example, I visit a site that detects which web browser I'm using, it doesn't 'see' my actual web browser, Slimjet 31.02.0, but only 'sees' Chromium 90.0.4430.93, leading it to think that I'm using Chrome (since that's by far the most popular browser which would be detected in such a way).

So any Chrome/Blink-based browser that's capable of running under Vista is going to be detected in exactly the same way. (i.e. as out of date and potentially putting your security at risk).

The only other widely-used browser engine is Gecko, which powers Firefox and those browsers which have been forked from it (such as K-Meleon, SeaMonkey and Waterfox). So if you use any Vista-compatible Gecko-based browser, it's likely to be 'seen' as an older version of Firefox.

You could still try an older version of Firefox though. (The last version to run under Vista was 52.9.0, downloadable from here: http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/52.9.0esr/win32/en-GB/Firefox%20Setup%2052.9.0esr.exe ). However I suspect that it will still be seen as 'out of date' by your energy supplier's server.

You could also try Internet Explorer (which will be on your laptop anyway and powered by the Trident browser engine) but, once again, it's likely that your energy supplier won't permit you to use it.

Your energy supplier is legally-obliged to ensure that your online transactions with them are kept secure, meaning that they must only allow data to pass via a secure operating system and an equally secure web browser. So you could well be out of luck in trying to use Vista to manage your account online. (Microsoft's main support for Vista ended 9 years ago, with residual support ending 4 years ago).

It might be time to bit the bullet and get a Windows 10 laptop. I paid £200 for the refurbished one that I'm using now, with loads of RAM, a fast processor and a solid state drive but you can get a decent Windows laptop for not much more that half that sum if you're prepared to accept a traditional hard drive and a bit less RAM. (Let me know if you need advice on where to buy from).

[PS: If you've got a smartphone, remember that you an also access your energy account that way, avoiding the problems of using Windows-based systems altogether].

[Buenchico]

PS: A bit of googling suggests that it might be worth trying Opera. It's mainly thought of as a mobile browser but there is a version available for Windows, which will apparently run under Vista:
https://www.opera.com/computer

[brainiac]

Many thanks for your reply, Chris. Have tried downloading a few browsers but got so fed up this morning I shut the computer down and went out in the sun.

Really annoyed with the energy company for putting me in this position. It's E.ON Next who took over my Npower account when they ceased trading. Npower were great, as I could give them readings every 3 months and pay by quarterly direct debit - which, of course, ain't available with E.ON Next. There's another tariff, but much more than the online-only one. Grrr

[barry1010]

Other options - have you got a smart phone?
Or do you live near a public library with free computer facilities? You wouldn’t need to access your energy account every week.

[JimF]

Or just suck it up and buy a new laptop. I'm afraid it's only going to get worse until you do...

[brainiac]

No, don't have a smart phone and not near a library, I'm afraid.

It's especially annoying as I've obviously registered for an account some time last year I think (though not used it to run the account), as I have a password for it, so something changed in the meantime.

I sometimes see very cheap tablets advertised in newspapers, so that might be worth looking into....

[Buenchico]

If you're considering a cheap, basic tablet, the Amazon Fire 7 is the way to go. If you want it ad-free, it'll cost you £59.99. However, if you're prepared to put up with seeing ads on its lock screen, you can buy it for a tenner less, at just £49.99. Nothing else can come close to it at anything like that price!
Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[brainiac]

Thanks again, Chris, will look into that

[brainiac]

...do you know if the Fire 7 comes with adapter so you can run it off the mains?

[brainiac]

Sorry - also I see the Fire 7 comes with the Silk browser, which I've never heard of. Is it any good/would it solve my problem?

[Buenchico]

Silk is Amazon's own web browser but, just like Chrome, Slimjet, Vivaldi, Brave and the latest version of Edge, it's derived from Chromium. Websites should therefore see its browser just as they see Chrome.

The Fire 7 is supplied with a charger unit. Just like a laptop, you can leave the charger attached if you want to run it from the mains. (Indeed, that's possibly a good idea anyway. Although the Fire 7 is incredibly good value for the money, battery life isn't really one of its strong points!)

[brainiac]

Thanks again, Chris. Will spend a bit more time wrestling with E.ON Next, and go down the Fire 7 route if necessary.