If you’re running on XP, you might have a problem finding a modern browser. Have you tried to upgrade IE to 10 or 11?
Headed into 6 years with iMac desktop.
Updated to Yosemite a few weeks ago (free.)
No problems.
With apologies to all of the Firefox fans, I’d recommend Google Chrome.
I hate Google, but Chrome works with most sites, and it is updatable. I had the same issue with Vista at home, and many sites required IE10 or higher to function properly.
They all worked on Chrome.
I like the Opera browser on XP. It does not come with the bloat that Chrome has. And Opera keeps itself updated easily.
XP machines can have their Internet Explorer updated to IE 10...
You will need to know if you have a 32 bit OS or a 64 bit OS (32 bit likely...)
Good luck!
I use Chrome (moved from Firefox as it became more flaky and kept slowing down as a "normal" event). I have added AD BLOCK Plus TO Chrome and also have Avira Browser Safety installed. I use Windows Defender and occasionally use a free version of malwarebytes and their rootkit version and haven't had any issues in over a year since I went that route.
Get Firefox and then install some add on’s like Flashblock and Adblock to get rid of all the blinking ads and the Classic Theme Restorer so it looks like the older browser with buttons with names on then them instead of the sleek hide everything Chrome and IE look. Also get Image zoom and NoSquint (for text).
Chrome is pretty intuitive. I wouldn’t recommend installing any Flash blockers (as some have suggested) if she plays any online games, e.g., on Facebook.
PaleMoon and Windows7. No troubles.
My 80+ year old father in law had an old PC running XP with similar problems. I upgraded to Win 8 and...voila, no more problems. It took him a little while to get used to it, but I set it up to make the sites he goes to frequently easy to get to. IMHO that is the way to go. The PC has new life & speed, too.
Avoid Opera.
I installed it for an older relative and myself awhile ago but removed it
For some reason a few versions back they took away the drop down menu bar, which means every time you want to go to a commonly / recently visited website you have to type in it
For instance if you visit FreeRepublic several times a day, there is no history and every single time you have to type in “www.freerepublic.com” which gets annoying real fast
There was supposedly a way to put it back, but it involved a complicated 10 steps of instructions involving the configuration file and even then it didn’t come back to me
Why Opera stupidly removed this common browser feature is beyond me
You have to find out what is the latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox you can use. I believe XP can run Chrome 41.0.2272.118, the latest stable release; it may be able to run Firefox 37.0, too.
Possibly some useful info here.........altho I have no personal opinion.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/browser-secure-old-windows-xp-system/
I have been a fan of Firefox, but Opera might be a good option. Another big help would be adding some more RAM... with a machine of this vintage you might have to look for used RAM online or at used computer stores. I would avoid upgrading to Windows 8 .. too confusing. However you might still be able to get Windows 7. I did an upgrade of my old XP desktop with a new motherboard, processor and more RAM moving to Windows 7 and have been very happy.
I have that same combo on my pc's and have not had a problem in a long time. You can run one right behind the other and the second one will often detect stuff that the other misses.