Please compare # of remotely exploitable bugs between IIS and Apache. Seeing as how Apache has much more of the market it would stand to reason, using your way of thinking, that it would have a higher rate of compromises. But it doesn't.
The IE code is badly written and needs a major overhaul but one isn't scheduled to be made available to the public till 2006/2007.
I completely agree. I'm a Firefox user because IE currently lacks built-in tabbed browsing, but I have no illusions about Firefox being perfect. I always have Java/Javascript turned off and disallow Firefox to permit sites from installing software. Firefox has had it's share of security vulnerabilities too.
As am I, and at first I assumed that FireFox (and Linux, for that matter) were just hype of the anti-Microsoft crowd. I originally downloaded Netscape as a way to check my webpages for compatibility. I started using it and realized that I liked it better! (Same thing with Linux, by the way) Just give it a chance, maybe you will too, and if not, that's fine. While I'm into computers (I'm majoring in Computer Science), I have always thought that some people are just too excited about it. If you don't like it, don't use it. But those who do use it are not heretics for it.