Which internet browser should I choose?
Perhaps first we should start with the question, "What is a browser?" The word "browser" derives from the latin word....just kidding. A browser is the program you open to surf the internet. Plain and simple.
What most people don't know, though, is that we have a choice in browsers. Among these choices: our old friend Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari. What's different about these? We've summed up the 3 main choices for you below:
Internet Explorer 8 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/
Some Features:
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Smart Address Bar - Remembers websites you've visited and suggests addresses when you begin to enter a website address
"Web Slices" - let's you keep track of updates on regularly changing websites right from your favorites bar (not available for all sites)
Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once
Favorites Bar - easily bookmark sites and rss feeds with one click
Security - includes default malware, phishing and unsafe website warnings
Possible Downsides:
Default - this default internet browser comes installed on your computer (unless you're in Europe). Because of this it's the most popular and most targeted browser for hackers.
Speed - though Microsoft has made leaps and bounds to accelerate their browser, I find it to still be slow to start and get going. Internet Explorer, by default, often is set at a data heavy site as its home page such as MSN or AOL. Opening such sites is normally a procedure, so I find it really slows down the opening of Internet Explorer. If this is your browser of choice, change your start page to something easy to open like Google or even a blank page. This helps quite a bit.
Website Browsing - Ask any web designer or developer and they can tell you designing for Internet Explorer can be a tricky and sometimes angering process. I've come across quite a few sites with a "Best viewed in Mozilla Firefox (or similar)" message. I believe with Version 9 on the way, this will (hopefully!) get better.
Updates - Since this is a Microsoft program, updates to Internet Explorer happen through Windows Update. If you're settings for updates are set to manual or not at all, Internet Explorer may be suffering.
Mozilla Firefox 3.6 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.mozilla.com/
Some Features:
Themes - Customize your browser to make it match your personality or mood of the day
Private Browsing - Protect your browsing history while surfing. Great for online banking or using a public computer
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Smart Address Bar - Remembers websites you've visited and suggests addresses when you begin to enter a website address
Speedy - Default page is a Mozilla version of Google. Very easy to get going
Security - includes default malware, phishing and unsafe website warnings
Updates - Firefox updates regularly and it lets you know when one needs to happen
Favorites Bar - Easily bookmark, search and manage your faves with one click
Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once. You can also move and reorder your tabs.
Community - The nature of Firefox is a community based software. With a strong community Firefox is always keeping ahead of the curve
Add-on's - Possibly one of the most popular features of Firefox. Firefox has a cumulative library of add-ons from social networking tools and games to deal finders for shoppers. Check out the library here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
Possible Downsides:
Virtualization - Some anti-virus software contain "virtualization" where it allows the ability to open websites in a virtual space. This sometimes does not play nicely with Firefox as it has its own. This isn't often an issue and there are usually workarounds.
Opera 10.63 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.opera.com/
Speedy - Default page is non data heavy. Very easy to get going
Speed Dial - Save your favorite websites as buttons on the home page.
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Customization - allows you to change the layout of buttons, toolbars and customize the skin
Link Devises - Have a mobile device with Opera Mobile? Or another computer with Opera? Opera allows you to sync data across your devices
Mail - Opera contains a built in mail client
Memory - Opera remembers your tabs when you close it and will reopen the pages when you re-open.
Widgets - This is Opera's version of Mozilla's add-ons. While they're aren't quite as many widgets available this is still something to consider
Easy Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once. You can also move and reorder your tabs as well as double click to see a preview of what's on each tab
Control - block images, plugins, ads, etc with Opera's block content feature
Possible Downsides:
Tabs - remember to close those tabs you don't need, otherwise Opera will re-open them when you restart the software.
As you can see, different browsers offer us different ways to surf the internet. Choose the browser that's right for you.
What most people don't know, though, is that we have a choice in browsers. Among these choices: our old friend Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Chrome and Safari. What's different about these? We've summed up the 3 main choices for you below:
Internet Explorer 8 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/
Some Features:
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Smart Address Bar - Remembers websites you've visited and suggests addresses when you begin to enter a website address
"Web Slices" - let's you keep track of updates on regularly changing websites right from your favorites bar (not available for all sites)
Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once
Favorites Bar - easily bookmark sites and rss feeds with one click
Security - includes default malware, phishing and unsafe website warnings
Possible Downsides:
Default - this default internet browser comes installed on your computer (unless you're in Europe). Because of this it's the most popular and most targeted browser for hackers.
Speed - though Microsoft has made leaps and bounds to accelerate their browser, I find it to still be slow to start and get going. Internet Explorer, by default, often is set at a data heavy site as its home page such as MSN or AOL. Opening such sites is normally a procedure, so I find it really slows down the opening of Internet Explorer. If this is your browser of choice, change your start page to something easy to open like Google or even a blank page. This helps quite a bit.
Website Browsing - Ask any web designer or developer and they can tell you designing for Internet Explorer can be a tricky and sometimes angering process. I've come across quite a few sites with a "Best viewed in Mozilla Firefox (or similar)" message. I believe with Version 9 on the way, this will (hopefully!) get better.
Updates - Since this is a Microsoft program, updates to Internet Explorer happen through Windows Update. If you're settings for updates are set to manual or not at all, Internet Explorer may be suffering.
Mozilla Firefox 3.6 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.mozilla.com/
Some Features:
Themes - Customize your browser to make it match your personality or mood of the day
Private Browsing - Protect your browsing history while surfing. Great for online banking or using a public computer
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Smart Address Bar - Remembers websites you've visited and suggests addresses when you begin to enter a website address
Speedy - Default page is a Mozilla version of Google. Very easy to get going
Security - includes default malware, phishing and unsafe website warnings
Updates - Firefox updates regularly and it lets you know when one needs to happen
Favorites Bar - Easily bookmark, search and manage your faves with one click
Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once. You can also move and reorder your tabs.
Community - The nature of Firefox is a community based software. With a strong community Firefox is always keeping ahead of the curve
Add-on's - Possibly one of the most popular features of Firefox. Firefox has a cumulative library of add-ons from social networking tools and games to deal finders for shoppers. Check out the library here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
Possible Downsides:
Virtualization - Some anti-virus software contain "virtualization" where it allows the ability to open websites in a virtual space. This sometimes does not play nicely with Firefox as it has its own. This isn't often an issue and there are usually workarounds.
Opera 10.63 (Current Version)
Get it here --> http://www.opera.com/
Speedy - Default page is non data heavy. Very easy to get going
Speed Dial - Save your favorite websites as buttons on the home page.
Easy Searches - just start typing your search words in the search bar and it will give you a list of suggestions
Customization - allows you to change the layout of buttons, toolbars and customize the skin
Link Devises - Have a mobile device with Opera Mobile? Or another computer with Opera? Opera allows you to sync data across your devices
Mail - Opera contains a built in mail client
Memory - Opera remembers your tabs when you close it and will reopen the pages when you re-open.
Widgets - This is Opera's version of Mozilla's add-ons. While they're aren't quite as many widgets available this is still something to consider
Easy Tabbed Browsing - open and alternate between several browser windows at once. You can also move and reorder your tabs as well as double click to see a preview of what's on each tab
Control - block images, plugins, ads, etc with Opera's block content feature
Possible Downsides:
Tabs - remember to close those tabs you don't need, otherwise Opera will re-open them when you restart the software.
As you can see, different browsers offer us different ways to surf the internet. Choose the browser that's right for you.
