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For those of you who are unfamiliar with Firefox, it is a free open-source web browser made and distributed by the Mozilla Foundation. The browser has always been more popular with more technologically-savvy users, but it's use outside that demographic has increased tremendously, as evidenced by the fact that the latest version, Firefox 3, set the Guinness World Record for most downloaded software in a 24-hour period after its release on June 17, 2008 (dubbed "Download Day").
A self-proclaimed rival to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the browser's main attractions are its ease of use, high performance speed, customization and security. Internet Explorer, on the other hand, is considerably less secure and offers much less in the way of user customization.
The main area that Firefox outweighs its competitors is in its customization. The browser offers a tremendous amount of great enhancements, both aesthetic- and performance-based. Mozilla's website contains thousands of free downloadable add-ons that allow users to customize and personalize Firefox to suit their individual tastes.
Firefox also employs tabbed browsing, which makes browsing multiple web pages possible. A great feature that allows users to view different web pages in a single browser window, which is especially convenient for comparison shopping.
Internet Explorer 7 has since adopted this feature, but not has not implemented it as well as Firefox has. Unlike Firefox, Internet Explorer is only able to handle a few tabs at a time before it slows down considerably. Users have also cited unexpected crashes and freeze-ups when they attempt to navigate too quickly through multiple tabs.
Firefox also uses only a small amount of memory, as opposed to the large memory footprint of its rival, Internet Explorer. Firefox 3 has an even smaller footprint than its predecessors. What does this mean? Basically, the program takes less computer memory when you open it, and even less memory to keep it running. Firefox also contains an incredibly useful recovery feature that attempts to restore a Firefox session if it should ever crash or shutdown improperly.
Firefox offers its users with top-notch security against Internet-born viruses and spyware. Unlike Internet Explorer, Firefox utilizes incredibly superior built-in security measures that protect its users against any viruses, spyware and pop-ups that they may get while browsing the Internet. It is also constantly updated and patched in response to the latest security threats.
No browser is without its problems, and the source of Firefox's main drawback concerns its incompatibility with some websites, especially sites that utilize ActiveX or VBScript. When viewing an incompatible website, it might display improperly or, in some cases, not at all. And, although this is a problem, it is not so serious a handicap as to warrant not using Firefox at all. In fact, some users have gone so far as to create plug-ins that attempt to rectify the problem completely; for instance, one user designed an add-on that opens an embedded Internet Explorer tab within Firefox!
There are several different types of web browsers available, so it is in your best interest to try a couple out to see the pros and cons of each. Although Mozilla Firefox is my current Internet browser, and has been for years, it's important to experience what the competition has to offer for yourself- then you can decide if Firefox is the right browser for you.
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