Firefox vs. IE
 

I have a confession to make. I am a dedicated IE user. I've noticed that might make me a bit of an odd man out amongst the more seasoned 2+2ers. My question is, why? I've yet (knocks on wood) to ever get any virus, trojan, adware, etc, etc...but I'm also pretty careful, I think. I'm generally happy with my Internet surfing experience.

All that being said, I'm open to alternatives. A few years ago I tried some other browsers, but after some compatibility issues with some websites, I went back to IE. I'm sure things have come a long way since then.

So, why Firefox? Or, for the few that are like me, why IE?

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

I'm in exactly the same boat.

Never had any trojans, etc. I like the compatability of my browser and knowing how it will work.

It is predictable to me and I am used to the short cut keys etc.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

I use Firefox. Here's why:

1) Add-ons: The main reason I use Firefox is it's extensibility. There are literally thousands of add-ons for it and there are new ones coming out all the time. I never see any banner ads because I use Adblock Plus. I never see Google ads because I use Customizegoogle. I can manage which sites are allowed to run scripts and install cookies. There are too many add-ons to mention but if you've ever thought "I'd like to be able to do [blank] inside my browser", you probably can with a Firefox add-on.

2) Security: I'm not going to tell you Firefox is 100% secure, it's not. But it is open-source so anyone who wants to can audit the code and bring security issues to Mozilla's attention. ActiveX is still a big threat to IE.

3) Development: Firefox has had features for years that IE only recently introduced in IE7 (tabs, RSS feeds, etc). Firefox 2.0 came out last year, Firefox 3.0 will probably be released early next year. Good luck seeing IE8 before 2010.

With all this being said, if you are only a casual internet user you may not see a big difference between IE and Firefox. But any poweruser or anyone who spends a significant amount of time on the web will see a huge improvement with Firefox + add-ons.

Ask me any questions. I'll be happy to answer.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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I use Firefox. Here's why:

1) Add-ons: The main reason I use Firefox is it's extensibility. There are literally thousands of add-ons for it and there are new ones coming out all the time. I never see any banner ads because I use Adblock Plus. I never see Google ads because I use Customizegoogle. I can manage which sites are allowed to run scripts and install cookies. There are too many add-ons to mention but if you've ever thought "I'd like to be able to do [blank] inside my browser", you probably can with a Firefox add-on.

2) Security: I'm not going to tell you Firefox is 100% secure, it's not. But it is open-source so anyone who wants to can audit the code and bring security issues to Mozilla's attention. ActiveX is still a big threat to IE.

3) Development: Firefox has had features for years that IE only recently introduced in IE7 (tabs, RSS feeds, etc). Firefox 2.0 came out last year, Firefox 3.0 will probably be released early next year. Good luck seeing IE8 before 2010.

With all this being said, if you are only a casual internet user you may not see a big difference between IE and Firefox. But any poweruser or anyone who spends a significant amount of time on the web will see a huge improvement with Firefox + add-ons.

Ask me any questions. I'll be happy to answer.

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Also it's quicker (renders pages faster). I also really like the Master Password feature.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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A few years ago I tried some other browsers, but after some compatibility issues with some websites, I went back to IE. I'm sure things have come a long way since then.

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Firefox has an add-on (called "IE Tab") that allows you to view incompatible pages in IE format without switching browsers. All it takes is a right click on the tab (you also can compile a list of such sites to morph automatically). Ultimately you're running IE inside Firefox, but it's very handy.

Personally, I've been using Firefox exclusively for more than a year, and love it. The tabs brought me in, and the ability to customize -- the skins alone are worth it for me -- made it the hands-down winner. It's also much faster for me.

I would suggest you download it when you have some free time, and tinker with it.

I also use Thunderbird (Mozilla's Outlook) and love that as well.

As for security -- and I'm nowhere near a tech so correct me if I'm wrong -- one of the biggest reasons Firefox is much safer than IE is because hacks overwhelmingly target IE because of its much larger user base.

EDIT: Also, the "Foxmarks" feature is money. It allows you to run Firefox on several computers with the same bookmarks. It's great.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

The customization is key as stated by everyone else.

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As for security -- and I'm nowhere near a tech so correct me if I'm wrong -- one of the biggest reasons Firefox is much safer than IE is because hacks overwhelmingly target IE because of its much larger user base.

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This is really true. IE and FF both get regular patches and have known holes, but since many people design just for the #1, the #2 is sometimes safer in a sense. This is the same thing for Linux or OS X vs Windows.

That being said, a lot of people are going to be screwed because of bad habits they picked up when using a non-#1 when hackers start programing cross-platform.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

see here(Guaranteed to NOT be a rickroll.)

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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As for security -- and I'm nowhere near a tech so correct me if I'm wrong -- one of the biggest reasons Firefox is much safer than IE is because hacks overwhelmingly target IE because of its much larger user base.

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This is really true. IE and FF both get regular patches and have known holes, but since many people design just for the #1, the #2 is sometimes safer in a sense. This is the same thing for Linux or OS X vs Windows.

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I'd guess that IE users (the default) update their security less frequently than Firefox users (a conscious download). That'd be another reason to target IE.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

opera is a good alternative.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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see here(Guaranteed to NOT be a rickroll.)

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haha what a retarded ad

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

I just opened up 2p2 in IE. I never realized it had ads! And flashing banner ads at that. Gross.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

If you are careful with you security settings (both browser and windows), IE (especially IE7) isn't really much more of a security risk than Firefox. That said, I use Firefox because I think it's generally a better browser, and I like performance and the interface (which is really very similar to IE6).

Curiously enough, the only spyware infection I ever got (on a work PC) I got using firefox. I was looking up a song lyric while on lunch break (That's what I told people anyway :-) ), and on a harmless looking site, I got a Java applet dialog saying I needed a plugin to view content on the site, and asking me to approve installation of an signed executable. I bit, and started getting popups right away. I managed to get rid of the crap manually, and the IT folks cleaned up the remnants with Adaware and Windows Defender. My biggest mistakes were that I was running with power user privileges at the time, and that I approved the install without thinking carefully enough.

The point I guess is that the best software and security settings won't protect you if a site manages to trick you into overriding them.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

I like firefox mainly for the SessionSaver plug-in.

Ability to turn on computer and auto-load 20+ 2p2 indexes/thread + other recent sites is just so awesome I'd be internet-tilted without it after all these years of FireFox use [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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The point I guess is that the best software and security settings won't protect you if a site manages to trick you into overriding them.

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Limited users can't install plug-ins.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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The point I guess is that the best software and security settings won't protect you if a site manages to trick you into overriding them.

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Limited users can't install plug-ins.

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Yes I know. I quit running as power user or admin routinely after that. I still have an account with admin rights (minus what group policies take away), but I don't use it unless I need it.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

Since some of us are starting to share out favorite add-ons, I started a new thread for just such a purpose.

I hope it's not redundant.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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The point I guess is that the best software and security settings won't protect you if a site manages to trick you into overriding them.

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Limited users can't install plug-ins.

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Yes I know. I quit running as power user or admin routinely after that. I still have an account with admin rights (minus what group policies take away), but I don't use it unless I need it.

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Can you elaborate on what sort of threat this is to the home user who does use their admin account routinely? [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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The point I guess is that the best software and security settings won't protect you if a site manages to trick you into overriding them.

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Limited users can't install plug-ins.

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Yes I know. I quit running as power user or admin routinely after that. I still have an account with admin rights (minus what group policies take away), but I don't use it unless I need it.

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Can you elaborate on what sort of threat this is to the home user who does use their admin account routinely? [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

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Classic example, hopefully obvious to most who peruse CTH - those fake pop-ups that claim you have registry errors / spyware infestations. Click here to repair, it claims to install fix, instead installs malware to infest your comp. OK to it's prompts = owned computer [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

Thanks everyone...glad to see this sparked some interesting conversation. I think I'll have to at least give Firefox a try. Ditching Norton has been very liberating; perhaps doing the same to IE would be also. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

IE7 is fine. It's not like it's 2 years ago and you're using IE6. IE6 is just awful in every sense of the word.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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As for security -- and I'm nowhere near a tech so correct me if I'm wrong -- one of the biggest reasons Firefox is much safer than IE is because hacks overwhelmingly target IE because of its much larger user base.

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Market share is certainly a factor for making IE the prime target for hackers, but Firefox has fewer holes to target. The default security settings for IE have been tightened up, which helps considerably. The biggest holes in IE are related to Active-X, which Firefox doesn't even have (which means that web sites that rely on it don't work in Firefox).

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

my answer would be ... IE does not compatible with unix

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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my answer would be ... IE does not compatible with unix

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I think that is a feature more than a bug.

Re: Firefox vs. IE
 

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my answer would be ... IE does not compatible with unix

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I think that is a feature more than a bug.

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well, that's only 1 reason on a looong list (most of them above)