 Tech Time
What is Firefox?
Is it faster than a speeding bullet?
Is it safer than an international flight diverted to Bangor, Maine?
Is it more powerful than Internet Explorer?
Or is it just another technology craze?
Well, it may be all of the above.
In case you have not heard, Firefox Version 1.0, a new Internet browser, was released by the Mozilla
Foundation a few weeks ago as an alternative to Internet Explorer. Firefox is available for Windows (Win 98 and newer),
MAC OS X, and Linux.
You may have noticed there have not been many enhancements to Internet Explorer
since it won the "Browser War" of the
late 1990s. Also, Internet Explorer's minefield of security holes and welcome
mat for popup ads has been a frustration for all who surf the 'net.
Introducing Firefox, saving the Web browsing planet with some nifty (that's a technical term) features.
Nifty Features
- Tabbed Browsing—multiple Web pages are loaded as "tabs" within the same browser window. This makes it easy to switch
back and forth when reviewing search results or news items. On a results page, multiple "tabs" are opened
by pressing the Control Key and clicking
the mouse. (I recommend only opening about four tabs.)
- Popup Blocking and Improved Security—are standard with Firefox. This
eliminates those annoying ads from constantly appearing and reduces the need
to run third party software, such as Adaware, to eliminate unwanted programs/processes
(e.g. spyware, data-mining, aggressive advertising, tracking components, etc.)
from your computer. Firefox also
makes it easier to identify "phishing scam" sites. These sites are designed to
look like a valid secure site, like an online banking site, and then prompts
you to enter personal information, such as social security number, password,
ATM number, etc.
In Firefox, when you land on an encrypted page, which Phishing sites don't provide,
the address bar is highlighted in yellow. The page's domain name also appears
on the status bar. So, if the address bar isn't yellow, or
the domain name on the status bar doesn't match the page you are expecting, don't
enter private information.
- Search from Toolbar—a search box on the upper right side of the page allows
the user to search Google or another search engine without leaving the page.
Other search engine searches included with the standard version of Firefox
include
Yahoo, Amazon, and Ebay. Additional search plug-in are available at http://extensionroom.mozdev.org/list.php/Firefox/search
- "Find" Bar at the Bottom of the Firefox Window—allows the user to search for words on a page without blocking
a portion of the page with a popup window. As the user types letters, the cursor jumps and highlights the first matching letters/words on the page.
A Few Disadvantages
- Loading Images—some claim that Firefox is faster than other browsers.
My impression is that some pages, especially those with images, seem to take
a little longer to load.
- Plug-Ins—for viewing multi-media files are not as easy to download as they are in Internet Explorer. In the
few weeks I have been using Firefox, I only encountered problems a few times. When I did, I just opened the page with Internet Explorer.
So Why Switch?
Well you really don't have to switch to Firefox. But I strongly recommend that you give it a try and begin using it instead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Live on the wild side and make it your default browser!
Firefox is free. Download the Windows version from the Mozilla Web
site: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/.
Keep Internet Explorer available on your PC, just in case you have any problems
with a particular site. For example, DOCLINE
does not support Firefox at this time, and some pages that require a plug-in to
play multi-media files may not work properly.
To Download Firefox:
- Open Internet Explorer.
- Go to http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ and download Firefox.
Click on the "Free Download" link in the green box near the top of the page. When the File Download window appears,
save the Firefox Setup 1.0.exe installation file to your desktop. The file is 4.68 MB.
- Close Internet Explorer
- Install Mozilla Firefox onto your computer.
To Install Firefox
- Close any programs you may be running, including Internet Explorer.
- Double-click on the installer file you just downloaded.
- Follow the on-screen prompts (e.g. end-user license agreement, standard or custom install, etc.)
Importing Favorites List into Firefox
A big concern with many Internet Explorer users is how to import their favorites list into Firefox.
Firefox does this automatically! During the installation process, Firefox opens an Import Wizard
dialog box and asks you if you want to import your Internet options, bookmarks, history, passwords, and other data from Microsoft Internet Explorer into Firefox.
Default Browser
During installation there is a prompt asking if you want Firefox to be your default browser. Go for it! Live on the wild side of Web browsing!
|
