IE vs. Firefox vs. Netscape

[nomav6]

I've been using Firefox for a while now and it doesn't seem to have all of the security holes that IE has and seems to run faster then netscape. so I was just wonder which one that everyone else thought was best and why.

 

[Christopher]

Firefox for me, and I already said why here: http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=1029#post8600

 

[Lorand]

Some time ago I had Netscape and Opera too, but didn’t like them, so I use IE.
There’s plenty of differences of how different browsers display tables, css, multilingual characters, etc. (it was quite a pain in the arse configuring our company website to display correctly localized characters in each browser). And since the majority of websites was designed for and tested in IE, why to use another browser?
For some fancy nonsense, like skins? C’mon, you’re not using the browser for admiring its skin... For the tab thingy? You can open several IE windows and the "tabs" are on your taskbar (of course, if you deselect the stupid grouping option from the taskbar properties in XP). For pop-up killing? ZA will do the job, it can even block banners too.
I admit that for security reasons IE is the worst possible option. But I never got a problem from that...

 

[Christopher]

Some people have a lot of windows open, and you can't reorder windows in the taskbar. So tabbed browsing makes life a lot easier then to switch between a million windows.

For some fancy nonsense, like skins?

I spend a lot of time surfing the interent, using message boards etc. I'm using a sexy skin right now. If you don't want to use a skin then don't, no harm done.

For pop-up killing? ZA will do the job, it can even block banners too.

Why use another program when it's all done internally?

Plus there are extra JS blocking features. And extensions are both easy to add and make -- any feature that you want is probably made by someone else.

And for web devs the JS console and DOM inspecter are great additions (both are optional upon instal). And the download manager makes it easy to keep an overview of your downloads instead of even more windows open in the taskbar.

 

[tristan]

Firefox, hands down

 

[Praetor]

Why use another program when it's all done internally?

Because I have a firewall anyways and I'll end up blacklisting the root site from which the popup originates ... for a browser to block it would require a connection to that site, to partially download and then to block. Firewall terminates it at the IP/DNS stage

I'm using a sexy skin right now

So am I but mine is integrated into the operating system rather than a program ... cant really say it's a major advantage but yeah ... so there

Plus there are extra JS blocking features.

Can be terminated at the firewall stage

And the download manager makes it easy to keep an overview of your downloads instead of even more windows open in the taskbar.

I guess that does have some merit but for you and I, cable doesnt really mean you'll be waiting a lot so those windows will close fairly fast (and if you're DLing massive files... you wont be downloading like 20 of them so there shouldnt be a problem there)

 

[[tab]]

I use Firefox and Opera... IE isn't an option for me (I'm far too lazy to set up Wine just for MSIE).

 

[Hellfire]

Why would anyone still wanna use I.E I dunno.. ok Mozilla doesn't allways work (sorry I call it mozilla as I use the e-mail options and have the full mozilla package) click here for more info,

Once I used mozilla I will never go back, the only problem I experienced was downloading, it sometimes didn't download with the download manager but seems to be fine lately, It's alot better with the tab's option for someone using ME, it's alot better looking, And the features are alot better.

Once you try mozilla I doubt anyone will go back... I won't

btw Mozilla aren't paying me to say this. shamely

 

[Praetor]

Once you try mozilla I doubt anyone will go back... I won't

I went back.

 

[Christopher]

Because I have a firewall anyways and I'll end up blacklisting the root site from which the popup originates ... for a browser to block it would require a connection to that site, to partially download and then to block. Firewall terminates it at the IP/DNS stage

What? What kind of crazy firewall is blocking popups before you've downloaded them

Bottom line, Firefox does everything IE does (with a firewall), and does it better. Faster rendering, more innate features, better web standards... Development that is actually progressing...

 

[Praetor]

What? What kind of crazy firewall is blocking popups before you've downloaded them

Any firewall that support IP blacklisting. If you nail the IP the popup orignates from then the popup can never even begin to come into existance

 

[Christopher]

I'm confused, that's blocking all popups from any one site then. What if it was a legitimate popup?

You need some sort of software that will analyze the script that generates the popup. For which, any external program will be slower to block it then if it were to be an included function. It's not like each popup has it's own IP address, if you blacklist one IP to block popups then you block all of them -- including the ones you want to see.

Not to mention no one has even stated one feature of IE that would be favorable over Firefox. There might be one or two small things that I've just forgotten (seeing as I've yet to open IE since FF.6), so feel free to freshen my memory so I can just download the easily installable extension for it

One extension I can't find that I had in IE... There's no extension for "massive security flaws", dang.

 

[tristan]

IE is a spyware trap.. firefox is by far the best out right now. although, this SP2 Beta i am using takes care of a lot of those problems for IE. Lets see how the release goes

 

[Praetor]

I'm confused, that's blocking all popups from any one site then. What if it was a legitimate popup?

Well I said this was for me not necesarily for everyone I dont think ive ever gone to more than two different sites that have legitimate popups (for which I exclude) and also and even then if you wanted you can always use blacklisting (although I find whitelisting a lot less work)

You need some sort of software that will analyze the script that generates the popup. For which, any external program will be slower to block it then if it were to be an included function. It's not like each popup has it's own IP address, if you blacklist one IP to block popups then you block all of them -- including the ones you want to see.

Yes that's one take on it and it probably works for 99% of the people out there... it's just that there are only two sites that I goto that need popups. ComputerForum and Hushmail. That's it. Hence whitelisting is the most effective way to do things (i.e., no JS/JavaApp, no ActiveX, no cookies, no nothing ... well maybe not that extreme but you get the idea).

Also dont forget there are text-only browsers out there

Not to mention no one has even stated one feature of IE that would be favorable over Firefox

True and for me specifically it's not so much an "advantage" of IE but rather and inconvenience (without massive benifits) of switching to something else

 

[4W4K3]

i used firefox for abotu a week...i had 100's of popups (the installed one just didnt work) it was significantly slower than IE6 (not sure why...my friend uses it and its really fast) and i just plain didnt like it. i've never had a virus or trojan using IE6 so i stick with IE.

 

[Christopher]

That's odd 4W4K3. Which version of FF were you running? All of them 'cept the last few have been pretty buggy.

True and for me specifically it's not so much an "advantage" of IE but rather and inconvenience (without massive benifits) of switching to something else

lol what's so inconvenient? Upon install of FF it asks you if you want to import favorites, cookies, saved form info, passwords... But yes, I think I can see what you mean -- just like it's inconvenient for me to go back to IE I suppose.

 

[tristan]

You obviously didnt have popup blocker enabled 4w4k3. Just go in FF options and enable it. Theres no way a popup would get through with that enabled. Ive been using mozilla since it first came out, then went to ff when that came out and even when it was buggy it still blew IE out of the water.

 

[tristan]

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=142798&hl=Browser

These are all reliable computer information enhanced people.

 

[4W4K3]

You obviously didnt have popup blocker enabled 4w4k3. Just go in FF options and enable it. Theres no way a popup would get through with that enabled. Ive been using mozilla since it first came out, then went to ff when that came out and even when it was buggy it still blew IE out of the water.

i think the problem was i had 2 popup blockers enabled at the same time? i remember it was enabled cuz i turned it on after researching it. i couldnt figure out how to turn it on (n3wb) lol. it was probably just a buggy old version...i dont remember where i downloaded it from.

 

[tristan]

huh.. you should give the new .9 a whirl. I think you will find it worth it.