Worth a Look

Unlike the cola war of years ago, the players in the “browser war” that pits Microsoft’s nearly ubiquitous Internet Explorer (IE) against the free, open-source Mozilla Firefox have discernible differences.

One of the most ballyhooed differences is security; IE has been famously prone to flaws, while Firefox has remained largely outside of the virus and worm threatscape in part because it has fewer flaws and in part because it has fewer users and is not yet attracting the attention of hackers. That’s subject to change, of course, as more people adopt it.

Firefox has some differences that truly make it more secure, however. For example, it doesn’t automatically load ActiveX controls, tiny programs that have been the cause of many of IE’s security holes. 

In addition, Firefox offers conveniences that make Web surfing faster and easier. It’s most noted for its “tabbed browsing” feature, in which new Web pages can be opened inside a single window. The browser then shows the user tabs across the top of the page that note each page’s name.

New tabs can be opened in the background, so pages that take a long time to load can do so without getting in the way of your surfing. There’s a built-in pop-up blocker and Google search bar, and easily installed “themes” allow you to modify the look of Firefox with a mouse click.

Firefox has a small footprint—which means it uses less of the computer’s resources—because it’s meant to be customized. Rather than building in many ancillary features that you may never use, Firefox offers these as “extensions” that can be added or deleted.

For example: Want an ad blocker? A 70 KB extension does the job. Want to know the real domain name of the site you’re visiting so that you can tell if you’ve been misdirected? A 15 KB extension is available. And seasoned users swear by an extension called Mouse Gestures, in which moves of the mouse take the place of clicking on buttons.

Pros. Better security and the ability to precisely customize it to your wants and needs make Firefox a pleasure to use.

Cons. Since Firefox doesn’t automatically load ActiveX controls, there are some pages that simply won’t load in the browser, or won’t work properly. For these pages, you’ll have to open IE.

Where to get one? The browser is available for free from Mozilla’s Web site.