A Firefox in IE's Henhouse

[RedEarth]

When was the last time you heard about the browser wars? Well, they're back. The reason: For the first time in more than seven years, Microsoft (MSFT ) is losing Web browser market share. And it's not just a blip. According to Web analytics company WebSideStory, Microsoft's share of browser users who visited top e-commerce and corporate sites shrank from 95.6% in June to 93.7% in September. And people using browsers made by the Mozilla open-source software group grew from 3.5% to 5.2%.

Programmers at the Mozilla Foundation hope to increase that momentum with the release this fall of their new browser's consumer-ready version, called Firefox 1.0. It's superfast and suffers few of the security problems that have plagued Microsoft's Internet Explorer in recent months. "There's a window of opportunity for Mozilla to gain significant market share," says Stacey Quandt, analyst with tech consultant Robert Frances Group in Stamford, Conn.

NO SIGN OF PANIC. Firefox's latest preview version was released on Sept. 14, and the organization is hoping to achieve 1 million downloads in the next few weeks. Feedback from users will help polish the final version. Mozilla's market share "is limited only by our ability to reach IE users and show them that we've built a better mousetrap," says Brendan Eich, Mozilla's chief technology officer.

Microsoft is watching closely, but it's showing no panic. In August the Redmond giant released a special update of Windows, called Windows XP Service Pack 2, aimed at making the operating system and the browser more secure. It also adds a pop-up ad blocker to IE.

http://www.businessweek.com:/print/technology/content/sep2004/tc20040917_1883_tc119.htm?tc

[Owlet]

1. I dumped IE....

because I got tired of all the pop-up adds that use the IE API, so I uninstalled the whole program and installed Firefox. It's a vast improvement over IE, better interface, multi-window capability, and...no popups! Get your copy here:

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/releases/0.9.html

[Jaybird]

34. same here...

....got rid of IE and got wiyh mozilla firefox. i was getting way too many pop-ups on IE, among other problems.

i love the tabs feature on firefox

[bpilgrim]

42. Download FireFox Here ------------------------------------------- LINK

http://www.mozilla.org

psst... pass the word

peace

[RandomUser]

65. outdated link in your post

your link goes to version 0.9. The new version released was 1.0PR.

[CatWoman]

2. I use Firefox and I love it

screw Microsoft.

[fugue]

3. What about the latest Mac theme?

I'm desperate for something simple, small, and monochrome (that is, black or gray) like Pinstripe (default 0.8 theme). I simply cannot work with that horrible gaudy Winstripe thing that they included as the default theme for Mac in version 0.9. I'll take my chances with the security holes. I have to be able to look at my screen, after all.

What have they done in the latest release?

[bpilgrim]

7. fire fox themes ------------------------------------- LINK

http://texturizer.net/firefox/themes/

psst... pass the word ;->

peace

[Eye and Monkey]

35. "To protect your computer, Firefox prevented this site (texturizer.net)"-

"To protect your computer, Firefox prevented this site (texturizer.net) from installing software on your computer"

That's the message I rec'd after clicking to download...

[bpilgrim]

36. sounds like your security pref's are set a bit too high...

may want to edit firefox's preferences :shrug:

ymmv

peace

[xcmt]

71. That's normal.

That's a security feature new to 1.0. It won't allow websites that aren't a Mozilla site to automatically install software. You can still download themes and install them manually. Or go to Firefox's official theme site. Or disable the security setting.

[fugue]

43. Yeah, been there

I asked about the default theme for Mac. If any of the option themes were acceptable, I wouldn't be worried about the default one.

[bpilgrim]

46. kewl

but ya know what 'they say'... form-follows-function ;->

peace

[Red Fox]

4. FF quote: I used IE to download FireFox

FF rules, obviously.

Faster, safer, handles codes more accurately.

[0007]

63. Can I use Netscape 7.1 with Norton Security to download FireFox

I quit IE a few years ago and indeed get along fine with Netscape. I'm always open for something new but a little gun shy when things are working smoothly.

[bpilgrim]

5. wooHoo!

go opensource :bounce:

i've been using it for more than a year and it has become the only browser i use cept at work since MS authentication doesn't play well with others - grrrrrr

:hi:

peace

[seasat]

6. I finally switched to Firefox.

My wife liked IE because it allowed you to select text on a web page and print the selection. When I found Firefox had that feature, I immediately switched. I got tired of all the warnings about security holes in IE and constantly having to make sure I had the latest updates.

[bpilgrim]

8. you can also use it to view the selected txt source

a GREAT feature when developing your own web pages

:hi:

peace

[Bread and Circus]

9. I'd like to try Firefox...do I have to do any uninstalling...

or reconfiguring of I.E. to get Firefox to work and block
popups?

Anything I should know before downloading and installing?

[KDLarsen]

12. No reconfiguring needed

In fact, when you start Firefox the first time, it ask if you would like to import settings, bookmarks etc. from IE.

[phylny]

15. A question regarding Firefox & Mozilla

I currently use Mozilla as a browser and to read e-mail. All I have to do is click on the little envelope and my e-mail/usenet window comes up.

Does Firefox have the same capability, or must I use something else?

I think I looked into this a few months ago, but would have to download something else - maybe Thunderbird?

Thanks for the help.

[ozone_man]

24. Thunderbird

Use Firefox for the browser and Thunderbird for email. They both seem to work great.

[phylny]

51. Thanks ozone n/t

[Seldona]

10. I only use Avant.

Used Firefox, but it was simply to slow.

Avant is as fast as IE, but with none of the stupidity.

:)

[arwalden]

11. Avant Browser Here For Me As Well...

www.avantbrowser.com

[hunter]

14. Underneath Avant is Internet Explorer...

Sort of like new clothes for Barbie.

It's good, but still suffers many IE vulnerabilities.

[bpilgrim]

38. they're HERE

they're EVERYWHERE

;->

peace

[joe1991]

61. Agree, Firefox is slower for me also

I have used them both for several months now,
and I still prefer IE, Firefox does have some
good features, but IE loads pages faster and
handles downloads easier.

[meti57b]

13. I'm running Firefox on my ...

pc with 1024x768 resolution monitor but on my laptop with 1400x1050 resolution screen, Firefox is a mess. I ended up deleting it from the laptop.

Is there a way to right-click on Firefox and "create shortcut" to the "desktop" as with MSIE?? It seems you can't do that by right-clicking Firefox but is there another way to "create shortcut" to desktop with Firefox?

[cprise]

16. Yes and No

You can drag the tag icon near the URL onto the desktop.

[Twillig]

18. creating a shortcut--

go to the folder where firefox is and (e.g., programfiles/Mozilla firefox)

alt-click on the firefox icon and drag it onto the desktop. That will do it.

[meti57b]

23. Hi, what I had in mind .. for each webpage I might want to set a shortcut

so I can find the page fast (like for each news article I think is important) I would want to set a shortcut. I didn't mean to set one shortcut just to bring up the Firefox screen.

Thank you in advance if you have more information ... thanks again.

[chenGOD]

28. Why don't you use bookmarks?

Make a folder called news articles and bookmark articles in the folder?

[meti57b]

30. I have way too many "bookmarks" already. I make "bookmarks" for ...

websites that I expect to go to on a continuing basis.

My system is to set "shortcuts" on "desktop" for each news article of particular interest when the news is current. I make a folder for each month... for example, "September 04". When I no longer refer to the particular webpage, I drag the shortcut into that month's folder. It works extremely well for me.

It sort of looks like it is not possible to set these shortcuts with firefox.

[kamtsa]

17. Fireforx has three great features that I love ...

1. Tabbed browsing

2. Highlighting of words in a page (using Ctl-F)

3. Popup blocking

It also has a great selection of third party plugins.

[Gregorian]

19. You don't even need Crtl-F

Just type /, and follow it with the word you are looking for. It will start highlighting as you go.

However, I'm downloading the 1.0 beta release now. It is supposed to have some other find feature.

[bpilgrim]

39. TABBED Browsing is simply the best - n/t

peace

[RandomUser]

70. Adblock is my favorite extension

If you install the Adblock extension to Firefox, you can configure the filters on it so that you will NEVER see another ad again! I don't mean just pop-up ad blocking. I mean no ads in any webpage, not on the top, not in the margins, not inside an article -- nowhere.

You can set it to HIDE instead of REMOVE, so that the website owner will still get ad revenue, even if you don't see the banner ads on the site.

[Emboldened Chimp]

20. Firefox rules, IE sucks...

I don't know how I ever surfed the net without it...

[mimitabby]

21. i use firefox for everything except my bank

it doesn't work with the bank's s/w

sigh...

[Psephos]

25. Best of both worlds is a right-click away...

No problem.

Use Firefox (which you can download free from http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/), but also install the extension called IEView. While browsing in Firefox, if you encounter a page that won't function or render properly, simply right-click it with your mouse, select IEView from the context menu, and three seconds later it's up in IE. Works beautifully. I find there are very few sites that need this (a few times a week, and I am a heavy browser), but it makes it painless when you run across one.

Meanwhile, you'll rapidly become a tabbed-browsing addict in Firefox. I don't know how I got by before with all those damned windows opening in IE everytime I clicked a link. VERY useful if you like to follow multiple threads on DU :-) As a bonus, Firefox also eliminates popup ads.

[newyawker99]

58. Hi Psephos!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Cronus Protagonist]

75. Firefox and all the Mozilla products above 1.3 don't do SSL well

That might be what's wrong with the bank's software, it's SSL encrypted.

I've installed and tested every major release of Mozilla from 1.3 onwards and the only one that works consistently on SSL behind a firewall is the 1.3 version, which is the one I still use today.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13

[neomonkey]

22. Piping in

I use Firefox at home and I love it. I was rather pissed recently though when I tried to download some material from a movie site and it said I couldn't because I wasn't using IE, so I sent them a crappy and sarcastic e-mail. Made me feel better, but it sucks that much of the internet infrastructure won't accomodate anything other than Microsoft shit.

I wish I could use Firefox here at work though, I'm captive to IE.

:(

[RandomUser]

69. See #25

IEView extension will solve that problem for Firefox.

[Tangledog]

26. A good word for Opera

I know Opera costs money, but I consider it to be among the least stupid $30 I ever spent. Fast, extremely stable, built-in email (a very innovative client), Abusenet, and RSS newsfeeds (works with DU's :) ). I love having newsfeeds come in at the same time as email, and can be displayed the same. And an extremely highly-functioning popup stopper, too.

It works with everything I've tried except one level of the Rhode Island public library catalog, which has a lot of Java (not script); I have a bug report in for that.

There is a free version that displays Google Syndicate ads.

I can't compare Opera with Mozilla because I'm one of the (apparently few) people who never got Moz to work. (We have a Win2k LAN with Neoware "thin client" terminals, admittedly an unusual setup. I could get Moz to work when I was signed in as "administrator", but not when I was "tangledog" or anybody else.)

Disclaimer: not an Opera employee; never even met an Opera employee.

[bain_sidhe]

27. and another Opera testimonial

I've used it since the 5x days, and love it. The last version has everything I want, and nothing I don't. There are maybe two sites - neither of which I visit often - that won't work with it now. (Opera used to generate some javascript errors, but I haven't run into any since the 7.5 release.) One thing I love best is that you can toggle javascript off and on with two keys. I run with gif animation off and images on "cached only," because I HATE flashing/moving ads - they distract my eye when I'm trying to read. Now the java-scripters have figured out how to shove their flashing/moving garbage at me even with that set up, with javascript. (The worst offenders are the NYT and the Wash Post site.)

I love the cookie control. I can choose which sites to accept cookies from, and even whether I accept third-party cookies or not.

I love the built in newsreader that treats newsgroups like email, and, as Tangledog mentioned, RSS feeds too.

I love the customizable task bars. I love the mouse-controlled zoom and shrink. I love the find in page. I love the custom panels. I love... er, well, you get the idea! I love the spell-check add-on that makes spelling checks "native" to *every* text box (I don't even use DU's anymore, sorry Elad - after you went to all that trouble, and I was one of the ones asking for it too... again, sorry!). I love... well, you get the idea.

Opera rocks, and like Tangledog, I consider it one of the least-stupid $30 I've spent in a long while. Worth every penny, IMHO.

**edit: tyop**

[chenGOD]

29. Firefox can do all that for free...

But Opera seems pretty good as well, I've never used it so I wouldn't know.

[rawstory]

45. I prefer Opera

By far. Firefox annoys me.

[chenGOD]

57. Care to explain why? I'm just curious.

I like firefox because it's free, it's open-source, it's very customizable and while it's not totally secure, it's more secure than Internet Explorer and it gets patched more quickly too. And the new 1.0Preview release is very fast.

So, give me some good reasons to splash down 40 bucks on Opera...:)

[Princess Turandot]

72. I use 'em all..

depending on what I'm doing. One benefit of Opera is that many of the Firefox features are already part of the program when you get it. A lot of the Firefox features which seem new (at least compared to Mozilla itself) have been built into Opera for years. You don't need to install extensions. Less experienced users might find that part of firefox a bit confusing. I started using Opera about 6 years ago, because it had the best ability to modify how you view a page and is particularly good/flexible if you have any vision problems. (I had early onset cataracts which weren't diagnosed for several years, and Opera kept me browsing.).It has a feature where you can customize how you want to view a page in terms of fonts, colors, backgrounds etc that you can toggle on and off by clicking an icon: you create a set of options for page viewing which let's you pick whether you want to use the author's choice for each item, or your own. Plus it has the ability to change the page font in 10% increments with a browser button. While 'open source' is perhaps more in keeping with the original spirit of the internet, there still is something to be said for a well-written program maintained and regularly updated by the same set of people, just IMO.

I now mostly use "MyIE2", now called Maxthon, which is a shell browser program based on IE, that provides tabbed browsing, built-in ad and pop-up blockers, and is free. It's very fast. It also has a nice feature that allows you to set up 'groups' of webpages and save them, so you can load them all at one time. (You can do that with a Firefox extension, but it is less cumbersome.) I load two IE2 windows each day, and load one with my news-site group and one with my board group. It's subject to IE's vulnerabilities, but it's a nice program. My biggest issue with it is that it sometimes blocks something I want from downloading.You can download a variety of extensions for it as well.

http://www.myie2.com/html_en/home.htm

One highly rated program that I think everyone should be using is 'Spyware Blaster', which keeps a variety of spyware/active x items from planting themselves on your PC to begin with. (It won't however remove existing spyware.) It's up to 3200 items now, and recently started covering the Mozilla platform programs. It's free at:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

[Radius]

31. Love Opera

Use it on my machines at home. Solid.

[hunter]

47. Yes, Opera is good too.

Opera has some options that are well worth the money to me.

Whenever I'm on the web using a Windows machine I'll have two browsers open, depending on which sites I'm visiting -- Opera, and FireFox.

[Coconut Buddha Ape]

55. Opera on a USB Flash Drive = Goodness

I loaded Opera onto my USB flash drive and now when I am forced to use a computer that is still stuck running IE, I just pop in my USB drive and open up Opera, replete with my skins, preferences, bookmarks, and history. And even better, is that you can redirect all the caching to the mem stick too so it doesn't write to the harddrive. The downside is that it is slightly slower, even on USB 2.0, than Opera's normal speed, but it is still faster than IE. And hella cooler.

[newyawker99]

59. Hi Coconut Buddha Ape!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[neomonkey]

60. I have nothing against Opera

I used it for a couple of years before switching to Firefox, and I think they are immensely comparable and they bitch-slap IE to smithereens. However, I always detected that Opera was a heavy drain on my memory (as opposed to Firefox). It seems to me Firefox definitely runs leaner. That being said, I think they are both fantastic alternatives to Gatesware.

[Ratty]

32. Man I love the Flash blocker

I hate distracting flash ads worth a passion. Sure, everybody blocks popup ads but a Firefox extension blocks Flash ads and replaces them with an F icon so you can click it if you want to see it.

Sure, popup blocking is great but Firefox's easy ad blocking and flash blocking have won my heart.

[Terran]

33. One minor caution regarding Fire Fox

I use it and love it. But I found, when going to Microsoft's website to get critical Windows updates...if you use Fire Fox to browse the site, you CANNOT download crap. In fact, Microsoft has it set up so that you don't even see any content if you use Fire Fox. Which just goes to show you how absurdly evil Microsoft is. Very f*cking funny, Bill, you vindictive geek.

[The Blue Knight]

37. I'm using IE at school; it sucks. I rock FireFox at home.

[bpilgrim]

41. i hate that i have to use it to work with their products

especially web products :puke:

peace

[RandomUser]

66. Use the IEView extension on Firefox

see post #25

[NJGeek]

40. I am a Microsoft Certified Partners and I dumped IE

I only use it when I have to, other wise its Firefox all the way.

[Jester_11218]

44. I ise Firefox but...

Some web applications do not work with Firefox. Other than that I use it for most browsing, along with Opera.

[bpilgrim]

48. MS applications may not WORK

for the most part since MS doesn't play well with others =(

works great on os x as well ;->

peace

[George W. Dunce]

49. Just upgraded from .9

This version is much faster! Love IT! T Bird mail that goes with it is also pretty good.

[kitkatrose]

50. Just downloaded it;

It's working pretty good. A lot faster than IE. On that service pack pop up blocker and stuff, it seems that since that update showed up on my computer telling me to download it, all kinds of crap has appeared on my comp. I have no idea where it came from and if i delete it, it comes back. :grr:

[Mace]

52. I don't know what the problem is

I've never had a problem with IE and it's much better with the popup blocker in Windows XP: Service Pack 2.

FireFox is not the answer to these security problems because the majority is always the targe. Due to the massive popularity FireFox has received, more and more security vulnerabilities are being found out that could be exploited. Obviously the only way to avoid this is to stay updated. FireFox is updated more often than IE because of it being open source and anyone can fix a problem if there is one, but I'm still sticking with IE because I like it better and I don't have a problem with it.

[RandomUser]

68. ActiveX

IE has ActiveX and is tied into the operating system, Firefox is not. This means if Firefox is compromised, it won't ruin your OS. Also, Firefox doesn't allow ActiveX like IE does, so attackers can't automatically run malignant code as easily.

And the extensions framework for FF means that you can do absolutely anything with your browser. There are tons of extra optional features you can add to FF that aren't possible with IE's structure.

The Department of Homeland Security, and several other agencies, have issued advisories saying to avoid IE.

And whether FF will be targeted more in the future if it gains equivalent marketshare to IE or not, the opensource method means it gets patched quicker. There are literally daily releases with new tweaks released, whereas MS might take months to get around to issuing a patch.

[pinniped]

53. dbl post again.

.

[pinniped]

54. Opera/Firefox user here.

Internut Exploder blows.

The only thing Exploder has over Opera or Firefox is the "save webpage format" .mht. One nice neat file.

I use the "Glass Buttons" by Volter. One of the nicest IMO.

[KeepItReal]

56. Just made the switch!!

Bill Gates' browser market share is gonna drop severely...especially if Corporate Users (the folks who actually *pay* for Internet Explorer) switch on over....

[MacDo]

73. Switched also

works like a charm

[steely]

62. I just DL'ed it too -

I feel like a rebel livin' on the edge.

[Ravy]

64. I just installed it as well...

THANKS!

[RandomUser]

67. BugMeNot extension on Firefox for news junkies

If you go to lots of random news links either from LBN or news.google.com or some other news clipping service, you'll often be hit with "requires free registration" to enter news sites (like WP, NYTimes, etc.). Some of them are esoteric and you may never visit again, so not worth the bother of registering to read the article. Or you may just be concerned with privacy and tracking cookies.

Install the BugMeNot extension to your Firefox browser and you can bypass any site that requires free registration to view their articles, and just read them.

[Massacure]

74. Firefox all the way :D