You have been sent this message from sachin_tiwari@xxxxxxxxx as a courtesy =
of washingtonpost.com=20
=20
Firefox Leaves No Reason to Endure Internet Explorer
=20
By Rob Pegoraro
=20
=20 Internet Explorer, you're fired.
=20
That should have been said a long time ago. After Microsoft cemented a mon=
opoly of the Web-browser market, it let Internet Explorer go stale, parceli=
ng out ho-hum updates that neglected vulnerabilities routinely exploited by=
hostile Web sites. Not until August's Windows XP Service Pack 2 update did=
(some) users get any real relief.=20
=20
And yet people found reasons to stick with IE -- alternative browsers cost=
money, were too slow, too complicated, or didn't work with enough Web site=
s.
=20
No more. Tuesday, the answer to IE arrived: a safe, free, fast, simple and=
compatible browser called Mozilla Firefox.=20
=20
Firefox (available for Win 98 or newer, Mac OS X and Linux at www.mozilla.=
org) is an unlikely rival, developed by a small nonprofit group with extens=
ive volunteer help. Its code dates to Netscape and its open-source successo=
r, Mozilla, but in the two years since Firefox debuted as a minimal, browse=
r-only offshoot of those sprawling suites, it has grown into a remarkable p=
roduct.=20
=20
Firefox displays an elegant simplicity within and without. Its toolbar pre=
sents only the basic browsing commands: back, forward, reload, stop, home. =
Its Options screen consists of five simple categories of settings -- most o=
f which don't need adjusting, since the defaults actually make sense.
=20
One in particular should delight many long-suffering Web users: Firefox bl=
ocks pop-up ads automatically.
=20
But Firefox's security goes deeper than that. It doesn't support Microsoft=
's dangerous ActiveX software, which gives a Web site the run of your compu=
ter. It omits IE's extensive hooks into the rest of Windows, which can turn=
a mishap into a systemwide meltdown.
=20
Firefox resists "phishing" scams, in which con artists lure users into ent=
ering personal info on fake Web pages, by making it easier to tell good sit=
es from bad. When you land on an encrypted page -- almost no phishing sites=
provide this protection -- Firefox advertises that status by highlighting =
the address bar in yellow. It also lists that page's domain name on the sta=
tus bar; if that doesn't match what you see in the address bar, you're prob=
ably on a phishing site.
=20
To keep Firefox current with any security fixes, the browser is designed t=
o check for updates automatically.=20
=20
A "Find" bar at the bottom of Firefox's window lets you search for words o=
n a page without blocking your view of the page itself; as you type a query=
, the first matching item is highlighted in green. "Find Next" and "Find Pr=
evious" buttons jump to other matches, and a "Highlight" button paints all =
of them in yellow.=20
=20
For searches across the entire Web, a box at the top right provides a shor=
tcut to Google queries, and a menu lists five other sites, including Yahoo,=
Amazon and eBay. Downloadable plug-ins offer access to such resources as t=
he Internet Movie Database.
=20
What if that Google search yields four interesting sites? Hold down the Co=
ntrol key as you click each link, and they will open behind separate tabs i=
n your existing window. This tabbed browsing -- a feature shared with almos=
t all non-IE browsers -- is far more efficient and far less cluttered than =
the old one-page-per-window approach.=20
=20
Busy readers can also use Firefox's built-in RSS (Really Simple Syndicatio=
n) newsreader to fetch updates from Web sites that publish their content us=
ing this standard. This "Live Bookmarks" feature lacks the flexibility of a=
stand-alone newsreader, but it's also simpler.
=20
Web addicts can customize Firefox to no end with browser extensions that a=
dd functions and themes that alter its looks. Find the Options window's set=
tings too limiting? Type "about: config" into the address bar and you'll se=
e about 600 preferences to tweak.=20
=20
I've used Firefox as my default browser since February, and in that time I=
've found few Web sites that don't look right in it. Most of the time, it's=
the Web site's fault: Microsoft's MSN Video blocks all non-IE browsers, wh=
ile SideStep's airfare-search tool employs ActiveX (an ActiveX-free version=
is in the works). In these rare cases, I will fire up IE -- it's not like =
I can uninstall it -- or, more often, vote with my mouse and move on to ano=
ther site.
=20
Switching from IE to Firefox is nearly painless. Download a 4.7-megabyte i=
nstaller, run it, and let it import your existing IE data. Your plug-ins, b=
ookmarks, browsing history and even cookies should transfer over (IE's home=
page and any saved passwords should be imported, but were not in my tests)=
; you can then pick up in Firefox exactly where you left off in IE.=20
=20
I think anybody using Internet Explorer should switch to Firefox today. Se=
riously. Even if you've loaded every IE security update, Firefox will give =
you a faster, more useful view of the Web. If you haven't -- or if you use =
a pre-XP version of Windows ineligible for Service Pack 2's security fixes =
-- it would be lunacy to stick with IE.
=20
(If you're using Mac OS X or Linux, there's no such urgency; Apple's Safar=
i, for example, is a fine browser in its own right and offers a few conveni=
ences that Firefox leaves out.)=20
=20
Firefox's story doesn't end with this 1.0 version. Some upgrades, such as =
a rewrite of its awkward bookmarks-management interface, are waiting for la=
ter releases. But the beauty of an open-source product like this is that yo=
u can participate in its evolution. Firefox's code is open for anybody to i=
nspect and improve; you can browse a database of bugs (bugzilla.mozilla.org=
) and vote on what you want to see changed next.=20
=20
All of these advantages may still not suffice to knock off IE anytime soon=
. But Firefox's development won't grind to a halt if it doesn't suit some c=
ompany's marketing plans. Can you say that about IE?
=20
Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro at rob@xxxxxxx.
=20
=20
Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to=20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/admin/emailfriend?contentId=3DA471=
46-2004Nov13&sent=3Dno&referrer=3Demailarticle
=20
=20
Visit washingtonpost.com today for the latest in:
News - http://www.washingtonpost.com/?referrer=3Demailarticle
Politics - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/?referrer=3Demaila=
rticle
Sports - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/sports/?referrer=3Demailartic=
le
Entertainment - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artsandliving/entertai=
nmentguide/?referrer=3Demailarticle
Travel - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/travel/?referrer=3Demailartic=
le
Technology - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/technology/?referrer=3Dem=
ailarticle
Want the latest news in your inbox? Check out washingtonpost.com's e-mail n=
ewsletters:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=3Dadmin/email&referrer=3Demai=
larticle
=A9 2004 The Washington Post Company
