Best free browsers
Bundle of Firefox security extensions
You can turn Firefox into an impressive security testing and auditing tool with FireCAT. It's a free collection of the "most efficient and useful Firefox Extensions oriented [to] application security auditing and assessment." This package is mainly of use to developers, security professionals and webmasters. It includes some interesting and powerful Firefox extensions that I had never previously heard of.
http://www.security-database.com/toolswatch/FireCAT-1-4-released.html
Firefox 3 incompatible with Live Hotmail
Subscriber Dag Landsnes writes, "Gizmo, I just wanted to mention a problem that occurs for people using the full version of Live Hotmail with Firefox 3. The full version of Live Hotmail is not compatible with Firefox 3, thus all users are automatically downgraded to the simpler classic version. Here's a link confirming what I just said."
http://support.mozilla.com/no/kb/Hotmail+full+version+does+not+work+in+Firefox+3
The best browser for safe and speedy surfing
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By
Scott Spanbauer
If you spend much time on the Web, you need more protection and better performance than you get from Internet Explorer 7. You have several alternatives to choose from, but only one offers the top rendering speed, the best compatibility with major sites, and the most customization options. |
If you use Internet Explorer, you're missing out
Once upon a time, in a cyberspace not so far away, Microsoft and Netscape engaged in a conflict called the browser wars. As soon as every copy of Windows included a copy of Internet Explorer (starting with Windows 98), it didn't take long for Microsoft to declare itself the winner.
By the beginning of this decade, the overwhelming majority of Web activity took place via IE. Microsoft was so certain of IE's dominance it even disbanded its browser-development team. For most Web users, innovation in browsing ended right there.
However, IE wasn't perfect. Though eminently usable, IE lacked such handy features as tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking. And ActiveX — IE's browser-based application technology — is a security nightmare, allowing carefully crafted Web sites to hijack your PC without your doing anything other than opening the infected page in your browser.
This drove security-conscious Web users to install alternative browsers, principally the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera.
In addition to more features and better security — neither program supports ActiveX by default — both browsers are highly configurable. In particular, Firefox has spawned a small industry of browser extensions that do everything from blocking ads to securing scripts.
IE 7 on a fully patched version of Windows is much safer to browse with than earlier versions of the browser, though a careless user can still permit an evil ActiveX control to take over the PC. IE 7 is safest when running on a Windows Vista PC because Vista prevents browser applications from writing directly to the file system.
Nevertheless, there's no reason why you have to use only one browser. In my experience, no single browser will open every Web site out there without errors. Some browsers are better than others at rendering specific sites. You're likely to find that Firefox or Opera or both are excellent adjuncts to or even replacements for the browser that ships with Windows.
The best browser money can't buy
There are three primary reasons why I use Firefox 3 every day. First, the browser is highly secure, as described in this PC World blog entry, "Study Finds Firefox Users Safest, IE Users Unsafe." Second, Firefox loads almost every site and Web-hosted service quickly and without requiring any intervention on my part. Last, Firefox is almost infinitely expandable, thanks to the many extensions offered by third parties.
I wasn't always crazy about Firefox. Version 2 has one major flaw: It (and its installed extensions) consumes system memory like crazy and usually refuses to give it back until you close the browser.
In my daily use of Firefox 2, I routinely notice the system actually slowing down as the browser chews up all the available memory. After using the browser for a day or so with several pages open, Windows' Task Manager will often show that the browser is using nearly 300MB of memory.
Despite this major flaw, I never gave up using Firefox as my default browser — it has too much else going for it. Like IE and Opera, Firefox 2 has essential features such as multipage tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, a password manager, and a phishing detector.
Still, what has always made Firefox irreplaceable is its array of downloadable extensions that allow you to fine-tune, secure, and customize your browsing experience.
At long last, Firefox 3 solves the memory leak problem and ices the cake with new features. Almost everywhere you look in the new release, Mozilla has made incremental improvements.
Topping the list of new features are its ability to browse new extensions right in the Add-ons dialog box, beefed up phishing protection, and a mind-reading address field that suggests sites from your history and bookmarks as soon as you start typing (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Firefox 3's Location bar predicts the site you want to visit as you type the address.
The browser feels snappier than its predecessor. According to Mozilla, Firefox 3 loads pages much faster than the previous version. After a day or two of steady use opening and closing dozens of pages in multiple tabs, Task Manager reports that Firefox is using a mere 130MB of memory, leaving room to run other programs without slowdowns. That's a blessing for people like me who need to squeeze another year of use out of a laptop maxed out with 512MB of RAM.
A feature-laden stickler for standards
Opera offered such key features as tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking long before Firefox and IE, and although the browser's interface is a little different, Opera often matches or exceeds the features in the market-leading browsers, including password management.
Opera is fast and secure and is kept up-to-date whenever security flaws do occur. So why isn't the program my favorite browser?
My biggest hang-up with Opera — and the one that keeps me from using it on a daily basis — is that, for whatever reason (perhaps its strict adherence to Web standards), Opera sometimes won't load a page properly — or at all.
For example, the latest version 9.5.1 simply won't display Gmail properly under Windows XP. This is a showstopper for me (though Gmail displays correctly in Opera under Windows Vista).
The browser also balks at loading secure Web pages that use the HTTPS protocol, including my ISP's spam filter page (a daily destination for me) and my university e-mail page. No amount of enabling or disabling of security protocols in Opera's Preferences settings overcomes this issue, though the same pages load fine in IE and Firefox.
My other operatic lament is the lack of the many Firefox extensions I've come to love. In a few cases, Opera includes a built-in feature that makes the equivalent Firefox extension unnecessary.
An example of this is Opera's Web-based synchronization service, Opera Link, which lets you synchronize bookmarks and Speed Dial links (which are equivalent to Firefox's Personal Bookmarks toolbar) among several different Opera installations, a task I perform in Firefox using the Foxmarks extension. In other cases, however, using Opera means giving up a handy tool I've become accustomed to.
Though extensions are not an absolute requirement, I prefer having the option to use them. Opera's other great features are reason enough to keep the program installed on my PCs, however. I could certainly see making Opera my default browser, but not until I can be sure it will work with all of the Web sites I visit daily.
Scott Spanbauer writes frequently for PC World, Business 2.0, CIO, Forbes ASAP, and Fortune Small Business. He has contributed to several books and was technical reviewer of Jim Aspinwall's PC Hacks.
Firefox 3 released
After a lengthy period of testing, Firefox version 3 was released publicly on Tuesday the 18th of June. It's faster, safer, easier to use and has many new features. I'll give you a full report when I've fully tested it but at the moment I can confidently say the only reason you wouldn't want to upgrade from V2 is the possibility that some of your extensions may not work with V3.
http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
Great Internet Explorer v7/v8 site
Here's a site dedicated to IE7 and IE8 issues. There are a lot of useful tips here, though Firefox users will probably find this article [1] on uninstalling IE the most interesting.
[1] http://www.ie-vista.com/kbase2.html
The next generation of browsers
The browser wars are back! Support for Ajax features and the need for standards compliance are driving frenetic development of the next generation of browsers that are coming your way soon. Thanks to Mikel for the link.
http://eclipse.sys-con.com/read/547209.htm
Briard's take on the latest version of Ubuntu
Ubuntu 8.04 has just been released. According to Linux pundits, this polished new version will attract disgruntled Vista users in droves. Regular contributor Briard has checked it over and has come to his own conclusion. Another informative and engaging article in the classic Briard style.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/review-ubuntu-hardy-heron.htm
Automate tasks in Firefox and Internet Explorer
IOpus iMacros is a free Firefox extension [1] and IE add-on [2] that may save you a lot of work. Here's what the site says about the Firefox version: "If you love the Firefox web browser, but are tired of repetitive tasks like visiting the same sites every day, filling out forms, and remembering passwords, then iMacros for Firefox is the solution you've been dreaming of! iMacros was designed to automate the most repetitious tasks on the web. If there's an activity you have to do repeatedly, just record it in iMacros. The next time you need to do it, the entire macro will run at the click of a button!"
I'm not so sure about using iMacros for passwords; RoboForm remains my top choice for that function. However, for automating web tasks like completing forms, checking stock prices, hotel rates, air fares, web forums or general website testing, this is an outstanding free tool. For support and usage tips check out the IOpus site [3]. Freeware, Windows 2000->Vista, Firefox 2 or later or Internet Explorer 6 o later, 237KB (FF), 3.43MB (IE).
[1] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863
[2] http://www.download.com/iMacros-for-Internet-Explorer/3000-12772_4-10586882.html
[3] http://www.iopus.com
Make Firefox look like IE 7
Regular contributor Rick Farrow writes "Hey Gizmo. I have finally started trying out Firefox again and it sure feels better this time around. I have the usual add-ons but frankly I like the layout of IE7. Then the other day I found a FF theme that looks nearly identical to IE7 that is called myFireFox [1]. I guess there are a number of the Vista aero type themes for FF nowadays but MyFireFox is the only one I have used without any quirks." Nice find Rick, thanks. You can find some more ways to make Firefox look like Internet Explorer here [2].
[1] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4129
[2] http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/firefox_internet_explorer/
Free browsers galore
In this world there are many browsers; this site lists but some of them. Well more than 100, actually. Thanks to subscriber Mukund Kumar for the link.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/21/web-browsers-you-have-never-heard-of/
Free utility removes ads from internet explorer and more
Firefox users can effectively remove ads from web pages using the excellent free Ad-Block extension but there has been no comparable free add-on for Internet Explorer. Until now, that is.
IE7Pro not only provides ad blocking but tab management, proxy switching, mouse gestures and more including a very valuable crash recovery feature. There's even a Firefox GreaseMonkey-like scripting feature that allows you to add more functionality such as a rather neat skin for Gmail.
Hey with all these additional features you can convert IE7 into an almost passable alternative to Firefox ;>)
Seriously, IE7Pro is a terrific product and a must for all IE7 users. In fact it's so good that I suspect the pressure to convert it to a commercial product may well prove irresistible so download it now while it's free.
http://www.ie7pro.com/ Freeware, Internet Explorer 7, 985KB.
How to track changes in Web pages
There are several web services, both free and paid, that will alert you by email when a nominated webpage changes. An alternative approach to using these web services is to run a special stand alone "alerting" program on your own PC. Both approaches work fine and offer a great way to keep track of what your competitors are doing or simply to keep an eye on a site that interests you. You can find a good summary of both the web service and software options available at this site.
http://www.rba.co.uk/sources/monitor.htm
Extension sorts Firefox bookmarks
One of the features missing in Firefox's otherwise excellent bookmarks system is the ability to easily sort bookmark lists in different ways. I used to use Torisugari's "Sort Bookmarks" extension for this but it doesn't support Firefox V2. Thankfully someone has updated the extension to work with the latest versions and even improved the interface.
http://www.oregontechsupport.com/sorting-bookmarks-in-firefox/
Make Firefox look like Internet Explorer
Why would you want to do this? Because it's a clever way to wean change-resistant users away from IE.
http://johnhaller.com/jh/mozilla/firefox_internet_explorer/
An alternative to sandboxing
In the previous item I mentioned some programs that allow you to temporarily elevate the rights of a Windows limited user account. An alternative approach is to adopt the converse policy, that is, to routinely use an administrator account with full rights but reduce the privileges of specific high risk programs like your web browser. It's a strategy that offers fewer inconveniences than running a limited user account at the cost of a slightly lower level of security. Personally I prefer sandboxing these risky applications but for those who have experienced problems when they install a sandboxing program, reducing the privileges of risky applications is a viable alternative. Several free tools are available that allow you run specified programs with reduced privileges. Best known is Microsoft's own DropMyRights [1] which works with XP Pro only or SetSAFER [2] that also works with XP Home provided the .NET framework is installed. Then there is StripMyRights [3] that offers more features than DropMyRights such as command line parameters. Amust's 1-Defender [4] is also an option. Which is the best? If you are a straight Microsoft type who uses Internet Explorer /Outlook / Messenger than 1-Defender is your best bet as it's the easiest to set up. Most other users will probably find DropMyRights a better option as it works with Firefox and other products and has decent documentation on usage. What programs should you reduce the rights for? The same programs you should sandbox namely your browser, email client and IM client. If you reduce the rights of all these programs you will dramatically lower the chances of becoming infected with malware. You will a pay penalty though. Certain functions such as program updates, Macromedia Flash and others functions that require admin privileges may no longer work. Still it's not hard to switch back to full privilege versions of the programs when needed and that's an acceptable cost to pay for the increase in security you get. Remember though, that even if you run your risk-prone applications with reduced privileges you can still get infected from downloads, borrowed programs and other sources. That's why you still need to run anti-virus and other security programs.
[1] http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms972827.aspx
[2] http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dncode/html/secure01182005.asp
[3] http://www.sysint.no/nedlasting/StripMyRights.htm
[4] http://www.amustsoft.com/1-defender/
More unpatched flaws in Internet Explorer
Just days after MS released the massive April cumulative Internet Explorer update, security specialist Michal Zalewski discovered a serious flaw in IE involving the way the browser handles nested OBJECT tags in web pages. A specially crafted web page could be used by attackers to crash the browser and potentially compromise the PC. Rated "Extremely Serious" by security firm Secunia, it even affects fully patched IE 6 versions running under Windows XP SP2. While investigating the flaw Secunia researchers discovered another flaw that's equally serious. No work-arounds are available but MS is working on patches. Until these are available, users should be cautious about visiting fringe web sites or use another browser.
http://secunia.com/advisories/19762/
Microsoft security news
Another bad month for Microsoft. In addition to the identification of two new unpatched flaws in Internet Explorer (see item 3.2) it turns out that three of the five updates released on "patch Tuesday" April 11, created serious problems for users.
MS06-016 created major problems for some Outlook Express users who found they couldn't open their address books. The patch has since been corrected and re-distributed as part of an out-of- course series of releases distributed via Microsoft Update on the 25th of April.
MS06-015 broke some specific applications including Hewlett Packard's Share-to-Web software, nVidia shell extension GUID's, Kerio Personal Firewall, Roxio DragToDisc / Adaptec DirectCD shell extension and SolidWorks 3D CAD products shell extension. Again the patch has since been updated and re-distributed through the Windows Update service.
The third patch, MS06-013, a massive Internet Explorer update, created problems with some web sites. This is not really Microsoft's fault; they had given webmasters many months warning of the proposed changes and can't be held to blame for their inaction. This though, was cold comfort for surfers who suddenly found they couldn't use some of their favorite sites.
The out-of-course series of updates released on the 25th of April to patch the April 11 patches has in itself become a source of controversy as it surreptitiously included a new version of Windows Genuine Advantage that takes a much tougher approach to non genuine versions of Windows. Hmmm and we thought the Windows Update service was only for critical security updates.
Microsoft's May "Patch Tuesday" [1] produced only two critical rated patches. The first covers a flaw in Exchange Server 2000 and Exchange Server 2003 and is not relevant to workstations and home PCs. The second covers a known problem with older versions of Adobe/Macromedia Flash. This flaw was fixed in March by Adobe but the Microsoft patch prevents the flaw being exploited in computers still running Flash versions 8.0.22.0 and older. That's fine but the best solution is to ensure you are running the latest Flash version. You can upgrade to the latest version from the Adobe site [2].
All Windows updates are distributed automatically by Microsoft Update Service. Users who do not have automatic updates enabled should visit the Update Service [3] now.
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-May.mspx
[2] http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/security/security_zone/apsb06-03.html
[3] http://update.microsoft.com (Requires IE5 or later)
Which browser is the fastest?
I've long felt that Opera 9 and K-Meleon were the two fastest browsers that I've used but this was purely subjective. At this site they put 24 Windows browsers to the test and the clear winner for speed is Opera. Well behind are IE 6 and Firefox, who overall perform rather similarly. Most of the browsers that use the IE shell such as Maxthon actually run a little slower than IE itself. Interesting stuff.
http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html#winspeed
New version of Firefox available
Firefox users shouldn't really be laughing too loudly as a new version of Firefox V1.5.02 has just been released packed with security fixes. Firefox supporters could, however, quite properly observe that these are pro-active fixes to cover possible future exploits as opposed to the recent IE fixes which simply patched exploits that were already in wide circulation. Whatever the politics, you should update your Firefox version now. Existing V1.5 users should have had the update delivered automatically, while other users can do so from the Firefox site.
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/releases/1.5.0.2.html
More security woes for Internet Explorer
During the month, a serious new flaw was discovered in Internet Explorer and within days of the announcement hostile sites were using the exploit to infect visitor's PCs. The flaw related to the way Internet Explorer handled Web pages that contain non- standard calls to HTML objects using the createTextRange() method. According to MS [1], "System memory may be corrupted in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code." Somewhat unusually, MS quickly acknowledged the flaw but still got users offside by stating that a fix would not be released until the next patch cycle due out on the 11th of April. In the interim they suggested all IE users turn off active scripting or switch to the IE7 beta which was not affected. Thankfully, a couple unofficial patches [2] were released by third parties. Following the incident numerous reports have been received of Firefox and Opera users admitted to hospital suffering from the effects of excessive laughter while some unconfirmed sources indicate possible fatalities in the Mac community from the same complaint. ;>)
[1] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/917077.mspx
[2] http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1943687,00.asp
Firefox tips
Lots of useful hints including information I've not seen elsewhere.
http://the-edmeister.home.comcast.net/index.html
Running some apps as a limited user from an admin account
Running as a Windows limited user is a very effective way of increasing your internet security but it's often impractical. In this interesting article Mark Russinovich from Sysinternals shows how to run your browser and other internet apps with limited rights while retaining full administrator rights for other programs.
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2006/03/running-as-limited-user-easy-way.html
Hidden Firefox/Mozilla options
A nice listing here of some obscure settings. Not for beginners.
http://www.geocities.com/pratiksolanki/
New preview version of Opera 9
The second Technology Preview release of Opera 9 adds a whole batch of new features including BitTorrent searching and downloading, content-blocking, widgets, enhanced CSS support and much more. I've been using it on one of my PCs and have been really impressed; if this thing gets much better I'm going to have to give away Firefox!
http://snapshot.opera.com/windows/w90p2.html
The fastest browser now updated
The K-Meleon browser is a slimmed down cousin of Firefox that's optimized for Windows. Of the four browsers I use regularly, K-Meleon is the fastest loading and along with Opera, the fastest for surfing. On the downside there are only a limited number of add-ons and plug-ins available so you are pretty well limited to the features available in the standard product. The latest 0.9 version was released on the 18th of January. This updates the product to the Mozilla 1.7.5 code-base and adds a whole batch of new features including an RSS reader and privacy plug-in. If you are the type of person who prefers performance to bells and whistles you should definitely try K-Meleon. Freeware, all Windows versions though early versions may require a library update, 6.0 MB.
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
Firefox v1.5.0.1 released
The latest update includes fixes for memory leaks, improved stability plus a number of unspecified security problems. Unfortunately within a few days of the release someone reverse engineered one of the security fixes and created a working exploit that is now circulating on the web. It doesn't affect V1.5.0.1 but earlier versions are vulnerable so make sure your PC is updated. Most Firefox users will have had the update automatically downloaded to their PC. If not, visit the Mozilla site and download the latest version now.
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ (5.0MB)
How to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 beta
A number of subscribers have written seeking help uninstalling the IE7 beta. You can get it here:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2006/02/05/82589.aspx