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It's time to ditch that little blue "e" on
your desktop and try Firefox
Updated 12Jun2005
Microsoft has abandoned its Internet Explorer
web browser for many years ... and now they are going to abandon
you!
 Microsoft says they will no longer support any
new versions of its Internet Explorer web browser if you are
running any Windows version except for Windows XP with
Service Pack 2 patch (SP2).
There will also be no stand-alone versions of IE available to
anyone who figures that they will just install the newest IE
browser version when it comes out, so upgrading IE is also out
of the question. Considering all the security flaws and vulnerabilities
that forever keep popping up in IE over the last several months,
how would you say .... ain't THAT a peach? Gee, just when IE
users were just getting used to cleaning up their spyware, adware,
malware and scumware every other day.
[My article: Understanding and Getting
Rid of Spyware, Adware and Scumware ...forever!]
(FYI - I HAVE Windows XP-SP2 in my machine
and still won't use IE)
As you've probably heard, Microsoft's Internet Explorer web
browser has been hit with a ton of security breaches over many
months (actually years) and many of them still are not fixed
... and they are getting worse! The spyware-dropping, virus-making,
personal-info-stealing, address-spoofing scumbags out there
have found an easy mark in Microsoft's Internet Explorer because
it is so full of holes and so easy to break into (maybe you've
gotten to know some of these problems firsthand?). Have all
you IE users been enjoying your mounting piles of spyware?
Microsoft's problem has been that to give you more features,
they keep inter-twining their IE browser more and more into
the "heart" of the Windows operating system via Active-X
and Visual Basic controls. The closer they get to to core of
Windows, the thinner the walls are getting. The funny thing
about this is that these "throw-caution-to-the-wind features"
in IE (and Outlook & Outlook Express) are not even used
by most people ... they just give hackers easy avenues to come
in on. More features in IE equals more trouble! ... and
now they are going to abandon you unless you buy the
newest Windows version out there. Maybe Microsoft is the real
scumbag!
So all you internet surfing people using IE with Windows 98,
ME, NT, 2000 operating systems and want a browsing experience
that is more secure than an non-updated (or updated) IE ...
NOW what do you do!
If you DO decide to upgrade to Windows XP-SP2 in your machine,
it may anger you to a more or less degree ... depending. Because
not only will have to buy the Windows XP software and reformat
your whole computer, but you'll have to download that questionable
XP=SP2 Patch, re-install all your old software .... but wait!
... many programs written for older Windows versions simply
will not work in XP. And what's this? .... some parallel port
type devices (scanners, zip drives, etc.) that plug into your
printer port simply will no longer work at all in XP either??!!!! Ya
better check first! You may have to live with the realities.
&^%$(*#@!
Ok ... so if THAT'S not an option ...
then just stop using IE! Simple!
Enter the Mozilla Firefox Web Browser
...
This is what you need ... what you should have! Firefox is
slim, slick, quick, much more secure, and has great features
not found in IE ... and it's 100% free! This stand-alone, little
browser has tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking built in. It
installs without affecting anything currently installed in your
machine ... so don't worry. When you want to use it, just click
the icon when you're connected to the internet. If you want
to use IE or something else instead, you can still do that too.
Firefox also imports all your Favorites and Cookies from IE
with the click on a button. This thing is a snap to set up ...
just find your favorite home page on the internet .... then
go to TOOLS ... OPTIONS ... GENERAL ... and click "USE
CURRENT PAGES". Now you have your IE homepage!
The look and feel of Firefox is very similar to IE (but much
nicer) so you won't feel lost on it and before you know it,
it'll feel like you were ALWAYS using it. Nobody that I know
of has EVER looked back to IE after using Firefox! There are
things I have in Firefox that I cannot live without. When I
have to use IE, I get very frustrated because IE is an outdated
piece of junk!
Firefox can be downloaded even over a dial-up connection in
around 25 minutes because it is way smaller than anything else
out there ... only 4.7 meg. Try THAT with IE at 30 meg. Afterwards
you can easily add even more great looks (THEMES) or features
(EXTENSIONS) from the Mozilla website. Go thru the list and
pick one ... the site installs it for you. You can customize
how it looks and what it does just for YOU.
Active Toolbars & Themes:
ACTIVE TOOLBARS:
The ACTIVE TOOLBAR is a neat Firefox feature. Below shows
the fully-customizable toolbar as it comes "stock" from Mozilla.
Notice it comes complete with a small Google search bar on the
top right (other search engines can also be added). The search
box or any of the other stuff can be moved around or removed.
Cool hey? Just type your search words and go ... it's right
there on top. If more people use this, I can take Google off
of MY site!
THEMES:
Above shows what I've done to Firefox using a new THEME (the
above one is Noia Extreme) and moving the buttons around on
the toolbar. Being right-handed, I always hated having the BACK
and FORWARD arrows being on the far left of the browser ...
so I moved them! I also moved the personal toolbar and put it
next to my main bar ... then I turned off the 3rd toolbar for
more room. Just right-click on the toolbar and select CUSTOMIZE
... everything is "drag and drop" in the toolbar while in that
mode. You can also create new toolbars. It has easy-to-use PREFERENCE
settings, too ... most things are plain-English checkboxes.
Also, the ForecastFox extension on the top-right gives me live
weather. Nice! (as you can see, it was pretty hot the day I
typed this).
TABS:
Anyone who hasn't seen TABS before (above) will really like
the fact that you can open pages without getting rid of other
pages in the same browser. Open a bunch of pages and just click
across them. It really comes in handy if you're clicking multiple
links from the same page because you don't have to keep using
your BACK arrow and waiting for the original page to reset.
Click on a link with the center button of a 3-button mouse and
the new page automatically opens in a new tab ... or just hold
down the CTRL key when you click on a link if you don't have
a 3-button mouse. After that, just click the original page's
tab and open another link in another tab. Easy and fast! You
can also make a BOOKMARK folder with more than one bookmark
in it and tell them ALL to open in the same browser under different
tabs.
Live Bookmarks/RSS Feeds:
Another VERY cool feature is the Live Bookmark feature which
uses the feeds of some websites to show you all of their latest
headlines in a bookmark folder (below). I am browsing CNN's
top stories "live" without actually going there. If
I see a story I'm interested in, I just click on it and i'm
there. As you can see, I have an "RSS" folder of my
favorite feeds right on the toolbar and can run thru all the
latest headlines from different sites in just a few seconds
Extensions for Firefox's "Modular" Browser:
Firefox is a truly "modular" browser. It comes as a small
(but powerful), 4.7 meg lightweight download. In the TOOLS area
of the browser, there is a section for EXTENSIONS. "Extensions"
are "add-ons" for the browser and are easily installed. Just
click on the link in for "Get New Extensions" and you will go
to a Mozilla website with about 200 add-ons for the browser.
There is an extension made for just about anything you would
want your browser to do.
ADBLOCK:
This is Firefox's best feature. It is a very powerful add-on
that blocks banner ads on pages. It also works on Flash ads
and iFrames. When you block an ad, you can choose to reclaim
the empty space or not (move the whole page up where the ad
was). Great for those ads that seem to stall the page out until
they come up ... and you save time because you don't have to
download them or their cookies. The ads are blocked at the source!
Very cool!
IE with no Adblock |
Firefox with Adblock (and my filter list) |
If you want, I have made an importable text file for Adblock
that covers some of the major adbanner offenders. I've tested
the list on different sites and it works very well. You can
add to, delete or modify any of the info on the list.
This is my Adblock List that I keep building
and modifying
MOUSE GESTURES:
Here's another handy extension that I use. Mouse Gestures
allows you to move BACK and Forward thru your pages simply by
clicking down on your mouse button anywhere on a page
and just "flicking" it left or right and letting go. You don't
have to keep finding those browser arrows ... way cool!
IE VIEW:
A useful right-click function when you get to one of those IE-only
sites. Right-click and launch the same page in IE.
TAB MIX:
A must-have. Adds amazing functionality to the tabbed browsing
part of the browser.
If you like the Firefox browser and you are using
Outlook Express, you might want to give Firefox's sister program,
Thunderbird a try. Same nice Firefox-like interface with the
best "learning" junk mail program ever! Imports mail
and addresses from Outlook Express. Like Firefox, it is also
free!
p.s.: Everyone I know who has tried Foxfire has
LOVED it! It has become their main browser. I love BOTH of these
programs and cannot find anything better ... PERIOD!
So, give it a shot! It's free! You've got nothing
to lose except a little download time:
http://www.mozilla.com
 Here's
my own Firefox/Thunderbird background
wallpaper
... for your computer (1024 x 786). It looks especially
nice against the Windows XP blue theme. Click image for full-size
view.
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