Best web browsers discussion

Former_MSE_Lawrence

This is the place to discuss the deals note:

Best Web Browsers

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Consumerist

I've been using Firefox for a few years now. I really do not trust Internet Explorer.

My must-have addon to Firefox is NoScript which blocks embedded scripts and other nasties with the option to allow them, either temporarily (until permission is revoked from the system-tray menu or Firefox is closed) or permanently (for online banking and other trusted sites eg MSE). I wouldn't go online withou it now.
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Lil306

Agreed, I very much prefer using Firefox now and only use Internet Explorer when I have too. I find that even on clean installations Internet Explorer has errors displaying sites straight away that use some form of scripts

Firefox provides features which seem so simplistic but they make navigation that much easier. These include scroll wheel integration, you can switch very fast between tabes or favourites by scrolling up and down on the mouse. Add-on management, provides an easy interface for disabling / updating or uninstalling add ons and recovery of websites.

Internet Explorer has lots of similar features which does make it appealing however I find Firefox more user friendly and it does not need constant Windows Update patches to keep it secure

I would uninstall it but use it for website testing... it is my preferred browser now however

simountain1

Firefox all the way, As a web designer Firefox gives a better guide as to what your page will look like in the real world.
As of late I have tried Google Chrome which is lightening fast but seems to want to store everything and tricky in the settings department

Marty999

I have tried most of the browsers but have settled with IE8, I don't have aproblem with it. I like Chrome but I still don't think it supports the Google toolbar.

JDPower

I always use Firefox as I can't be without the add-ons I use, namely:

AdblockPlus - Ads were yesterday!
AdblockPlusElementHidingHelper - Helps you create element hiding rules for Adblock Plus to fight the text ads.
CSLite - Control cookie permissions.
FEBE - Backup your Firefox data
Flashblock - Replaces Flash objects with a button you can click to view them.
FormHistoryControl - Manage formhistory entries (view, edit, delete, export/import)
GooglebarLite - A light-weight Google search toolbar
Greasemonkey - A User Script Manager for Firefox
McAfeeSiteAdvisor 26.6
MemoryFox - A Mozilla Firefox Memory Recovery and Retention Add-On
MenuEditor - Customize application menus
OrganizeStatusBar - Organize your status bar icons.
RedirectRemover - Removes Redirects from Links and Images
RequestPolicy - Control which cross-site requests are allowed. Improve the privacy of your browsing. Secure yourself from Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) and other attacks.
SessionManager - Saves and restores the state of all windows.
TryAgain - Will keep trying to load a webpage when the server is not found.

I do use SRWare Iron as a backup browser and can highly recommend it. It's exactly the same as Chrome (both are based on the open source Chromium), just with all Googles tracking stuff they have going on in the background removed:

http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php

JDPower

Consumerist wrote: »

My must-have addon to Firefox is NoScript

Personally I wouldn't recommend that to anyone but advanced users. It's a pain in the a*** and requires the patience of a saint to put up with all the non working web pages and notifications, which most people which just click allow defeating the object of it in the first place.

1anr00t

After reading this news (news to me) on MSE, I jumped in on the new Google Chrome. It took me half an hour to delete previous partial Google Chrome instalations and to re-install it properly. I was then immediately dissapointed as I found out only then that Google Chrome does not cater for Norton 360 Identity Safe. As I rely on this tool 100% I have no choice but to revert back to my old and trusted IE8 !

busenbust

Sounding like a bore (Lol) but everyone knows where I stand: FireFox with NoScript and Adblock Plus (and also some nice suggestions as listed by JDPower above). Why oh why oh why would anyone want to still use IE. Why? Why! Why I ask :rotfl:

debitcardmayhem

1anr00t wrote: »

After reading this news (news to me) on MSE, I jumped in on the new Google Chrome. It took me half an hour to delete previous partial Google Chrome instalations and to re-install it properly. I was then immediately dissapointed as I found out only then that Google Chrome does not cater for Norton 360 Identity Safe. As I rely on this tool 100% I have no choice but to revert back to my old and trusted IE8 !

Firefox For me no question, @1anr00t it works fine with NIS/360 too up to 3.5 of Firefox, Norton are a bit slow on updating with new versions of Firefox ie last time I looked Monday there was not yet a version for 3.6.

As for @JDPower noscript is not as big a pain as returning here asking for help with Virii/Malware that have come through via scripts.

Esqui

I must say that the entry on Opera only focuses on it's speed and low resource usage - and the 10.50 build which is still in alpha stage. The 10.10 is the current stable version and contains a lot more, especially as it integrates a mail client, torrent client and IRC chat client (which could help if you have limited RAM or desktop space).

Great for slow connections, where it can route the web pages through its own servers and shrink the page sizes - and the Opera Link feature which means you can sync your bookmarks, searches, history and other things on all your computers and mobile: something my boyfriend knows only too well doesn't come as standard in Firefox