Choosing a browser?

sindersoot

Any advice on which is the safest browser to use Firefox, Internet Explorer or Google Chrome?

Once again, don't know much about pc tech but learning as we go along from all the help we have been given on here.

[Deleted User]

Internet Explorer is a common target for hackers and is fairly universally agreed not the safest of browsers.

I personally use Firefox but I don't think you'd have any problems with Chrome. See which one you prefer. Don't forget about Firefox Add ons e.g. Adblock Plus. Some very useful additions out there.

DCFC79

Well i use firefox, reason being its fast and i like the add ons you get, dont forget theres opera which isnt too bad

Red_Rose_Exile

Woot, await the fanboys and girlz!

Internet Explorer, the granddaddy of all exploitation. in internet terms, the bigger something is the more likely it is to be exploited . Firefox closes gap because of IE's inability to close holes quickly enough, catches up and gets exploited too.

All browsers suffer from weaknesses, they are written by humans after all, and where humans write the browser code, there are humans who choose to find the weaknesses.

The test is who can plug their hole fastest. The chances are that Firefox will win, because, as open source, there are more people trying to plug the hole, and it is for that reason it is my browser of choice,

However, don't forget there are other browsers out there like opera.

Marty_J

A browser is only as safe as the person using it.

Try them all out and see which one(s) you prefer.

[Deleted User]

Marty_J wrote: »

A browser is only as safe as the person using it.

A very good point...

sindersoot

Marty_J wrote: »

A browser is only as safe as the person using it.

Try them all out and see which one(s) you prefer.

Very true!

Think we will use Firefox to begin with an see how it works.

UnhappyBunny_2

I used to use Firefox but then I switched to Google Chrome mainly because of the amount of viewing window available i.e. the width of the navigation bars at the top. Internet Explorer has a huge navigation bar and Firefox is slightly smaller, but it doesn't compare to Chrome. However, you can make it seem more full screen if you press F11 with any browser but no one really uses that. All the shortcuts and icons are well thought and intuitive too.

My mother went back to Firefox though because there's still a glitch with Farmville on Facebook in that you cannot use the scroll wheel for zoom.

But it all depends on your preference. Just stay away from Internet Explorer.

bleepandbooster

Why not try Maxthon it gives you a split screen option that you may find useful.

David

BandJB

As someone who's paranoid, I use two browsers with different 'General browsing' settings.

1. Internet Explorer 8 for 'go anywhere' browsing (Tools->Security->Internet sites) with settings of...
NO Downloads; NO Javascript; NO ActiveX; NO Cookies; NO popups and NO anything else which can run scripts of any sort.
Very restrictive, but also very safe when allied with my Kaspersky AV.

2. If I find an interesting new site which needs any of the above features and didn't provoke a response from Kaspersky then I copy the URL into Firefox (default settings) and view just that site. It only takes a sequence of Click-CtrlC-Click-CtrlV to make the switch and copy the URL from IE to Firefox. But never wander away from the original site in Firefox mode! My Firefox also deletes all history, caches and cookies when it terminates.

3. For known, regularly used and completely trustworthy sites such as my banking, BBC, Amazon etc. I use IE8 but put the site into the Trusted security category with 'high' settings for that category. And I always check that the green tick is showing before I press any keys when I'm on those sites.

I use Spybot 'Immunise' and SpywareBlaster to keep my list of known bad sites up to date (weekly). Kaspersky and MS Windows monthly updates also add to the list.

I know nothing about Chrome, but both Internet Explorer and Firefox are vulnerable to attacks and bugs these days. They both use MS features (ActiveX) and Javascript to supplement basic HTML, and these have been the points of weakness which have resulted in so many of the recent 'security updates' for browsers. In this regard, Firefox has sometimes taken mutiple attempts to fix the problem: the latest just a couple of days ago (v3.5.9 and the still-buggy v6). This is understandable. Firefox is maintained by a group of enthusiastic volunteers who are very capable, but they don't have millions of dollars at stake if they fail to fix it first time round.

The open-source aspect of Firefox/Mozilla is a two-edged sword. Lots of eyes are scanning it for bugs/weaknesses (good) but some of them belong to the guys in black hats (v.bad!). You can argue the pros and cons of this situation until the cows come home.

Don't forget to check that any wireless router you have is secured, and try one of the free 'probe checks' which test to see if you have any unsecured routes into your machine (e.g. Steve Gibson's grc.com web site).

As far as the amount of screen 'real estate' being taken up by toolbars etc. is concerned, that's up to the user. My IE8 has more display area (uses less toolbar space) than my Firefox with default settings. Just configure the browser the way that suits you.

cheltenham_dude

I personally prefer Firefox as the add-ons are pretty good and, as others have mentioned, it does tend to get targeted less than Internet Explorer. For example, when I did use explorer (a good few years ago now) I used to do scans on the virus scanner and spyware scanner and there would also be some sort of bug that crept in (and I was looking at normal non-!!!!!! websites), with Firefox theres been about one bug in the last two years.