Why use firefox or opera over IE?

Cyrus

Just wondering everyone here seems to use either firefox or opera? should i try one and why?

garthv

go for firefox or opera purely for security reasons,firefox its a lot more safer when browsing than IE and (imho) its crashes a lot less and loads web pages faster

Gizzard

why? Im not going to state the obvious, lots of detailed articles around the web that explain why

andrew163

IE has far more security holes than the other 2, the other 2 have tabbed browsing, IE tends to attract more spyware/adware than the otehr 2 (although I know they're both capable of letting it in), the other 2 run faster, and they tend to crash less often

imo

Creamy Goodness

here's a few reasons i use Firefox over IE.

1. it was one of the first to block pop up's without using an external program
2. it has a wealth of extensions and themes that can be useful (eg. adblock, mouse gestures)
3. it has tabbed browsing (having more than one website open in one browser window)
4. it is faster at rendering web pages.
5. since IE is a microsoft product it is used in nearly every pc, hackers/nay do weller's attack this program first, leaving firefox and opera safer than IE.
6. Ie is prone to more spyware too cos it installs programs without you knowing, whereas firefox will ask you and unless it's given your ok nothing gets installed

mike65

Everything they said /\ plus they're written by independent chaps who put userbility above money.

Mike.

tuxy

Cyrus wrote:

should i try one and why?

nothing to lose and so much to gain
its a small download why would'nt you try it?

Gizzard

Firefox is only like a 6meg install

NotMe

If you're wondering about whether or not to use Firefox you should just download it and try it out. It's only a small download and you can still use IE (not everyone seems to realise this). Just have a shortcut to IE and a shortcut to Firefox on the desktop and try using Firefox for a week. If you don't like it just uninstall. Easy.

Cyrus

sound thanks lads, didnt mean to offend anyone, some seemed a bit peeved i asked instead of researching on google, i shall give it a try tonight

Creamy Goodness

good one, and if you don't like prepare to be punnished *FF fanboyism

ahem, give it a shot don't like it uninstall it

Sangre

I came for the security and tabbed browsing, I stayed for the customability and plugins.

Dempsey

tuxy wrote:

nothing to lose and so much to gain
its a small download why would'nt you try it?

I think that is why he asked about it...

jessy

IE6 is regarded as being incredibly unsafe (I personally think its pure Shi*e). Firefox is a great browser but opera is truly the choice of the Gods, it’s as safe as firefox but is faster and has more features than IE6 and Firefox (without plugins) put together, a true master class.

Just Click the Link in the Sig (you know you want to).

Third_Echelon

yup.. opera is where its at....

started using it about 6 months ago... never looked back since...

Bass.exe

I've tried Opera a bit - It's no faster than any other browser (except, of course, IE, which has all that bloat to load....). Anyway, Opera is pretty good, fairly similar to Firefox, the only reason I prefer Firefox is that I can keep it compact, i.e. only install features I really need. Either is a good choice, I just prefer Firefox.

aidan_walsh

All this has been argued any number of times already... The search function is there for a reason.

vibe666

I'm an opera boy myself.

still use IE for the odd thing (online banking cos they insist on IE :rolleyes: if only they really knew!).

tabbed browsing, the fact that you can save a session for next time (have 30 browser windows open, and want to pick up where you left off later? save it, close it and carry on later [day week whatever] as though you never left). In the event opera or your PC crashes it will remember exactly where you were when you open it again.

built in download manager.

built in 'selective' history cleaner. keep your passwords but kill everything else, or just delete stuff you don't want nosy people to see.

have lots of tabbed pages open in a window, and then open another 5 windows to keep things organised for that power browsing session.

built in email and ftp support.

loads more.

McClane

Why use anything over IE ?

IE is integrated into the windows kernel, meaning when theres a problem with IE it can/will affect your whole system.

I would have thought adware would have been enough to make people switch. IE is possibly the worst web browser i have ever had the misfortune of using.

aidan_walsh

IE is integrated into the windows kernel

No. Its not.

Its integrated deep within the Explorer shell. Not the same thing.

Dempsey

Pity there isnt like "testbenches" for internet browsers. It would prove useful

McClane

I haven't used anything since win 98 at home (and thats long gone) but back then when u installed Internet Explorer (as in 95) it replaced your shell altogeather.

Its integrated into the shell which is integrated into the kernel.

Capt'n Midnight

McClane wrote:

I haven't used anything since win 98 at home (and thats long gone) but back then when u installed Internet Explorer (as in 95) it replaced your shell altogeather.

Its integrated into the shell which is integrated into the kernel.

http://www.litepc.com/prev_lic.html - 98Lite - you can remove IE from 98 and you can also replace the 98 shell with the 95 one - it's noticeably faster on old machines.

Rambo

Gizzard wrote:

Firefox is only like a 6meg install

and remmeber you have download java support which is another 14meg
from sun java if you want java support in firefox

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html

you can also make IE safer by using sun java instead of microsoft built in VM
where many of the problems or.

Stark

Killer features for me (Firefox, I don't like Opera):

Tabbed browsing and having open in background tab set by default, so you can open loads of them easily. Normal Mozilla opens a foreground tab by default meaning you have to keep switching back and forth while opening tabs. I find tabbed browsing absolutely essential for the likes of boards.

Ad-block extension

History cleaning that works thoroughly leaving no nasty surprises. IE was an absolute **** for leaving traces behind of what you were doing.

And other nice features:

The Google search bar in the top right (can also be used for sites like amazon, dictionary.com, certain torrent sites etc.)
BBCode extension (for boards)
Faster rendering
Nicer feel.
Active development
Download manager
Hobbes' Firefox extensions for boards - http://www.boards.ie/wiki/index.php/Firefox_plugins

ai ing

Why does nobody mention that to get Opera without the banner ads it will cost you $39?

zekiel

The TAB browsing in firefox is what does it for me. once I started using it I havent looked back since.

aidan_walsh

ai ing wrote:

Why does nobody mention that to get Opera without the banner ads it will cost you $39?

Because they're mostly Google ads, unobtrusive, sometimes useful, and users who can live with it don't care.

Capt'n Midnight

Rambo wrote:

and remmeber you have download java support which is another 14meg
from sun java if you want java support in firefox

Same is true of openoffice - but both will run without it and unlike many microsoft apps and updates neither of them re-enable or reinstall it on the sly.

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
you can also make IE safer by using sun java instead of microsoft built in VM
where many of the problems or.

IE has Active X, MSJava virtual Machine and VBScripting - the fact that mozilla doesn't use them is a huge security advantage. I really hate the way they get turned on again by M$ upgrades and installs - IIS used to be a nightmare for re-exposing a secured machine.

And FireFox has a Safe mode option on the menu.

Another reason for usinf FireFox
A lot of the time IE fixes require you to download updates / spybot / cleaners / stinger etc. or even just to search the internet for a fix which is kinda hard to do when IE is broken. If you only use IE then you should install firefox as a way to access the internet when (not if) IE breaks.

RectalWareZ

:cool: I've used Opera for about 2-3 years, IE since win 95 & only started using Firefox in the last 3months. IE is now quite bugee, Opera was quite good with the multiple screen options but found it almost as slow as IE. With Firefox, yes its new and likely in the future to be swallowed by mozilla suite, the most important fecture is that it is open source (Free). To get rid of the Ad's from Opera you need to pay $39. IE is quite dated as an brower and will be at some in the future will require a complete overhall. For the moment I will continue using Firefox.......Too bad netscape got taken over by aol it killed netscape! :cool:

Capt'n Midnight

Cyrus wrote:

Just wondering everyone here seems to use either firefox or opera? should i try one and why?

The highlights of today's crop of IE holes, opening an untrusted website or looking at a bitmap in an email is now dangerous.

http://www.sans.org/newsletters/risk/display.php?v=3&i=51
Microsoft Windows HTML Help ActiveX Control Vulnerability

Description: This vulnerability in the HTML Help ActiveX Control can be used to completely compromise a Windows client. An attacker can exploit the flaw by constructing a malicious webpage or an HTML email. Browsing the webpage or opening the email is sufficient for the client compromise i.e. no further user interaction is required.

Microsoft Windows USER32 Library LoadImage Buffer Overflow

The flaw may be able to be exploited to execute arbitrary code on the client....
a malicious .ico, .bmp, .ani or .cur file

Microsoft Windows Winhlp32.exe Buffer Overflows

A specially crafted ".hlp" file may exploit these flaws to execute arbitrary code on the client system with the privileges of the logged-on user. Note that Windows prompts a user before downloading and opening a ".hlp" file. Hence, to exploit the flaw via a hyperlink or frame pointing to the malicious .hlp file will require user interaction.However, it may also be possible to invoke Winhlp32.exe via the HTML Help ActiveX Control, and exploit the flaw without any user interaction (not confirmed). The technical details and proof-of-concept exploits have been publicly posted.

Internet Explorer DHTML Edit ActiveX Control Spoofing

The attack occurs when a victim clicks a link supplied by the attacker in an email or on a webpage, which according to IE's address bar points to a trusted site. However, the attacker can manipulate all the contents of the trusted site's webpage. Hence, any information entered by the user on such a page can be stolen by the attacker (phishing attacks).... Note that the attacker can also spoof the content for secure sites by exploiting this vulnerability as IE shows a "Lock" icon on the bottom right-hand corner on a spoofed webpage.