Should I switch to firefox?

Question

I currently have IE. Should I switch to Firefox or another browser? What are the pros and cons?

Answer 1

Firefox is much slower to load initially, but is somewhat faster once it's up and running. It takes Firefox a full 10 seconds to bring up the Google homepage while IE does it in 2 seconds on most of the machines that I use.

Firefox has compatibility issues with some websites, Yahoo being one of them.

Some claim that Firefox is not as vulnerable to attack as IE, but that's just not true. Vulnerabilities are exposed on both fairly frequently and Firefox has actually had quite a few more than IE over the past year. On balance, most Firefox vulnerabilities are patched more quickly than IE's but it does require a full reinstall of the program; they don't have a patch mechanism in place for it yet like IE does.

In the end, it's largely a tossup. If you access any sites that use Active-X controls, IE is your only option. Some sites use Java scripts that are not entirely compatible with Firefox.

I use both. The tabbed browsing in Firefox is worth the few relatively minor issues that it has.

Important: A few folks have commented that they are using Firefox without antivirus protection. That's not a wise idea at all. Firefox DOES have vulnerabilities that have been exploited. More importantly, any OS can be attacked regardless of what browser you have. Even if you remove the IE icons, it's not possible to completely remove it as its rendering engine is used extensively by Windows.

Running without antivirus protection is just plain stupid and irresponsible. Most viruses these days drop trojans on your machine that allow spammers to hijack your machine to spread SPAM. Without antivirus protection, you may very well be spewing SPAM all over the internet without even knowing it! There are several good, free antivirus products available; there's NO EXCUSE for running unprotected! Think of it as a condom for your computer, and BAG THAT BUGGER!

Answer 2

Go with Firefox. Pros: It is more secure that IE, it blocks pop-ups better than IE, you have the choice of using tabbed browsing with Firefox, very easy to clean out personal browsing history, cookies, and other junk from the Internet you do not want to keep. Cons: If there are sites you visit that use active X or flash player, you may need to reload some of those, but the site will prompt you for that and the browser gives you lots of option on how you want it to configure for those.

Answer 3

Fire fox is the best, another comment says some site cant run in firefox, simple just get the IE extension for firefox and its like a little IE inside firefox.
Once you try it you'll never look back, no harm to try it and keep IE in the backround

Answer 4

Up until about a month ago, I used nothing but Internet Explorer. After experiencing browser difficulties, ranging from lock-ups, blank webpages, and the inability to update (Automatic Update insists my copy of Windows is illegal, although I got it through my college bookstore), I downloaded and installed Firefox upon a [knowledgeable] friends' recommendation. Since then, I have not had a single instance of any of the aforementioned problems. Just remember: it's fast, it's free, and you can always uninstall it and go back to IE. In short, you have nothing to lose, so give it a shot!

Answer 5

You may use firefox, opera and IE togetger.
By using firefox, you can block pop up pages.
When you quit from it, there is a choice to delete all your private data.
You can download more than 2 files using firefox.
Opera is also very good.
IE 7 beta three is also good.
Use all of them, then try to choose the best of them by yourself.

You may use IE, opera, firefox at the same time.

Answer 6

Hey!

10 reasons to switch:

1. Tabbed Browsing

2. Popup Blocking

3. Simplified Privacy / Annoyance Eliminator

4. Find Stuff Easier

5. Better Bookmarks and History

6. Accessible, Intelligent, Responsive

7. Customizable and Extendable

8. Modern Download Manager

9. Built for standards

10. Simple and Straight-Forward

Cheers!
Andrew

Answer 7

I'm going to a school to learn Microsoft Office products, and they recently switched to Firefox, even though there are some compatibility problems. Firefox is more immune to virus infection, and has a good pop-up protection, and is generally very satisfactory. That's what I use.

Answer 8

Well its a nice option becaus I also prefer firefox. There are so many added feature comparing to IE. Its better and also bugs free to an extent.

Try it but u may wait to see what IE 7 of windows vista offers

Answer 9

firefox is great. most websites support firefox, but you will occasionally come accross a page that will not support it. that sometimes happenes when you want to watch a video on AOL or some other sites. more and more sites are supporting it though.

firefox loads faster, at least for me. plus instead of having multiple windows open you have "tabs" which really are nice and easy to use once you get used to them.

get firefox and use it for a week and then decide which one you like more.

Answer 10

firefox doesnt have pop ups

but IE is better because some web sites will only run in IE.