Is FireFox really as good as it sounds?

Question

I am really used to using Internet Explorer and AOL explorer, and ive heard alot about firefox and that its supposed to be very good, I see alot of ads, and download links all the time on the net, so i wanted to ask if anyone knows if it is as good as everyone says it is. What exactly is it? I think its a browser i dont know....

Answer 1

It depends on :
1) Familiarity
2) Computer protection software/hardware present on your computer/network
3) Type of business activity on the Internet

In general, it is a great browser to utilize because:
1) It is a free browser (in comparison to Opera) and has great simplicity and ease of use (in comparison to Thunderbird, Netscape, etc.) because it is like Internet Explorer/IE. Also, it does not take much of your computer resources (AOL takes a lot out of your computer)

2) There aren't much viruses or spywares/malwares that could hijack your Firefox in comparison to IE and AOL (which is in itself a malware browser). So you faces less viruses and malware to browser to be concerned (for now)

3) More and more Internet & electronic commerce are designed and tailored to Firefox (and not just Netscape and IE). Last year, I could not do any online banking on Firefox because the financial institution application were not designed for the browser. Currently, my financial institution supports Firefox as one of recommended browser.

My recommendation is to have at least 2 browsers in case one get hijacked (because most browsers are obtained on the Internet for free and quick downloads). I believe Firefox is a great decision to add onto your computer

Answer 2

It has additional functionality than IE. Also, this a user community project where individuals can add to the usage of the product.


It's not as open to indivuduals hacking your system as well, so I feel the security is much better to me.

I use Firefox all the time except when a company mandates I use IE for access to their site.

Now with all that said, there are some things that are not completely functional. You must decide if that is important to you. For instance, Firefox has a fucntion thats suppose to allow you to save your passowrds for a given site. It is intermintent at best. Perosnally, I would not use this function. Netscape has it as well, but I worry that if someone hacked ny system, they would have access to everything important to me. Netscape v. 8.1 also has a security package that is pretty slick for free to use. I am not saying use Netscape vs. Fiirefox vs IE. You just need to check out the packages for functionality and security based upon your needs. Don't be swayed by others opinions as in the end, you are the one that has to live with the consequences with problems that occur.

Take care, you can download it and test it out versus other browsers. Ultimately, it's up to you to review the data and make the decision.

Answer 3

AOL is sending you most of those ads. No program is perfect. But Firefox is significantly better than what you're using right now. You'll notice it takes a bit longer to load when you intially click the icon. But after that, pages load faster, popups are blocked by default, and there are literally hundreds of extensions that can help you block ads and customize the browser to your liking.

My suggestion though? Get free from AOL then format your hard drive. AOL is nothing more than a huge bundle of malware.

Answer 4

Yes it is really good. If you are used to another browser, you can use plug-in in Firefox to make it work just like it. Plugins (extensions) are what makes Firefox better than any other browser. I was skeptical at first too. I even tried it once and switched back to my old browser, but then tried it again and liked it. Now I only use Firefox and have it customized the way I like it with the extensions I want.

Answer 5

Yes, I've used Firefox for over a year now, I installed it on all our computers in our classroom, over 25. It is safer than Internet Explorer, has more features, and is faster.

For example, Firefox supports Extensions. Currently, I have these extensions installed:

* ForecastFox - Tells me the weather in my area
* AdBlock - Ability to block movies, ads, or images from a website.
* IE Tab - Ability to open websites in another tab that runs using Internet Explorer, for sites that can't run on Firefox (not much)
* del.icio.us - Ability to add a bookmark to del.icio.us using a toolbar button.

There are craploads more extensions you can download.

All in all, it's very safe. I have never gotten adware or spyware from using Firefox, in fact, I don't even use any spyware programs because I haven't had any problems for over a year now.

I make everyone I know use it, on all the computers I build I install it and set it as the default.

Just download it and see for yourself.

Answer 6

Absolutely. Tabbed browsing makes everything easier, and FF functions the same way IE does--but better. It's safer, less prone to pop-ups, and has all the adaptability you could ever want.

It has one problem: The long it's open, the more resources it chews up. If you're low on memory, it might not be worth it.

However, it also doesn't crash the way IE does.

Since you're already used to multiple browsers, download it and try it out.

Answer 7

that depends on what you want. i like internet explorer because it has dhtml built into it. to do that with firefox you have to install an extension (plugin) called greasemonkey.

dhtml is a mixture of cascading style sheets, javascript, html and the dom. it allows you to add a lot more interactivity to your homepages than just javascript by itself.

but one thing good about firefox is you will get fewer viruses. that's because most people are angry at microsoft because of their bullying ways. so they only write the viruses for microsoft software.

firefox renders images much better but internet explorer loads pages much faster.

internet explorer is used by about 80% of web surfers. but i think firefox will someday replace it.

Answer 8

It's a browser like IE.

It's good, but it still has some problems. FireFox just like IE has security problems if not constantly updated and patched. FireFox also has issues with some sites and/or plug-ins and won't show some content.

If you like IE, then use it, keep it updated though.

Answer 9

I'm definitely a fan of Firefox. However, once IE 7 has the bugs worked out, I think it will give Firefox a huge run for its money.

Answer 10

it's not that good.... but some better facilities.. are availabel here... like it's Fastest browser + highly customizable... with lots of Extensions.. + Gets updated all the time... That's it...... but i think Opera is nice since it's very comfortable to use with millions of facilities....

Internet explorer 7, Opera and FireFox are most challenging browsers... today!