Firefox or IE?

[YMW]

I usually use IE but have downloaded firefox to see what it is like. So far (an hour :lol: ) I can't see much difference!
Can anyone tell me the advantages of using firefox?
Or do you prefer IE?
Do any of the web design people know the stats-what % use firfox?

[creospace]

I think there have been some other postings regarding this subject if you do a search you should be able to find them.

basically 15% use FF

It renders pages better and as they should be and also tabbed browsing!

Gary

[MinuWeb]

FF is very popular in Estonia, get about 65% visitors on my local sites using it.

[coxadmin]

I love the tabbed browsing and the look of Firefox. Firefox is also far more secure than IE.

Given the choice of IE or Firefox I choose Firefox every time BUT there are some websites (e.g. some banks) that will not work in Firefox. Having said that there are numerous free plugins.

[autolycus]

The tabbed browsing is the big selling point for me.

[www.t6c.co.uk]

Why dont MS make IE tabbed I wonder.

[Coding Monkey]

I believe IE is not being made available as a single product anymore, but only made available with the OS, so you'll (probably) see it with the new Vista.

[creospace]

IE 7 with have tabbed browsing.

[easyasit]

to be honest, i mainly use IE, chiefly its because its where all my links are.
but where IE fails i thenuse firefox, this seems to work fine

Al

[confused]

I do the opposite of easyasit, I use FF 99.9% of the time, windows update site insists on IE, and the ebay pages to sell items dont work too well in FF. Other that that, its FF all the way unless a page doesnt display properly.
I love the way I click a link in an emeil in outlook and it opens in a new tab rather than taking over my existing page that I was reading.

CALV

[KM-Tiger]

Firefox also has a wonderful extension called adblock, which means you can block all ads on websites. So, for instance, I view this forum without seeing any ads at all, and can also block out all the more annoying avatars and advertising banners in people's signatures.

There are a lot of extensions for Firefox, see

https://addons.mozilla.org/?application=firefox

Not everyone will want all of them. The great thing about this, as indeed any opensource software, is that you have *choice*.

[lowcostinks]

Firefox is so much better! i would rather everyone use firefox!

[confused]

I forgot about the extensions, image zoom is brilliant as well.

CALV

[Merlan]

Firefox all the way! Do it.. it make sense!

[Shaggy]

FIREFOX IS THE MUTS!!!

[UKSBD]

I have 3 browsers I regulary use and have them in this order of preference,

1. Opera
2. Firefox
3. IE

Order that I use them most though is,

1. IE
2. Firefox
3. Opera

I've got dual monitors and usualy have at least 2 open at the same time but still tend to use IE most, just from habbit.

If your thinking of having a change though, you realy should try Opera out.

[Mac Yeti]

The best thing about firefox is that it gives you a choice - if you don't want it, you don't have to have it whereas microsoft forces IE upon you at every available opportunity...

Also, firefox makes me feel safe against all those nasty viruses :)

[KM-Tiger]

Also, firefox makes me feel safe against all those nasty viruses :)
That's a dangerous false sense of security.

Firefox can do nothing to prevent virus infections, and is no less vulnerable to other security issues than any other browser. Being Opensource, they are more likely to be open and honest about those vulnerabilities, and produce patches to deal with them quicker, but they have occurred, and will continue to do so.

[Coding Monkey]

I don't agreee, Kent. IE uses Active X, which is a pure security exploit in itself. It can format your entire HD with simple commands. Firefox can prevent this, and does prevent this. As does Safari (purely for being non Windows related), thus making it less FAR less vulnerable to security issues.

You might find this article on Firefox's security (http://searchopensource.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid39_gci1080054,00.html) more educational, along with this, on the reasons to change to Firefox (http://www.slate.com/id/2103152)

[KM-Tiger]

Yes, agreed. Much has been written comparing security on different browsers and a reasonable man would conclude that Firefox (and Safari though I don't know much about it) are safer than IE, which is one of the reasons I prefer Firefox.

But my point was that "safer" doesn't mean "safe".

For instance, someone could still be using an old version of Firefox in the mistaken belief that it is "safe". It isn't.

[Mac Yeti]

I agree with you Kent Manufacturer, nothing is 100% secure, and never will be. My comment was meant to be light hearted. There is a reason I made it and that is that my previous job was in IT security and as part of my daily routine, I browsed hacking, virus writing and underground sites to find new viruses - there is no way I would ever have done that in IE, yet with firefox, it was never a problem :)

[magic-merl]

For me Firefox beats IE hands down.

Easier browsing
Greater security
Its Faster
It blocks pop ups.
Its available for Linux

If you use Thunderbird also you have a killer internet suite. I have not used IE and Outlook for many years now and Firefox beats them all.

Good Luck

[ink4-u]

i was an IE guy till a few weeks ago, and now i use FireFox love the tabbed browsing.