(Part 1 of 2)We are all familiar with Windows Internet Explorer. IE (as we call it), is an integral part of every Windows PC, simply, because it’s free and comes pre installed. But, have you asked the question, are there other Web Browsers? The answer is in the affirmative. Actually, there are a lot of them in the market and in the web. To see a list of new and old browsers, for windows and other platform, you can go to this website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers .
On the Windows Platform, the biggest names of browsers are: Internet Explorer from Microsoft, FireFox from Mozilla, Apple’s Safari - from the makers of the famous Mac Computers. There is also Opera and the latest browser Chrome from Google.
All of these browsers are free and you can download their latest versions from the following locations:
Internet Explorer 8.01 = http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/
Mozila Firefox 3.0.4 = http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/
Apple Safari = http://www.apple.com/safari/
Opera = http://www.opera.com/
Google Chrome = http://www.google.com/chrome/
Of all these five browsers, two are my favorites. First, is Mozilla Firefox and second, Google’s Chrome. I have been using Firefox since version 1.1 was first released around June of 2005. Few reasons why I like Firefox :
• Simplicity
• It’s Expandable
• It’s Powerful
• Security
Everytime I go online, my first concern is security and Firefox 3 can handle all that. Below are some of the security features of FireFox:
• Instant Web ID : On the address bar, you will notice an image on the left side of all internet addresses. That tiny image is called the Favicon. When you click on that, it will display an instant identity overview about the website you are currently browsing. Another click digs deeper. How many times have you visited? Are your passwords saved? Check on suspicious sites. Avoid Web forgeries and make sure a site is what it claims to be.
• Anti-Malware : With Firefox, you’re protected against viruses, spyware and other types of malicious softwares. You name it.
• Anti-Virus Integration : Integrates seamlessly with your anti-virus application, meaning it can coordinate with your anti-virus app and scans any file you download.
• Parental Control
• Anti-Phising : What is Phishing? According to Wikipedia.org, in the field of computer security, phishing is a criminally-fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. With Firefox, you are protected from all of these kinds of attacks.
• Add-ons : With Firefox add-on library, you can expand the functionality of Firefox and you can customize it according to your needs.
For a complete feature list, you can go to http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/ .
Must have FireFox Security Add Ons:
• McAfee SiteAdvisor : SiteAdvisor is an Internet service that warns users when downloading software or filling out forms on a web site that can make them victims of malware or spam. To download and install this add-on on your FireFox browser, please go to http://www.siteadvisor.com/ and click on download.
• No Script: No Script is the best security add-on ever written for Firefox or any browser. In fact, IE 8 is going to implement the same security feature with no script which Firefox users have been using for more than a year and according to some sources IE 8’s security features are way behind and are a no match to No Script.
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