Do you use FireFox? And why?

[DarkJedi664]

you should try using avant browser since it allows tabs, and uses IE as it's core; plus it doesn't require admin rights to install

[jAkUp]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi664

besides tabbed browsing, how has IE7 "stolen" features of FF? The phising filter actually came first from IE7, and tabbed browsing has been around for ages, so FF wasn't first.

Also, if you use IE, have you tried any IE shells like Avant Browser, or maxathon? I personally use Avant Browser mainly for the tabs and the fact that it'll save my open pages so when i load it later, all my pages are opened again (i LOVE that); IE7 now has that feature which is cool; but i love bottom tabs instead of top tabs; easier to work with.

thanks for the responses guys, keep em coming.

The layout is a near identical copy of Firefox. The search engine field on the right hand side is the first give away.

Either way, I actually like IE7. I think its clean, and works good.

[tieros]

I love Avant, too, but the last few versions since they upgraded to newer Delphi libraries have been pretty buggy. I'm really hoping they can track down the multi-core process bug soon. The other ones are just minor annoyances.

[SH64]

Yes , because it has nice features like Adblock , Flashgot extension (i use it alot) , better for handling images & has quicker page load times than IE ... & its simple.

[Rakeesh]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi664

I wanted to ask people if they used FF over IE. And if so, why? I recently got into an argument with Charlie Douchebag over at the Inquirer.net saying that IE is SOOOO insecure that he HAS to use FF because he'll get viruses and spyware by using IE. Now honestly, why do you use FF, is it because you believed the hype that IE is so insecure, do you just like the look? I refuse to use FF mainly because it's Netscape based, but also because I know better than to believe the hype that FF is more secure than IE. You CAN'T get a virus or spyware just by having IE open; unless you are going to a shady site, or have accepted the ActiveX control; and people who believe otherwise are just plain wrong...so let me know.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/secur...are_to_mo.html

I don't believe myspace is generally regarded as a shady website, nor does this particular attack require activex. One million IE users affected by just this single incident.

In other words, yes I believe otherwise, and this is by far not the first time an attack like this has been seen. Granted in this particular case, it depends on you having not patched the WMF exploit, but there have been many cases in which even a fully patched system ends up being vulnerable, also known as zero day exploits.

But security isn't the main reason I prefer firefox over IE. Its actually more about the fact that I am the one who is ultimately in complete control of my web browsing experience, not the person who wrote the webpage I am viewing who may want to bombard me with some annoying content. The same cannot be said about IE. I have full control over which websites I will allow to set permanent cookies, and the rest get session only. I have full control over which websites I want to allow javascript to run on (there are many out there which I really don't want it to run on.) I have full control over which flash animations show, and which ones don't.

That among many other niceities. Plus tabbed browsing is a must have, and IE7's tabbed browsing is really crappy in comparison to that of firefox, at least in its default configuration anyways.

But yes, most of the time when people use IE's past exploits as a talking point, they do overblow it. But one thing I would like to know is, what is wrong with firefox if it is derived from netscape? Keep two things in mind: IE borrowed and is currently using many design aspects of netscape, and also just because one thing was derived from another, doesn't mean it is the same as what it started from.

Remember that HL2 was effectively built from quake 1, yet how much do they have in common? Firefox is a huge change over the original mozilla engine. Refusing to use firefox because it is netscape based is an even more inane reason than refusing to use IE because of its known security vulnerabilities.

[DarkJedi664]

i honestly think that Avant Browser paired with Ad Muncher, is a perfect combination. Ad Muncher gets rid of literally every ad, and gets rid of the JavaScript I don't want, yet keeps the ones I do want. I've found that the ad blocker in FF and Avant Browser are severely lacking.

Thanks again for the replies, and I am in no way trying to convert anyone to IE, I just really wanted to know the reasoning behind switching to FF because of the myths and hype.

[Rakeesh]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi664

i honestly think that Avant Browser paired with Ad Muncher, is a perfect combination. Ad Muncher gets rid of literally every ad, and gets rid of the JavaScript I don't want, yet keeps the ones I do want. I've found that the ad blocker in FF and Avant Browser are severely lacking.

What specifically are they lacking?

BTW firefox doesn't have any kind of ad blocker in it. There is an extension for that, which is updated every week AFAIK. It also has an option which doesn't execute any type of code that brings up a popup window unless it involves the user specifically clicking some kind of link to that effect, so it isn't a popup blocker (a popup blocker allows the code to execute first, and then essentially closes the window before it opens.)

Personally I don't care to use any adblockers as I have yet to see one that doesn't break certain websites in some way. Rather what I do is relie entirely upon javascript and flash whitelisting. Works perfectly and breaks nothing.

[DarkJedi664]

lacking in the sense of, it doesn't work too well, doesn't block everything you want it too (and i'm including avant in this as well). i've noticed that Ad Muncher does an incredible job at getting rid of every single add that i don't want, and doesn't seem to "break" a page at all. Try going to Warp2Search without an ad blocker, let alone a popup blocker.

[evilghost]

Privoxy is a GNU/GPL alternative to AdMuncher and works just as well. I have use AdMuncher in the past and I do agree it works very well with all browser types however it is not freeware like Privoxy. Privoxy is well documented and has a Win32 build available, see http://www.privoxy.org

However, Internet Explorer has more open holes than a homosexual gang-bang in Key West, Florida; Some are filled but most are gaping. The pathetic ActiveX security model coupled with the ineffective Security Zones and poor coding techniques translate to a product that is insecure.

There may be exploits for Firefox but I can easily open the source code and check for more as can others. The same can't be said for the Internet Explorer poke-poke approach. Should the source code every leak for IE I suspect that would certainly be the end of their "84% market share".

I'm not quite sure what this thread is really about it seems more like some free fanboi advertising for IE and IE7, perhaps I'm confused? Last time I checked Firefox more effectively renders W3C compliant websites, works on multiple platforms (Linux, FreeBSD, Unix, Win32, OpenBSD, OS X, etc) while IE struggles to operate correctly on the Win32 systems it was designed for. IE is so closely integrated into the shell and API routines in Win32 there is no hope for completely removing it from a system.

I guess the same question I have to ask is why Microsoft seems to think their bundling approach is a good idea. Why I need Windows Media Player 10 on my Windows 2003 Exchange Server is beyond me. Why Hyperterminal wants to be my default telnet client upon load is equally concerning. Why Win32 will page-to-disk with an abundance of physical memory is cause for concern. Of course these things are easily dismissed by MS apologists who eagerly embrace WGA and start threads touting the obfuscated glory that is IE7.

[evilchris]

*yawn*

[Imbroglio]

Originally Posted by evilghost

IE is so closely integrated into the shell and API routines in Win32 there is no hope for completely removing it from a system.

exactly.... just like i like my coffee with my breakfast i like my browser with my os, not in it. that has always been the biggest annoyance of mine, i used to use opera before firefox, i didn't like the way it handled perfectly, so i tried out FF and completely fell in love, the fact that IE7's features just outright ripoff FF features should be clear enough as why ppl everywhere are using FF. sometimes it comes down to features, and for a very long time the features of FF have been head and heels above IE until they copied them. so while you have this belief that there is a huge myth that FF is so much more secure than IE and people are using it just for that reason is just rediculous. boils down to features, speed and all-around cleanliness, having IE integrated into the shell so deeply is just a no-no in basic os design. I'd really like to meet up with some of these MS software engineers and ask them where they took their design classes from.

[a12ctic]

this thread isnt going anywhere, darkjedi is a babbling idiot...