I myself have had a lot of debates and discussions over this topic. But I’m going to try and keep it sweet and simple in another last ditch effort to promote Firefox. Firefox at the end of the day is the better browser. Lets break it down shall we; a look at some of the reasons why you should switch to Firefox.

• Secure
• Faster
• Customizable

Sure, everybody says that, but really, what does it all mean and how does it effect me directly? Let me explain.

Security
Well, lets look at one of the key factors in keeping yourself safe on the internet. We all know that Macs are virtually virus free and a lot safer then machines running Microsoft. And for one explicit reason. Not necessarily because Mac OS X, or whichever OS you may be running, was coded better then Windows. No, its simply because the majority of the world uses Microsoft’s Windows products. Now obviously, just as a consumer looks to get more bang for their buck, so to do our “attackers.” Those who are responsible for writing all those malicious virus’ and Trojans, aim to effect as many people as they possibly can with one virus. With a consumer base which runs primarily on Windows, that task is 10x’s easier. Virus’ do in fact exist for Macs, but seeing as so few use Macs, by the time a fix/patch is released, the attacker would have gained far less then if he or she were to write a virus for a Windows machine.

So what does all this mean? Anonymity; keeping a low profile. Just as there are hardly any virus’ for Macs, the same idea can be applied to Firefox and Internet Explorer respectively. Attackers know most people choose to use Internet Explorer, so they will write malicious software targeted towards the many flaws and bugs in Internet Explorer. Mind you, with Microsoft’s product being the target of most attackers, it becomes doubly difficult to prevent such attacks before they happen. Consequently, drawing Microsoft’s attention away from the user experience and directing their focus on fixing the always arising problems and potential exploits.

Faster
Firefox provides a faster browsing experience. A perfect reason to use it. Aside from the many tweaks and addons you can install for Firefox, the results come from the development of Firefox. Its rendering engine works faster then Internet Explorer’s and as a result, represents about an average of a 1-2 second load time reduction, (or at least that is what I have noticed on most websites). In all honesty, for the average user, they probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference mainly because that is not something which concerns them. But the fact still remains, Firefox is indeed a faster browser.

Customizable
Themes, addons (formally known as Extensions) and tweaks, you name it, you can do it. Not only does Firefox allow users to pick and choose from a wide variety of themes, but it also allows you to install addons which greatly improve your browsing experience or the functionality of your browser. Not to mention the security benefits which comes from a lot of great addons, all of which are freely available through Mozilla’s website. Extensions such as NoScript or AdBlock Plus serve to provide another layer of protection.

Standards
Last but not least, lets not forget about the fact that Firefox adheres and complies to much of the currently established World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for the web. Which in short means, when your using Firefox, so long as the developer of the website adhered to these standards, you know you will be viewing a website the proper way it was meant to be viewed.

All in all, when you look at each browser as whole, one stands out from the crowd. So do the right thing. Make the switch now. If not for yourself, do it for her. Get Firefox.

Tags: firefox, internet explorer, standards, wc3

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 4:17 am and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.