Internet Browser Woes

[gansky1]

After many trials and tribulations with Internet Explorer and consulting with my ISP(cox communications) I've decided to give another browser a go and try to head off the horrible plauge of spam and adware that kept finding it's way back to my 'puter. I could barely go from one site or page to another without a 'live' commercial or other adware popping up on my system. I tried every spyware/adware/virus prevention software I could get my hands on and nothing worked. Has anyone else had these troubles with IE or other browsers? I've downloaded Mozilla Firefox and will give that a try now - has anyone experience with this program?

 

[48bencix]

Mozilla Firefox

Greg,

I have been using Mozilla Firefox on my HP Laptop with windows xp for about 4 months. It has been working just great, and eliminates pop-ups. You will find that some sites will not work and you can always use IE for those. I still have dial-up and Mozilla seems faster. I am hoping it is blocking some of the spyware, but I regularly clean that out with ad aware, by lava soft.

Martin

 

[compwhiz128]

NO!!!!!!!1

DO NOT USE IE IT HAS MAJOR SECURITY ISSUES!!!
Use mozzila fire fox it has a pop up blocker a spyware blocker and a virus blocker

Basicly mozzila firefox is the best browser out there

 

[scott55405]

Greg I've been using it probably a couple of years, it's fantastic. I love the tabbed browsing and no pop-ups. Very occasionally, I'll run into something that it won't open, but all in all it's a great thing.

 

[DADoES]

Firefox Browser Extensions

I've been using Firefox for a while, back when it was called Firebird in the initial public-beta versions. There are a few web sites that don't work with it (such as www.hallmark.com for online shopping functions), and I've found a few that seem to work when in fact there may be a page element missing, such as a navigation menu bar. That's likely caused by the site using non-standard HTML that IE supports but other browsers don't.

Be sure to check at Firefox's web site for browser extensions that add more functionality and features. There's one that does additional blocking of ads and page elements carried by embedded scripts . . but with the added effect that sometimes there's a little "adblock" tag on items that one does want to see, such as the Flash animation on AutomaticWasher.org's opening page.

There's an extension that adds more functionality to the tabbed interface, and mouse gestures are also fun and useful.

 

[gansky1]

so far, so good...

Played with it some now, seems to work well and I LOVE the tabbed browsing! All in all, I think it's faster on the cable ISP connection. I've glanced at the extensions available and may have to try some of those - gotta love free add-ons!

 

[westytoploader]

IE=Internet Euphemism (vague substitution for a good browser

I never liked Internet Explorer for the same reason--too many damn pop-ups!!! Even with McAfee SpamKiller and other blockers installed they still seemed to find a way on here. Also, IE was generally unstable most of the time, and would basically crash unexpectedly for no reason. Not good when you're trying to "snipe" a much-wanted vacuum at the last minute...and yes, it usually crashed at the worst possible time!

When I was using NetZero until 2001-2, I had Opera Browser. That was probably the best browser I've used; the fact that you could cascade multiple pages in a single window came in REALLY handy (like File Manager could do in Windows 3.1). However, I somehow lost the installation file, and now they're charging for it (free download has a 30-day or so timeout), so go figure.

After running AOL for 8 years (and getting tired of it), we signed up for SBC Yahoo DSL, and then upgraded shortly after, so a wireless connection could be installed on one computer (nice because the hub is in my room, and the computer is out in the living room with no mess of wires). That came with "SBC Yahoo Browser", a modified version of IE 6.0. I've been running it for 2 years without a hitch (we did get a new Dell during that time though). The layout is much nicer, compared to the "starkness" of IE, and of course without the crashing and pop-ups. Probably the worst that has happened with Yahoo Browser is the fact that it will sometimes lock up on a page that has a large file size, but then again, it only happens when you don't let all of the pictures load or click "Stop". If that happens I just get into Task Manager, close the browser, and reopen it.

I haven't had to use Mozilla FireFox, but if Yahoo Browser starts giving me problems then it's worth a try.

My $0.02...

--Austin

 

[drmitch]

Firefox

I like it. IE is too integrated with windows,therefore more troublesome.You have to keep IE to access the Windows update site. If you ever get a trojan or other spyware that you cant do anything with, Try downloading Avast antivirus and set it to run a boot time scan. this was the only thing that worked on my new computer plus its free! Now I`m running it on all my PC`s

 

[foraloysius]

I used to be a big Netscape fan. When I started surfing the internet in 1997 it was all I used. Later I discovered that IE had some advantages, like full screen browsing, which Netscape didn't have at that time. All browsers have the option of browsing full screen now but the difference is you have to go back to the normal size or hit the button for the start menu to get the tray (? the thing at the bottom) With IE you can easily move the cursor to the bottom and the tray automatically appears. I also find IE a bit faster than other browsers. I have Mozilla, Netscape, Opera and IE now and IE is the fastest one with my cable connection. I'm not a big IE fan though I have problems with crashing now and then too.

BTW, my IE browser has an option to block pop-ups.

Question: what is 'tabbed browsing'?

 

[kenmore1978]

Browsers

I was using IE for the longest time because it tended to work with everything, but thenit kept crashing all the time. I've always had Netscape installed (Having driven an AMC Pacer, I tend to go for the "underdog") I started using it, but it still would crash, though not nearly as often as IE. Friend got me to try Firefox, and that's now my main browser. IE and Netscape are still installed and used depending on what I want to do. For example, in Yahoo mail, only IE supports HTML composing of e-mail (Bold, Italics, Underlining, etc.) That tool bar doesn't even appear in Netscape or Firefox when composing or replying to E-mail. And the tabbed browsing is nice, expecially it doesn't use up additional RAM like having multiple windows open as in Netscape or IE.

 

[DADoES]

Louis, this is a screen capture showing some tabs in Firefox. Multiple web pages can be opened in tabs in a single browser window.

When surfing along, Shift-Ctrl-Click opens any link in a new tab and immediately shifts focus to it without closing the parent tab. One can also right-click a link and select "Open Link in new tab" *without* shifting the focus to the new tab. With a mouse that has a third button or scroll wheel, clicking the 3rd button also opens a link in a new tab without shifting the focus to it.

Shift-Click opens a link in a separate new browser window, same as it does in IE. Or right-click and "Open Link in new window"

Right-click on a particular tab brings up a context menu with selections such as "Reload Tab," "Reload all tabs," "Close tab," "Close other tabs."

Ctrl-T or double-click on a blank spot on the tab bar opens a new blank tab.

I've easily had 25 tabs open at once, when perusing a message board opening numerous topics

Alt-F, C or Ctrl-W closes the current tab, a quick/useful keyboard shortcut.

When bookmarked pages are grouped together into a folder, there's a selection on that folder on the Bookmarks menu for "Open in tabs" which opens ALL bookedmarked pages in that folder in separate tabs. Thus, you can bookmark together in a subfolder the main section pages here for Vintage, Modern, and Sandbox, along with the Appliances and Laundry sections at THS . . . then simply click in Firefox on Bookmarks, move down to that subfolder, click on "Open in tabs" . . and voila! All five pages open at once in five separate tabs.

 

[DADoES]

Oh, I forgot to say that the TabbedBrowser extension for Firefox that I have installed adds extra functionality to the tabbed user interface. For example, simply moving the mouse to a tab shifts focus to it, without clicking.

 

[westytoploader]

Interesting "tabbed browsing" feature on Mozilla. Like I mentioned above, Opera had a variation of this where you could tile or cascade different pages in one browser window...handy but wasn't as convenient as this looks, since it reduced the size of the pages. I might go ahead and give this a try; looks extremely user-friendly as well.

 

[foraloysius]

Eureka! So that is tabbed browsing! Thank you Glenn for the explanation. I used Ctrl N for opening another window, but I noticed that you can use Ctrl T for opening a new Tab. Indeed Opera has the same feature, but the Mozilla one is more convenient. Mozilla is indeed a nice browser, but it annoys me that the pictures take longer to download on it than on IE. Perhaps I should practice some patience. LOL

 

[drmitch]

Firefox

Good demo Glenn! I would also add that Firefox is a stripped down version of Mozzilla. Less bloat. Works really well on my old computer with Win 95!

 

[kenmore1978]

Firefox browsing

How nice, een though I've been using Firefox for a while, there was stuff I didn't know about it that were revealed until the explanation above. Thanks for the info

 

[kenmore1978]

Netscape

Brought up Netscape verion 7.2 and apparently it now uses the tabbed browsing Firefox uses. Caught me by surprise when I right clicked on a link and window popped up asking if I wanted to open in a new tab.