Mozilla Firefox - The Future Of Browsing

MadPenguin ^ | 5 October 2004 | MadAdmin

[ShadowAce]

Since the recent security warnings surrounding Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser were issued, more and more people around the world have been turning to a small Open Source alternative spawned from the developers of the Mozilla browser: Mozilla Firefox

. Though it is small in download size, don't let it fool you. There's nothing small about this application. It's one hell of a contender for the Internet browser throne. Can it topple the software giants flagship product? Yes, I think it can.

Sure, Internet Explorer dominates 90+ percent of the market, but I think people are starting to grow weary of the risks involved in using that program for any serious Internet tasks such as online banking. As we all know, the risk doesn't stop there, it extends to casual surfing as the unsuspecting user downloads tons of spyware, adware, and various other malware designed to either snoop into your personal online activities and habits or simply overwhelm you with advertising you really didn't want to see in the first place. This kind of activity, in my opinion, should be illegal in the first place. Nobody should be legally allowed to install software on your computer remotely without your express permission. Period. It's an invasion of privacy and akin to breaking and entering.

Not only should this kind of activity be illegal, the company who manufactures the browser should also be held accountable for the security flaws which allow such activity to even occur in the first place. If the browser were indeed as secure as it could possibly be, we wouldn't see near the amount of malicious activity we see today. If I were to take it one step further, should the end users also be held accountable for the damage they do to themselves and others? Should we take pity upon them every time their PC is infected or breached? That takes more thought doesn't it? I would say yes, it does indeed.

If (and this is a big if) end users were aware of the reasons that they endure so much heartache for using the Internet every day I could see holding them accountable for their actions, but in reality most of them don't understand why they get bombarded with ads, viruses, and PC slowdowns. They don't understand how someone could get the bank account information, etc. They really don't. This is due, in my opinion, to the fact that they are not well informed of neither the reasons for their problems nor the alternatives they have to circumvent them. If more people were made aware that there are better browsers available, and there are ways to avoid the hassles of malware, I think we'd see a trend favoring a browser other than Internet Explorer. After all, any browser can get the job done in one way or another. It's all about state of mind and overcoming the human aversion to change.

Why Firefox?
The choice is simple really. Firefox is free, small, fast, and secure. Those are the basic reasons anyway... the list goes on. Sure, there are other mainstream browsers out there such as Mozilla, AOL's Netscape, and Opera, but none of the come close to what Firefox has to offer us. The interesting part is that Firefox has gotten more attention lately than it's rock solid parent, Mozilla. It's deserved it too, but why aren't people turning to the Mozilla suite instead, since it comes with a capable email client, calendaring support, etc? I can't say for certain, but I suspect it's due to the pure energy surrounding the tiny offshoot. Developers are excited about working on it, as are theme developers, artists, and extension writers. Mozilla Firefox is capable of being customized by anyone who has the notion to do so, and that adds to the magic of it all. End users can sense the excitement surrounding it just like anything else in life. If enough excitement and electricity is generated by a product, people will flock to it. Look at the Apple iPod. There are tons of other portable music players out there, but Apple has a certain mystique about it that nobody can touch. Well, maybe that isn't the perfect example but you get the idea.

In my experience, most people are hesitant to use Firefox over Internet Explorer because they have become accustomed to using IE in a way only a heroine addict can truly appreciate. It has also been my experience that when these same people actually give Firefox a chance, they fall in love with it and become inseparable. In the same way as their former addiction to IE? Possibly, but at least this is a safe addiction. Nobody is going to lose their life savings over this one to some criminal who understands IE Zone flaws all too well.

I'm sure most of you reading this probably have Firefox running on all of your systems since our logs shows almost 60% of you are using it, and that's a good thing. I've personally been using it since it was first released under the Phoenix (and subsequently Mozilla Firebird) name. I have watched it steadily increase in stability and feature set, while maintaining it's small footprint and download size. What prompted me to sit down and actually write this column was the latest 1.0 Preview Release. I was so impressed by it that I needed to sit down and write about it in one form or another. I originally intended to write a review, but it turned out quite different... and that's fine by me. This browser, and the people who have had a hand in it's development, deserve all the attention we can throw at them... and then some.

Tabbed browsing in Firefox Popup blocker fine tuning

The bottom line is that Firefox has matured into a hugely successful browser on so many levels. From the technology that drives it to the aesthetics, right down to its mighty capabilities, this browser is a heavyweight in every sense of the word. Even though Internet Explorer dominates the current market (and we all know how quickly that can change... does anyone remember Netscape pre-Internet Explorer?), when placed side by side with Firefox, it is dwarfed in comparison. Firefox has features that IE can't even come close to touching... including:

• Tabbed browsing – Open multiple sites in one window.
• Improved inline search (overhauled in 1.0PR) – Search for words, phrases, or links without even touching the mouse.
• Security security security – No more adware, no more spyware, no more anything that you didn't install yourself. The latest version allows more finite control over this security by allowing to to give permissions to sites of your choosing to install software on demand.
• Popup blocking – You have complete control over popups with the new Firefox. Block all popups or fine tune to allow only certain sites.
• Customizable multi-site Internet search capabilities – Search Google, eBay, Amazon, Yahoo, IMBD, or any one of hundreds of sites available right from your browser toolbar (image).

• Download manager (overhauled in 1.0PR) – Easily keep track of multiple downloads from one window (image).
• Dictionary search – Search an online dictionary for any word you like simply by typing dict word in the address bar.
• Live bookmarks – Allow you to pull live news from sites without ever visiting them. This is one of my favorite features. All the news you could want right from your bookmarks menu.
• Themes – Make Firefox look like the browser of your dreams by choosing one of the many free themes in the online repository.

• Extensions – Extensions = functionality. You can install as many or as little of these as you like. Each one adds a certain feature/function to the browser, so your browser can be completely unique.
• The list goes on.......

Granted, it has it's bugs and little quirks, but I challenge you to find a piece of software that doesn't. My biggest complaint thus far with Firefox is that support for NTLM proxy authentication needs to be streamlined considerably before it can be considered for the enterprise (and this is where it needs to start getting a foothold if it is to gain some serious ground). Authentication actually does what it's advertised to do: authenticate to Windows-based domains/proxy servers. The problem with it is that it prompts the user to authenticated every time the browser is launched. This is entirely annoying for most users, especially when they see IE doesn't suffer from the same problem. If I can make one suggestion to the Firefox developers regarding this feature. Make it a little less intrusive. In my opinion it can be worked one of two ways: The first way would be to prompt only once during initial configuration and then cache the info. It already caches the information so why not make it invisible after the initial prompt. If you change your password, you can clear it from the password utility in Firefox's options. The second way (and this would be available only for the Win32 version) would be to have the browser pull the information similar to the way IE does, right from the running system. It would essentially pass the credentials from the logged on user right through the browser to the proxy server. That is my $0.02 for the day, and it's actually my only real big problem with the browser. Other than that, I am staring at the closest thing to a perfect browser I have every worked with. Period.

The Firefox web browser – click for full size view

I enjoy using Internet Explorer. Why should I switch?
The following section is for those of you who may be reading about this out of curiosity. Perhaps you heard about Firefox from a friend or collegue? Perhaps you have a relative who swears by it? Either way, you should benefit from reading this. Luckily, the answer to your question is an easy one... depending on whether you want to listen to what I am telling you or not. The browser most of you are using (and I am indeed referring to Internet Explorer) is outdated and so full of security holes that it is a risk to use for anything more than very very casual Internet browsing. If you are using it to do your online banking or other critical business, you are putting yourself at risk. It's really that simple. Internet Explorer is seriously dangerous to use, and if you don't believe me, find out for yourself if you haven't already. Internet Explorer is built on old technology in the same way that Windows essentially is, and it is full of security holes that Microsoft ignores in favor of adding more multimedia features, bells, and whistles to make it appear more attractive. This is just smoke and mirrors. Firefox is an actively maintained browser, developed by talented programmers from around the word, true professionals in every sense of the word. When a security flaw is discovered it is often fixed in hours... hours... this is in comparison to the weeks, months, and often years it takes Microsoft to patch their problems. This is no joke. What you enjoy using will (notice I say 'will' instead of 'could' here) harm you in one way or another.

Firefox also doesn't get infected by anything close to what everyone refers to as 'spyware'. Perform an experiment for me if you don't mind. Download a tool such as Spy Sweeper and clean your system with it. Run IE as you normally would for one week and sweep your system again. Count the traces of spyware it finds and remove them. Then run Firefox as you normally would for one week (don't use IE at all during this week) and run Spy Sweeper again. What you will see is ZERO traces of spyware. Try it and prove me wrong. You'll notice a strange lack of popups windows while using Firefox too... this is a great built-in feature. No need to download a third party plugin to do it for you. Those are only glorified spyware applications anyway if you weren't aware.

In addition to being safer and not being subject to endless hoards of spyware and annoying popups, you have an endless supply of extensions, or plugins, available to you to enhance your browser however you like. You can add additional search engines to the toolbar, mouse gestures, Image and multimedia controls, and tons of other browser goodies... all for the cost of the time it takes to download them. I'll note here than most of the features are tiny and take very little time to download. Try it and see what you've been missing. I'd be willing to bet that you won't be able to believe how good this browser really is. Why trust your critical information to a browser produced by a company who doesn't care about your well being and safety? Put your faith in a product designed by people just like you... good people with good intentions who want the same things you do... and are willing to give them to your for nothing. Not many good things in life are free these days, but I assure you, Mozilla Firefox is a rare exception.

[ShadowAce]

Partial tech Browser ping.

[js1138]

Just a small word. It is the desire to be unobtrusive that makes MS products vulnerable to hacks. When the user doesn't see security issues of make decisions, then programs will be making those decisions.

[BibChr]

Nah. Ff's okay, I suppose, but no-nmovable tabs at the TOP of the screen are clunky and counter-intuitive.

Plus, it's snotty.

One can't bury one's head in the sand: most things are written for IE. When I pointed out to the Mozilla people that early FF had a bug that wouldn't allow it to exploit the features of a page, they snottily replied that this was because the page was written improperly. So they'd not fix it -- because it wasn't a bug.

Of course, all I cared (and care) about is that I can use the page. The bottom line, then, is that Ff wouldn't read it, and my browser would.

My browser is Avant Browser, which is built on IE. (Go to www.avantbrowser.com.) Popup blocker, movable tabs at the bottom of the screen, many other features.

It's free, it's just as fast, it's neat -- and it's written to use what 99.9% of the internet is written to use.

In other words, it's not snotty.

Dan

[aspiring.hillbilly]

I allready got Mozilla installed, is there any reason to go to firefox or is it very much the same ?

[Allan]

Hey Mr. ShadowAce
can you tell me
how you get Firefox to list the bookmarks
in alphabetical order???

I have tried to do this many times
and there seems to be no way
except by manually moving them
one by one.

[smith288]

I switched to firefox a few weeks ago after getting nailed with a trojan activex adware trick. I have been fighting this stupid adware since.

Firefox is ok, I prefer IE because of its vast capabilities and forgiving rendering but Firefox is definately something to be looked at.

Does anyone know where one can learn how to develop extensions for Firefox?

[maineman]

I run with it..GREAT

[Rightly Biased]

for home viewing

thanks

[Popman]

My tagline says it all.

[Popman]

On the FireFox bookmarks icon there is a link for extensions.

http://update.mozilla.org/?application=firefox

[Lorenb420]

Does anyone know where one can learn how to develop extensions for Firefox?

See Creating Firefox extensions

[FastCoyote]

Unfortunately, I too am a heroine addict. (when will geeks learn to spell?)

[Hatteras]

My son set it up at home and I do like it... BUT, how can you set up a "favorites" menu? (can you?) and how can I delete temp internet files, cookies, history and such?

Not on home computer now, but I will check back later.

Thanks

[Wonder Warthog]

"Firefox also doesn't get infected by anything close to what everyone refers to as 'spyware'. Perform an experiment for me if you don't mind. Download a tool such as Spy Sweeper and clean your system with it. Run IE as you normally would for one week and sweep your system again. Count the traces of spyware it finds and remove them. Then run Firefox as you normally would for one week (don't use IE at all during this week) and run Spy Sweeper again. What you will see is ZERO traces of spyware. Try it and prove me wrong."

Well, although I use and like Firefox, the above is NOT true. I "still" get "adware" sticking stuff on my computer clandestinely. Certainly, the problem is not nearly as bad as it was with Internet Explorer, but the incident rate is definitely non-zero.

I just got through running Spybot and Ad-aware, and I was surprised to find half a dozen or so pieces of adware.

[mollynme]

Since I started using FF 2 weeks ago, Spybot has been coming up empty on adware searches. Yay!

[Wonder Warthog]

"In other words, it's not snotty."

Actually, it's Internet Explorer that is "snotty", because Microsoft refuses to adhere to published standards--preferring to continue to try and control access by developing and promoting Microsoft-proprietary protocols.

[LS]

I quit using Explorer---and I used it to make a political statement that I thought the jihad against Gates was unconscionable. Still, the viruses and popups were killing me. I put in Mozilla, and presto---99% of my problems are gone!

[rabidralph]

Our IT guy gave us an overview of Firefox and he was excited about the live links function that update automatically, if the web site has the function, and the search and word highlight function within the bookmarks. I will wait for the actual release before I download Firefox.

[JimRed]

The sample screen shows an ad for CNN radio. That's enough to put ME off!