Firefox Nearing 20 Million Downloads; 18 Million and growing regardless of recent security issues.

GameSHOUT ^ | Jan. 17, 2005 | Capt. Maverick

[holymoly]

Resistance is futile.
All your PC are belong to us.


But seriously - 20 million?! Who'da thunk it? :)

[backhoe]

Crosslinked:

Browser Wars, take two
various FR links | 12-22-04 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1306815/posts

...and a note from your compiler- honest to God, ditch IE and use something better... keep your OS updated ( and all the antimalware programs, too ) and get behind a hardware firewall. Wireless LANs are cheap and easy nowadays.

[ken5050]

Can this totally non-tech person..I mean..ON/OFF is about the extent of my capabilities., or interest in how computers function. I switched to Firefox least year..actually my ISP help centered suggested I do so, because they couldn't get rid of a virus on MSN..I love Firefox..especially the seamless pop-up blocker...but, ( sorry for the long winded question) what about Linix..A year ago, everything was all about Linux..now, it's mentioned less than Chris Matthews talks about Scooter Libby..

[ken5050]

Can this totally non-tech person..I mean..ON/OFF is about the extent of my capabilities., or interest in how computers function. I switched to Firefox least year..actually my ISP help centered suggested I do so, because they couldn't get rid of a virus on MSN..I love Firefox..especially the seamless pop-up blocker...but, ( sorry for the long winded question) what about Linux..A year ago, everything was all about Linux..it was gonna conquer the world...now, it's mentioned less than Chris Matthews talks about Scooter Libby..

[Malesherbes]

I'm a Foxfire user and appreciate the attention it gets on FR. I'm continually learning from the posts. Incidentally, the manual they offer is worth its low price.

[freebilly]

Well, now that Firefox is popular it will soon have lots of security problems. Why spend time hacking something few people use?

The price of success is the price of success....

Looks like I have to start looking for another browser....

[dfwright]

Woo Hoo! I got mine!

[rellimpank]

---do I understand correctly that Firefox is of no advantage if you are on the far end of a slooowwww dial-up connection?

[holymoly]

Well, now that Firefox is popular it will soon have lots of security problems.

You think so?

  U.S. Government (US-CERT) warns web surfers: Stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer

U.S. Government Computer Emergency Readiness Team

Vulnerability Note VU#713878

Excerpt:

"Use a different web browser"

"There are a number of significant vulnerabilities in technologies relating to the IE domain/zone security model, local file system (Local Machine Zone) trust, the Dynamic HTML (DHTML) document object model (in particular, proprietary DHTML features), the HTML Help system, MIME type determination, the graphical user interface (GUI), and ActiveX. These technologies are implemented in operating system libraries that are used by IE and many other programs to provide web browser functionality. IE is integrated into Windows to such an extent that vulnerabilities in IE frequently provide an attacker significant access to the operating system.

It is possible to reduce exposure to these vulnerabilities by using a different web browser, especially when viewing untrusted HTML documents (e.g., web sites, HTML email messages). Such a decision may, however, reduce the functionality of sites that require IE-specific features such as proprietary DHTML, VBScript, and ActiveX. Note that using a different web browser will not remove IE from a Windows system, and other programs may invoke IE, the WebBrowser ActiveX control (WebOC), or the HTML rendering engine (MSHTML)."

I also recommend:

An extended explanation on why Internet Explorer is insecure

[freebilly]

Thank you. But we'll see, won't we?

[soccer_linux_mozilla]

I highly recommend Firefox.

[holymoly]

---do I understand correctly that Firefox is of no advantage if you are on the far end of a slooowwww dial-up connection?

It depends on what you consider an "advantage". If you desire things such as improved security (no drive-by installs of malware, etc.), tabbed browsing, built-in pop-up blocker, etc., then Mozilla, Firefox or Opera are all good choices. I live in a dial-up-only area, and haven't used MSIE since version 4.

Mozilla & Firefox are free. Opera has a free version, though it displays an ad; registration (last I knew, $39 US) removes the ad.

Since Firefox is 100% free, you've nothing to lose by trying it.

[libertyman]

I have major prob's trying to get Windows Media Player, Quicktime, & Real Player to work on my Mozilla browser, but they are ok w/ IE...can anyone explain to me (in plain, simple English, please) what I can do about this? Thank you.

[libertyman]

I'm using a 56k dail-up...I guess I'm just plodding along these days, correct?

[rellimpank]

---at the end of the last two pairs of telephone line on my street, I'm at 29.3 right now , according to earthlink--

[rellimpank]

--thanks---will give it a try--

[holymoly]

I have major prob's trying to get Windows Media Player, Quicktime, & Real Player to work on my Mozilla browser, but they are ok w/ IE...can anyone explain to me (in plain, simple English, please) what I can do about this? Thank you.

The only help I can (really) offer is to steer you to this: https://addons.update.mozilla.org/plugins/

Did you install Mozilla before or after installing Quicktime & Real Player?

When you select "Help > About Plug-ins" are Quicktime & Real Player listed?

[Old Student]

I suspect some of that is because people like me (who are constantly messing with their systems, and reloading the operating system frequently)redownload and install firefox whenever things go wrong with their system. I've personally downloaded firefox at least 20 times. I don't believe it matters how stable and reliable the browser is, if the OS isn't. Until quite recently, I was using Windows ME, and now I'm using XP Home. I did leave enough room on the drive to set up a second partition with Linux, though... for which I'll need another copy of firefox.

[JoJo Gunn]

FF bump

[libertyman]

I already had the plug-ins installed BEFORE I downloaded Mozilla. After downloading Mozilla, I downloaded the plug-ins again, thinking it may have been necessary for that browser, too (hey, I'm a cmptr DUNCE!)...& they still didn't work.

Also, I can't figger out what their "Tabs" (or are they called "Tags", or WHAT???) are all about. People say that is 'sposed to be a major benefit of Mozilla over Windows, & I have no idea what they r talkin about.