Free Firefox beats tired Explorer in browser war

           By Phillip Robinson
           October 18, 2004

           Firefox is a better Web browser program than Internet Explorer.

           It's a better way to use the Net.
           It's safer, immune to many of the viruses and hacks that target
the
           flawed IE. Just last week, Microsoft released more patches for
IE
           after new vulnerabilities were discovered.
           Firefox is faster, putting Web pages up in less time.
           It's easier, with inventions like "tabbed" browsing that use
your
           on-screen windows more efficiently.
           It's more flexible, with lots of special "extensions" being
created
           by programmers all over the world. This is possible because
Firefox
           is an "open source" program anyone can open up and tinker with.
IE
           is only open to programmers at Microsoft.
           And it's getting better all the time ? again, because it's
           open-source, so lots of people are busy trying to improve it.
           Since Microsoft crushed Netscape, the first leading browser
company,
           several years ago, there's been very little innovation or even
           bug-fixing for IE.
           Plus Firefox, with all of its innovations and improvements, is
           available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. There are even
           "unofficial" versions for OS/2, BeOS and other lesser-known
computer
           systems. IE is only for Windows, and any improved future
versions
           will only be for the latest version of Windows.
           Oh, and Firefox is free ? entirely, completely free, with no
strings
           attached.
           Are there any drawbacks to Firefox?
           Sure ? one. There are some Web sites that don't work with
Firefox.
           Not many, but a few. And for that, you should keep your copy of
           Internet Explorer. Besides, it's nearly impossible to erase IE
from
           your hard drive. Microsoft doesn't like to be told "No."
           But for all the rest of your Web work, you should use Firefox,
if
           only for the added security.
           Here's how to get it for Windows. The Mac operation is similar.
           Connect to the Internet and use your current browser, IE or
           whatever, to go to http://www.mozilla.org. Firefox is made by
the
           Mozilla organization, which also makes the more complicated
Mozilla
           browser.
           Got the Mozilla site on your screen? What's there changes from
time
           to time, but currently it's showing "Firefox Preview Release."
Don't
           worry about that "preview" word. This is ready to use.
           You should see a "Free Download" area in green just below, with
an
           arrow pointing down. Click on the underlined words "Free
Download."
           The page will change to "Now Downloading" version. Wait 10 to 20
           seconds and you should see a dialogue box pop up asking where
you
           want to save the Firefox software.
           (If you wait a minute and don't see the dialogue box for saving,
           click on the blue, underlined words "Try This Link" for
           jump-starting the download.)
           Choose any directory for saving your Firefox, though something
in My
           Documents is probably best, and remember what you choose. Then
click
           on Save.
           (If you see a dialogue box that warns "Some files can harm your
           computer," it just means your Windows is pretty up-to-date.
Ignore
           it this time because Firefox doesn't have any spyware, viruses
or
           other dangers.)
           Now you have to wait for the Firefox program to copy onto your
hard
           drive. With my dial-up connection, this took about 40 minutes. A
           slow dial-up might take more than an hour.
           A broadband connection can do it in a few seconds or minutes.
           Broadband, such as cable or DSL, doesn't make e-mail or many
           Web-surfing tasks much faster than dial-up, but it is sure a lot
           faster for downloading programs, songs or videos.
           Now close your browser. Use your Windows Explorer program, or
           double-click on My Computer, and find the directory where you
saved
           Firefox. It will have an icon that looks like a little box with
a CD
           standing in front of it and be called something like "Firefox
Setup
           1.0PR." Double-click on this icon.
           A "Welcome to Mozilla Firefox" dialogue box should appear. Click
on
           Next.
           The License Agreement will appear. Generally it's a good idea to
           actually read through these because it's where some spyware
programs
           hide their "we're going to be stealing your information and you
           agree to it" legalese.
           Just click the "I accept" radio button and then click Next.
Leave
           the "Standard" button click in Setup Type and click on Next.
Click
           on "Next" again in the Summary dialogue box.
           Now you'll see the program installing ? moving bits from the one
big
           file you downloaded to all the places they need to be on your
hard
           drive. This will take only a few minutes.
           The "Install Complete" dialogue box will tell you that you're
ready.
           Leave the little "Launch Mozilla Firefox now" check box with a
           check. Just click on Finish.
           Firefox will appear, showing your regular home page. And anytime
you
           want to use the Web, just make sure your Internet connection is
on
           and choose Firefox from the Start button or from the icon that's
           installed on your Windows screen.
           But Firefox has other advantages that make it both easier to use
           than IE and more powerful.
           Extensions are a key reason Firefox is more powerful than IE.
These
           are little programs that can add to Firefox's abilities.
           There are lots and lots of them, most entirely free for you to
           download and use, because Firefox is an open-source program.
           To see what Extensions can do for you, go to Firefox's Tools
menu
           and choose "Extensions."
           A little Extensions window will appear. This will list any
           extensions that are already installed on your copy of Firefox.
As
           you'll see at the bottom of the little window, there are buttons
to
           Uninstall, Update or change the Options for any extension. (Just
           click on the Extension you want to fiddle with, and then click
on
           any one of these buttons.)
           There's also a "Get More Extensions" link at the bottom of the
           window. Click on this and a full-size browser window will appear
for
           the Web site "update.mozilla.org/extensions."
           And here you'll see extensions collected by categories ? such as
           Blogging, Bookmarks, Chat, Games, and so on.
           There are also Top-5 lists for the extensions most popular,
           highest-rated (by users like you) and most recent.
           'Adblock'
           With more and more advertising online, maybe it won't surprise
you
           that an extension called "Adblock" is the most popular, and by a
           landslide vote. Click on Adblock in the Top-5 list and you'll
see a
           page that describes the extension, including: what it does, how
long
           it takes to download, where to go for help with it and comments
by
           people who have already tried it.
           In just 12 seconds or so, you could download this little gem and
           then be equipped to simply right-click on any Web page ad you
want
           to block in the future.
           That could clean up your computer screen, calm your Internet
           experience and speed your Web browsing (ads are sometimes the
most
           complex and slowest-downloading parts of a Web page).
           Don't do it.
           Not that I'm against ad-blocking. But before you use any new
           software ? from unknown extensions to the latest "update" from
           Microsoft ? you should first back up all of your disk
information
           and read about other people's experiences with the software.
           Does it conflict with something you already have? Is it tough to
           uninstall if you run into problems? With Extensions, you'll get
           plenty of blunt advice right there in the comments.
           Other extensions
           If and when you decide that an extension is for you, just click
on
           the "Install Now" line and then on the "Install Now" button of
the
           warning box that pops up.
           This warning is part of Firefox security, making sure you know
           you're installing new software, so that Web pages can't sneak
new
           and potentially malicious stuff onto your computer.
           Soon you should be back to that Extensions window you opened
from
           the Tools menu. And Adblock ? or whatever other extension you
just
           installed ? has joined the list. Click on the little "X" box at
the
           top right of this window to close it, then quit and restart
Firefox
           to make Adblock active.
           Back in Firefox? You can see how to use Adblock, and change its
           settings, by opening Tools, Extensions again, or by using the
new
           Adblock line added to the Tools menu.
           Open a Web page with ads, then position the mouse over an ad and
           click the right mouse button.
           At the bottom of the menu that appears will be "Adblock Image."
           If you choose this, a line will appear asking if you want to
"OK"
           blocking this one image, or if you want to put an ** anywhere
into
           that blocking filter.
           The asterisk is a "wild card" in many computing tasks, which
means
           "do this for any letter or character that appears here."
           In other words, if the ad image you're about to block is named
           "4.jpg" and you substitute an * for the 4, you'll be blocking
all
           images numbered 0 through 9 from this site.