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Browsers

Mozilla Firefox is by a long way the best browser around and has been for some time, there are others but Firefox has the best support, and the best features all of which can be added or removed at will. Firefox, is safer by a long way than Internet Explorer, it is even safer with the right add ons such as Noscript and Adblock Plus. It is fully customisable, it has tabbed browsing, if you have never used tabbed browsing its a bit like broadband, once you have it you will never be satisfied with anything less. It is a bit of a wrench to get used to but after a few days you will never touch Internet Explorer again..

How to install, set up & customise Mozilla Firefox >>>

Internet Explorer 6.0 is not and never has been a good idea security wise, it is so deeply embedded in the operating system it has access to everything and is a top attack target and point of entry for malware, an honour it shares with the even more hopeless Outlook Express e mail client (aka Lookout Express).

Internet Explorer 7.0 Much better than it was but still subject to all the old IE security issues. Used on a Vista Machine IE7 is pretty safe as you can run it in sandbox mode, but on XP you cannot. The layout and the look are all wrong and customisation is very limited and it is being replaced this summer with IE8, which I await with some degree of sceptisism as there is only one way to make IE a better and more secure browser, that is use Firefox.

Internet Explorer 8.0 Has arrived and is on Windows Updates being offered as a critical security update. It has a new "Privacy" mode ........ sometimes it has issues with existing software like Antivirus and Firewall and you can't get on-line. Removing it is difficult and the uninstaller Microsoft made available for removing it sometimes doesn't either. Just use Firefox please - IE anything is just not worth the hassle seriously!

Google Chrome The new browser from Google looks pretty good, it is in direct competition with IE and Firefox however it will not come into its own unless certain other elements go Google's way. It is designed for "Cloud Computing" which is what the PC prophets say will happen inevitably - what they assume is all our data and programs will be on the internet not on our home PCs which will become much less powerful. We will do everything online using a browser hence "Chrome" which is Java on Speed apparantly to do all the heavy lifting. Weather this happens or not Google Chrome is a very good browser but is underdeveloped, it is fun to mess about with though the tweaks are endless. Just as a matter of interest the biggest investor in the Mozilla Foundation (Firefox) is Google so read what you like into it.

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