Firefox

[Kehoe's]

I keep getting warnings about firefox on my firewall. What is firefox and what does it have to do with this site?

[deanalois]

firefox ia a web browser

[Kehoe's]

Should I not block it or get rid of it?:peace!:

[Bobby H]

If you are using Firefox to do web browsing, quite naturally you should not block it -otherwise you wouldn't be able to view any web pages on the Internet.

Get rid of Firefox? No. The thing to do is immediately stop using Internet Explorer (as well as the Outlook Express e-mail program). Microsoft's web browser and e-mail programs are notorious for extremely stupid security holes. The biggest culprit is Active-X. With that garbage enabled it is very easy for you to get your computer infected with viruses embedded in web pages.

I strongly recommend any Windows user to use rival web browsers like Firefox, or even Opera. Because they don't enable Active-X by default (as well as a lot of other risky default features) they are far less likely to allow your computer to get infected with spyware and viruses.

[Kehoe's]

Thank you Sir. It helps to have the info. Real nice site...

[Cadmn]

love firefox & Opera firefox can be gotten from wxx.Mozilla.com if any one wants to try it

[Lonely Fisherman]

Firefox is great! It's my default web brower and it works great. There are still a few sites that give me problems but it's a rare occasion.

http://www.getfirefox.com

Please remember to support them with a donation or a purchase from their web store. These people provide great software and they operate with budgets that are far smaller than Microsoft. Good people doing good things for the rest of us.

Fish.....

[Kevin Huffman]

Firefox is all I use.
I stopped using IE ever since I had to reformat my computer very 3 months due to virus and adware.
Right now my computer is on about 8 or 9 months and no issue's with either.

[Bobby H]

I'll also put in a recommendation for people to use Mozilla Thunderbird for e-mail instead of Outlook Express.

Like Firefox, Thunderbird doesn't allow a lot of risky technologies by default. It has its own built-in spam filter too.

In addition to using Thunderbird (or even if you don't want to use it) all Internet users should first check their e-mail headers through a remote home page and then only download legit mail to their computer's local hard disc by way of applications like Thunderbird.

For example, I go to SBC's home page to check my personal e-mail accounts. They filter out a great deal of spam through their "bulk" mail folders there. I simply scan through that folder and then delete all of it. Then my queue of e-mail is safe to download onto my computer via Thunderbird. I also practice this same behavior for company e-mail by way of managing e-mail through the website server. In doing this I give criminal scumbags out there very little chance at all of infecting any of my computers. They really need to go jump off a cliff for all I care -or just find something positive and productive to do for a living. The freaking jerks.

If most computer users practiced that extra step for managing e-mail, most computer virus activity would be mercilessly killed very fast. We would see a dramatic drop in the amount of spam as well -since nearly all spam is sent by worm-infected computers.

[O.T.P. Signs]

firefox rocks!!!

[iSign]

thanks guys.
I resist change sometimes at the shop because som much is always happening there, & I haven't had any trouble (yet) with M$ products... but at home I'm more willing to try things out.
I downloaded & began using Firefox & Thunderbird earlier this year upon noticing so many reliable members on various boards singing Mozilla's praises. I ended up reformatting my home computer & reloading the OS (for completely unrelated reasons) & I had been back to the M$ way of doing things until I saw this post.

Now I've set up the home office with Firefox & Tbird... works great & I'm confident I'm also at less risk. Eventually I'm sure I'll go ahead & change the default browser & email prog at the shop as well.

[Jackpine]

I use firefox and I highly recommend it. It is simple and safe without all the M$ interferance. I really like the clean look. I DO NOT access the internet from my "work computers".

[LedderHed]

Even Gates Loves it. As long as he keeps his hands off of it.

[Kehoe's]

This is more than I expected from a small blocking from a pop up blocker. I went from a troublesome message to finding out that I could have a better browser. I applaud this site for all the help it gives to us beginners. Kehoe's

[Bobby H]

Firefox 1.5 added a lot of improvements "under the hood" to further improve security. On the visible end, you can shuffle around and re-order web page tabs. It is now easier to wipe out cookies, cached web pages and personal data. Just go to the Tools menu and select "Clear Private Data" or just hit Ctrl+Shift+Delete (not Ctrl+Alt+Delete!).

Microsoft is apparently impressed with some Firefox features. They're still trying to get Internet Explorer 7 put together, which will copy some of the feature set of Firefox (like tabbed browsing). Microsoft is also going to start using Firefox's orange RSS logo.