Guide: What browser is right for me?

Way back when the Internet first became popular, everybody used Internet Explorer, because it came with their computer, and there really weren't any other generally available browsers.
Nowadays, everybody is using different browsers, to suit their needs. Internet Explorer is a security hole, a resource hog, and just a fail in general. Often times, people post here about Internet problems, when it's just Internet Explorer acting up.

Different browsers give you different things. The main purpose of this guide is to show you that, and to help you decide exactly which browser you should use.

Mozilla Firefox [download for windows mac]
According to the W3C, Mozilla Firefox is the most popular web browser, which is used by 46.9% of Internet users. It is free, and can be downloaded for Windows and Mac (it comes stock with Linux usually).

Speed: Normal
Extensibility: Very
Customizable: Yes
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> Firefox has a similar browsing speed to Internet Explorer. Nothing fancy in this area.
> Firefox supports many plugins, which can be obtained here.
> Firefox can be easily modified in any way you would like to, by going to about:config, wherein you have hundreds of settings you can modify.
Firefox is for people who just want a better browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but don't want anything too fancy.

Google Chrome[download (platform auto-detected)]
This is the second most popular non-Internet Explorer web browser. It is used by 14% of internet users. It is also free, and can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, or Linux

Speed: Above Average
Extensibility: Extensible.
Customizable: No
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>Chrome is proven to be much faster than Internet Explorer and Firefox
>Chrome is fairly new, so there are not as many plugins, but it does support plugins.
>Chrome does not have an about:config page, but, much like Firefox, it supports themes. So it is customizable in that sense.
Google Chrome is for people who care about speed. Also, Chrome is good for netbook users, because it has a GUI that doesn't take up much space on the screen.

Opera[download for windows mac linux]
This is the 3rd most popular non-Internet Explorer web browser. It is used by 3.5% of internet users. It is also free, and can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Speed: Normal or Enhanced
Extensibility: Extensible
Customizable: No
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>Opera has a mode that you can turn on called "Turbo Mode". This uses advanced compression technology to speed up data transfer and to reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded. So basically, everything gets shrunk in Opera's servers, and get's given to you quicker.
>There are not many plugins for Opera
>Opera has some themes that you can pick from
Opera is for people with really bad network connections. If you turn on turbo, everything gets routed through Opera's servers. Now, you're only connected to one server, instead of one server(or more) per site. It's almost as if your router is connected to a second, better, router.

Safari[download for windows]
This is the least popular web browser, with only 2.2% of the Internet as a userbase. It is only available for Windows, and it comes pre-loaded on a Mac.

Speed: Normal
Extensibility: No
Customizable: No
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>Safari is not faster than any other browser out there.
>Safari does not have plugins
>Safari is not customizable
Safari is for people who want a cool default look. Apple likes to make things look awesome, which Safari does out of the box, but under the hood, it's just another browser.

I hope this helped you decide on a web browser. I personally use Firefox when I'm using Windows, and Chrome when I'm using Linux. But that's my personal preference. Everybody needs a browser that works for them.

If you have any more questions, please post here!

 

Operas' "normal" speed is still way faster than IE has ever dreamed of.
And since it has a smaller user base, there is not much malware or viruses written for it, so it is safer to my way of looking at things.

I may also be prejudiced as it is also my browser of choice.rolleyes

 

While I use Firefox most of the time I have to agree with hrlow2. It's noticeably faster than Firefox too, without using the turbo mode, especially this last upgrade v10.60. Not so sure I agree with Opera not being customizable either.

On the other hand, there seem to be more sites that don't want to work with Opera than with the other browsers. Although in some cases that can be gotten around.

 

If you go to the address bar at the top of the page and type

"opera:config"

without the quotation marks, you can go to the Preferences Editor.
Have a field day.

 

I'm not trying to defend Internet Explorer; it's not my default browser. But, I think your comments on it are unreasonably negative. My observation of it's CPU usage in Task Manager does not indicate it's a significantly greater resource hog than other browsers. And, to say that IE8 is a security hole is, I believe, also an exaggeration. The security improvements in IE since version 6 have been substantial.

That said, I've spent a significant amount using Firefox, Chrome, and Opera, and I have a favorable opinion of all of them. Of course, each of them is unique and I think your comments should be helpful to users in choosing a browser other than IE.

 

I`m kinda partial to SeaMonkey.

 

I'm thinking of going back to Maxthon for IE after a 3 year stint with FF as that still has memory creep for me over several machines and OS's. I still get creep to the point that FF is using up 500MB and is making the machine useless. It's not really that often but after all their repeated denials, I think I'll go back to Maxthon for a try and I actually can't remember why I ever left it in the first place.rolleyes:-D

 

Thanks for pointing this out. Many people falsely think using FF instantly makes the net safer; with all the Secunia alerts I've been getting lately, FF has some major issues to deal with. And if the OP had done a little more research, perhaps a mention of the privacy issues that surround Chrome would have been warranted. I personally wouldn't put that browser on any computer I use.

 

Then there is always "Unchrome", the tiny software that overwrites Google's codes with zeroes, so you'll have your privacy back. Google it if interested and you'll find Unchrome. I've been using Chrome just for 10 days or so and found that little gem since I was hesitant to try out Chrome up to now due to privacy concerns. I read their ULA (whatever) when it came out and didn't like what I read.

I still prefer FF although it's a bit slower. I've got it tweaked just to my liking and Chrome's extensions are not comparable (yet) with FF.

IE7 just for Windows update or only if absolutely necessary. Blocked IE8 from downloading with a tool.

Oh ya, forgot to write that after running Unchrome, the Chrome browser DOES protest, just ignore it. It'll work just fine.

 

Hi oma, interesting program. Even more interesting is folks mentioning what you did, that the browser "protests" the presence of that program! Did read up on it, however still no chance Chrome gets on any computer I sit at. In fact, it's not an approved app at work due to those privacy issues.

Chaslang, the tutorial is excellent and I've referred many people to it over the time I've been a member here. By the way, I'm at Chris and Teresa's place; Chris said to tell you hello.

 

Forgot to add that Chrome only protested ONCE after installing Unchrome. It's been humming fine after that. One only needs to run Unchrome ONCE according to the supplied info. Apparently Google's Chrome updates will not affect the change made by Unchrome. Anyway, I've removed Google's automatic updates. I will decide what kind of updates I want, definitely not Google's decision.

 

Personally, I happen to like IE 7, and is my favorite and most used browser. I do have FF, but only as a backup. I also did as Oma did, and blocked IE 8 too.

My personal thinking, is all browsers are not created equally, and none are fool proof. Everyone has their 'favorite' but that doesn't make them better, for sure. OK, so I "like" IE7. My choice, and I also agree with solaris89, on his statement here:

I also have Secunia installed, and he is very correct on the alerts. But that is what Secunia does, it checks for that stuff. As far as my IE7 goes, I have used FF and IE7, and on my DUN, I do actually find, that IE opens, loads much faster than FF. Now, this may be different for someone on a hi-speed connection, but for me, IE is my choice.


@ solaris89, Please give Chris and Teresa our best

 

The link below is also worthwhile reading regards to Google's privacy concerns (tracking) and their solutions to them. There are also downloads for that for browsers. I really don't know if the previous mentioned software "Unchrome" does the very same thing or something else. :confused

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/18936/keep-google-from-tracking-your-every-move-online/

 

I needed to add my 2 cents to this one. While I have not used opera in quite sometime. I find myself using chrome of late. Opera can be customized quite a Bit. While its a bit of a learning curve, The users on the Opera forum are more than happy to teach, and show and once you learn it its so very simple.

Its a simple edit job. You can edit the right click to do LOTS of things. Make it the way you want it. I always suggest to everyone. Try the different browsers. They are all free. Try one at a time. Give it say 2 weeks or so then move on to the next. Now which one works best for you and on your setup. That would be the right browser for you.

 

Well, yes, but you should be careful or you can really make a mess of things.

For Opera tweakers, here is a little help:
Opera's Settings File Explained

This one is supposed to be more up to date - for ver. 10.60
Opera's Configuration File Explained

Sort of biting my tongue right now. I'm also an Opera fan for several reasons....

One thing that really impresses me about Firefox is the auto-update.
Every time I have used it, it has worked flawlessly.