Web Browsers - Surfing Selection
As we are aware, Internet Explorer, known as IE in it's various flavours, although currently running at version 6x inc various security updates etc., comes bundled with Windows, all flavours currently in use.
It can be easy to forget therefore that there are others and these tend to provide more features, greater ease of use and can make surfing safer. Most hackers tend to target IE as it's been the most popular to date, due in the main to it being bundled with Windows.
Many third party browsers include advanced navigation options to make it easier to navigate around the various websites and are less susceptible to problems - for the time being anyway. They are less likely to be hijacked by malicious programs that can send personal data to unscrupulous organisations.
One of the major problems I experienced with an alternative browser was that many sites have been written round the IE format and consequently don't always work properly with alternative browsers. This however is being addressed in the main, as web designers realise that people are adopting alternatives.
One site I had problems with was Powergen, as they tended to check the browser in use and if it wasn't either IE or Netscape then hard luck, you weren't getting access. Beside that their site insisted on security settings being set opposite to all the financial institutions and hence yet another headache, but that existed under IE anyway! Glad to say that their revamped site now allows access by alternative browsers and that they have sorted out the security problem!
Anyway, slight digression there!
The review was carried out on six diferent browsers, including Avant Browser 10, Deepenet Explorer 1.3, Microsoft IE6 SP1, Mozilla Firefox 1.0, Netscape Navigator 7.2 and Opera 7.54.
All six are free but with Opera showing adverts in the free version or pay £24 for an advert free version.
All six run on min of Pentium 166/233 and above, with IE6 and Opera on 486 processors and Windows 98 upwards.
Of the six tested, Opera 7.54 won the Editor's Choice award, with both Mozilla Firefox and Avant Browser classed as Highly Commended.
Note! Since the above report new versions or releases have evolved and hence some of the recommendations may be changed in the future. Having said that, try an alternative and see how you get on with it.
Personally, I have been using Forefox since it came out and I think it's far superior to IE, with it's tabs etc. Try it and you'll soon see what I mean.
Theer are a number of browsers available and a quick search of the web will fetch them up.
Why not try one of the alternatives for yourself?
Happy Browsing!
