PC Training & Consulting Weblog

Browser Alternatives

July 14, 2004

Foremost, be aware that IE and Windows are full of security vulnerablities (and so are many programs). Everyone needs to frequently use Windows Update. Everyone needs a separate security suite: anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware.

Finally, there are many reasons beyond security for looking at alternative browsers. Unfortunately, I haven't found the perfect browser and, for me, IE has much that is at least acceptable and often very good. I see things I like (and dislike) in Opera and Firefox. mjh

Internet Explorer Dips in Popularity

Internet Explorer use is dropping for the first time in years, according to San Diego, Calif.-based Web analytics firm WebSideStory.

WebSideStory Inc.'s real focus is its on-demand Web analytics services for business customers, said Erik Bratt, the company's corporate communications director. But the data collected from thousands of Web sites and 20 million to 40 million users a day has shown WebSideStory that there is a small decline in Internet Explorer use from 95.73 percent on June 4 to 94.73 percent on July 6.

Now, a 1 percent drop may not sound like much, but Geoff Johnston, WebSideStory user trend analyst, said the company has never seen IE use decrease.

IE Flaws Boost Browser Switching By Matthew Broersma

Alternative browser makers say they are seeing a huge and sustained boost in downloads spurred by the most recent Internet Explorer security concerns, but industry observers caution that switching browsers isn't necessarily a panacea.

While the high-profile attacks of the past two weeks have affected only IE on Windows, other browsers already or could soon share some of the same vulnerabilities, researchers say. ...

On the day that CERT updated its advisory to mention browser alternatives, downloads of Mozilla's next-generation Firefox browser, now in its last preview release, doubled to more than 200,000, according to the Mozilla Foundation. Downloads of all of Mozilla's applications have increased steadily since last fall, with Firefox's user base doubling every few months.

Time to Find an IE Alternative?
By Matthew D. Sarrel

Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the de facto Web browser on Windows PCs. As such, it is a prominent target for attackers relying on documented vulnerabilities ... (see www.cert.org for myriad advisories).

But security concerns aren't the only reason to seek an alternative. IE's slow rendering engine and dearth of privacy features may plant the thought in some iconoclastic minds that it may not be the best browser for everyone. Here we evaluate the newest offerings from Opera Software, Opera 7.52; and from Mozilla Foundation, Firefox 0.9.1. ...

The two share some notable similarities. First and foremost, in our hands-on testing we noticed that pages load much faster in Firefox and Opera than in IE.