» Getting The Most From Your Internet Browser

Getting The Most From Your Internet Browser

Jul 12

Thursday, July 12th, 2007 | posted by: Steve Adams

Your Internet browser is what enables you to view websites on the Internet. Over time, all browsers will become obsolete – even the best ones. If you are using a Windows based PC, your default browser is probably Internet Explorer. If you are using a Mac, it’s most likely Safari or Firefox. There are many others available and all are a free download away. Keeping your browser up to date is mostly automatic nowadays, but if your computer is not set to receive these updates, you may not know what you are missing. More importantly, the older a browser, the more security flaws will have been found in it.

Ensuring your browser is kept up to date has many benefits; some of them are more important than others. The most significant reason is to keep up to date with the most current security patches and updates. As technology increases so do the vulnerabilities of older browsers. When browsers are in the development stages a great deal of emphasis is placed on combating the current security loop holes and threats that exist in the browsers history. Microsoft ignored security flaws in version 6 for years until they were forced to re-tool Explorer to keep up with the other newer browsers that were more secure.

With an up to date browser, it should be standards compliant. That means it ensures you are viewing newly designed websites the way in which they were designed to be viewed. You see, older browsers lack some of the newer technologies that are required to view things like newer Flash animation (Animated content on websites), better CSS support (used by both authors and readers of web pages to define colors, fonts, layout, and many other aspects of website presentation), AJAX programming (a new web development technique used for creating interactive web applications), and also dynamic behaviors such as drop down menus. When we develop a new website, we check it to ensure that it looks the same in all the current browsers and even a few older versions. Many development companies will do this while many more will not. That is one reason you will see a notice that the site you are viewing is best viewed with Browser X.

In addition, most new or updated browsers also have add-ons called extensions or plug-ins that enhance your web browsing by incorporating features that increase the functionality of the browser itself. Some examples of add-ons are built in search bars, browser themes, and also various toolbars for different tasks.

Determining Which Browser to Use

Most Internet browsers operate in very much the same way, but there are still some websites that will require a specific browser. When it comes to things like security, functionality, and performance practically any browser will work well. We use and recommend Internet Explorer 7, but we mostly use Firefox due to the web developer extensions that are available and the fact it work better with the WordPress editor. Explorer 7 has one advantage in that it will work with sites that use Active-X controls. Firefox views this type of application as a security risk and will not support it.

The only browser that we would not recommend is the new Windows version of Safari recently introduced by Apple. It seems to have some compatibility issues that reduce the performance right now, but that may change as newer versions are introduced.

Below are links and brief descriptions to most of the known browsers and all are free to download.

Firefox2 has offered Microsoft’s Internet Explorer an enormous amount of competition. Firefox is a great performer in terms of speed, security, and functionality. It’s only drawback is its inability to function correctly with ActiveX, although it is possible with some tinkering, it may be a difficult task for new users.
Click here to download

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 is best for corporate users in controlled environments and those who spend most of their time on Microsoft-branded or IE-specific Web sites. IE has long been the top dog in the Internet browser market, but over the last couple of years Firefox and Opera have been steadily chipping away at its empire.
Click here to download

Safari (for Windows) is still in its Beta testing phase but it seems to have a promising future. This browser touts some very large speed performance gains and offers much of the same capabilities as Internet Explorer and Firefox. Unfortunately at this time Safari has several issues and compatibility issues with the Windows operation system, time will tell whether or not this will be the browser of the future.
Click here to download

Opera seems to be a major contender in the battle for the best Internet browser. Opera matches Internet Explorer and Firefox in terms of general functionality and security. Opera is well suited for people who download frequently and keep many webpages open at once.
Click here to download