A Better Browsing With Firefox 3

If cannot get enough of Firefox 2 with its cool features and superb browsing performance, then Firefox 3 will promise you more on their latest full upgrade version of this open source web browser.

Mozilla Firefox has redefined browsing experience with its tab format that has never been introduced in any web browsers. This would give users some leverage in browsing wherein one window in the task bar appearing while multiples of sites can be loaded in just one setting. And that is not all. Users can browse links of another web page through the tabs without attempting to open another application. This can save browsing time as Firefox would not load another application anymore just to open the new page. Instead, a new tab will appear for the new link making browsing in web faster and easier.

Firefox has also added other features like the incremental find, and live book marking making for an easy web browsing through contents and at the same time having adding convenience to the browsers. Also, Firefox can support a lot of web format standards including the Web 2.0 latest applications like the CSS, ECMASScript and lot more. With its flexibility and easy to use, it is no wonder that Firefox has a fair share in terms of web browsers. It has been the second most widely used web browsers next to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. And the good thing about Firefox is that it is for free. It can run in any operating systems without any signs of conflicts.

Firefox promised more on adherents with the soon to release Mozilla Firefox 3. Now on its Beta 5 release, Mozilla Firefox 3 has improved the web browsing experience with the promise of being taunted as the de facto Standard of web browsers making its position unassailable.

Firefox 3's Gecko Web platform version 1.9 has been developed for more than 2 years with its major architectural restructuring and at the same time enhancing its performance and stability. With its new reengineering, browsers will surely be satisfied on the speed and at the same time with added customized features, one's browsing experience will surely be at home with one's sense of style.

A highlight of Firefox 3's enhancement is its graphic user interface or the GUI. This would give browsers a total web browsing experience that cannot be offered by other open source browsers around.

Security enhancement is one of the highlight in this version. The current version has one-click site information. Browsers can readily get the website information protecting them from harmful and anonymous websites. Also, a site favicon button will indicate the name of the company ensuring browsers that they are not being redirected by hacked websites.

In terms of virus protection, that would be easily remedied by its malware protection features. A warning will prompt browsers when visiting a site known for its Trojan

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1163397

Firefox Lag - Why Firefox Lags, How Do I Fix It?

Is Firefox your favorite web browser? No doubt it is one of the efficient web browsers available online. However, due to some internal errors such as the registry errors the computer experiences Firefox lag. This is a very annoying problem since it does not allow us to surf internet in a faster way.

If Firefox lags in your computer and you want it to run it faster then you should follow the following guidelines which are found very helpful to end lagging in Firefox:

Clean Windows Registry: The Firefox browser creates a lot of registry entries in Windows registry. It is important to clean registry area to reduce clutter and prevent Firefox from lagging and freezing.

Clear Cache, History and Temporary Internet Files: The more junk is present in your browser, the more will Firefox lag. It is wise to clear cache, history and temporary internet files from the web browser.

Manage Add-ons and Toolbars: Why does Firefox lag when it had no problems in the past? This question is being asked by a lot of Firefox users like you. What happens is that people install a number of toolbars and add-ons which can cause disruption in the normal working of the browser. Uninstalling those add-ons which are causing trouble is helpful to fix this problem.

The above guidelines allow you to fix lagging problem with the Firefox browser. Most of the times this problem is also caused by the Flash errors. The Flash player, if not repaired, can make Firefox run slower as well as cause it to crash and freeze frequently. It is recommended by PC experts to repair Flash, active-x, file associations and other registry errors to make Firefox faster and stable.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4666287

Firefox 5 - Well, Almost

Mozilla Firefox version 5 is on the horizon, reflected by the recent changes in the browser implemented in Firefox Beta Version 9.0. The newest release of Firefox sports a slimmed down user interface that reflects the recent trend towards tabbed browsing ala Google Chrome. It seems that all the major browsers have followed suit in adopting a similar interface... so much for forward thinking and creativity. I guess this proves the evolutionary hypothesis that form follows function. However, this doesn't really change the crucial function of Firefox, mainly browsing the internet.

Firefox Beta 9.0 has made some changes to it's engine that help to enhance its browsing capabilities. Quoted from the Mozilla Blog, "Firefox 4 Beta now includes a streamlined Firefox Sync setup, making it easier to bring Awesome bar history, bookmarks, open tabs and passwords across your computers and smartphones. Based on your feedback, we've made it much easier to setup Firefox Sync while still securing your Firefox data with the same high-grade encryption." The Firefox Sync setup does work well, and is pretty simple to use. Like other major password services such as LassPass, Sxipper, RoboForms, etc. it creates a copy stored on a server so that you can sync your data to whatever system you are currently using. It works well but I still prefer the more robust features of LastPass which works with any browser and easily creates multiple login profiles for the same website. I actually prefer Sxipper but alas it is not compatible with Firefox Beta 9. This brings me to one of the big drawbacks to Beta 9, plugin and extension compatibility is not at all guaranteed.

Another feature added to the Beta 9 engine is its redesigned graphic capabilities. Mozilla opted to integrate the WebGL standard, supported by many modern graphics cards, in an effort to make it easier for designers to create games and web applications for Firefox, without the need to download a plugin. For those that don't know WebGL is a 3D standard that supports accelerated graphics. This will help Firefox to put some zip into some of those graphic intensive game and video sites. The Firefox Blog purports, "Combined with our previous work to bring open HTML5 technologies for animation, video, and sound to the Web, developers can now create amazing experiences that are rendered directly in the browser, combining themselves with live data from the Internet." For controlling tabs Firefox Beta 9.0 has added a feature known as Panorama. This feature allows you to switch to a page on which all of a users open tabs are displayed together, using the panorama button or by pressing CTRL + SPACE. Using this feature you can visually see your tabs and even reorganize, group or expand tabs at will.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5845281

Transitioning To Firefox

Many of you have considered installing the Firefox browser
but haven't yet because of the unknown. Some of you may
have even tried it but went back to IE (Internet Explorer)
because no one was around to explain how to use and
configure it. Some of you have no idea why you would even
want to switch from using IE to Firefox. This article will
cover all that and more including how to create a one of a
kind unique browser just for you. You can't do that with
IE.

Because of the complete lack of custom options in IE as
well as it's constant security holes, Firefox was born. At
the time, IE was more popular than all other browser
options combined but there was no way to customize it. It's
rapid adoption and exponential user base growth was due
solely to the fact that it started out as secure, addressed
all new security issues in a timely manner and offered
users limitless was to customize it. Because it's open
source software, Firefox will always be a step ahead of IE
when it comes to stability and security.

Why open source? With the source code publicly available,
thousands of independent users can review and test it for
potential issues. With closed source browsers such as IE,
if Microsoft doesn't find a problem internally, it will
most likely be found first by a malicious hacker and
exploited. Open source software such as Firefox is more
secure and robust because so many more independent people
are reviewing, probing and testing it. Their much more
likely to find and fix an issue before it can be exploited.

What does all that mean to you? You'll know that your using
the safest most secure browser and it can even be
customized by you. You have access to thousands of other
customizations already created and you can share the ones
you may create with every other Firefox users. Firefox
doesn't leak your personal and financial information as you
use it and any issues that are found in the future are
usually fixed within 24 hours. IE is not supported by the
huge user base that Firefox enjoys so it's security issues
can linger for months all the while being exploited.

How can Firefox be customized when IE can not? Little
pieces of software called themes, plug-ins and extensions
allow you to control Firefox. There's a plug-in that lets
you keep an eye on the weather anywhere in the world as
well as notifying you instantly about severe weather
alerts. Astronomers can see, at a glance, sunrise, high
noon, sunset and moonrise as well as when the next full
moon will occur. Do those flashing banner adds annoy you?
Banish them permanently with the Adblock plug-in. You don't
have to create your own customizations if you don't want to
because there are thousands already in existence to choose
from. If you do want to create your own, Firefox will even
show you exactly how to do just that.

Article Source: http://goo.gl/Qz2dV

Strengthen Your Privacy in Firefox 3

Firefox safeguards your private information over the internet, however, there is at least one new feature in Firefox 3 that may leave you vulnerable. You can browse privately just by making a minor change in your configuration, and there are add-ons available as well to make Firefox more versatile. Clear the Location Bar and other evidence Scott Dunn explained several ways of changing the way Firefox 3 works in his June 19, 2008 article. I put the new browser to the test and found a number of ways to greatly improve its privacy features. The Location Bar in Firefox 3 will allow you to view a list of sites recently visited, through the use of a drop-down box. You can use this to speedily get back to a URL that you've visited in the past without needing to re-type the whole address. Naturally, you may want to prevent other people using your computer from seeing the URLs you've visited. Deleting an individual entry is an extremely easy process. All you need to do is find it in the drop-down list, highlight it, and press Delete. By reconfiguring the browser settings, you can also deactivate the history window. In the Address Bar, type about:config and hit Enter. In order to narrow the list of entries that will come up on your display, type urlbar in the Filter area, then press Enter.

Double-click browser.urlbar.maxRichResults. Change the value so that it becomes 0, then re-open the Internet browser. If you don't like the style of Firefox 3 but are partial to the Location Bar history feature, it's possible to reinstate the look of Firefox 2 by installing the oldbar add-on. If further privacy is desired, use the Firefox add-on called Distrust, which I first mentioned in the June 28, 2007 column. Your activity can be tracked from this point on by clicking the, "Distrust," button at the bottom of the browser. In order to remove cached files, history of downloaded files, cookies, browsing records, and other traces of your Internet activity without damaging other Firefox data, click the icon once more. Enable URL autocomplete in Firefox 3 When you begin to type a URL in Internet Explorer 7's address bar, Explorer will try and automatically complete the URL by matching it to the closest URL you have visited before. To obtain the same result in Firefox 3, be sure to enable URL autocomplete. Activating this feature in Firefox 3 is easy. Simply input the phrase about:config in the Location Bar, then hit the Enter key. Typing urlbar and then hitting Enter narrows the list of entries in the Filter area. Double-clicking where it says browser.urlbar.autoFill will change its value to true. You probably won't want to enable the drop-down history feature if you disabled it, as this could expose your browsing habits to other users who have access to your PC.

The easy way to remember Google search operators In order to receive more refined results in your searches, you can use special operators in your queries both through Yahoo and Google. On July 19, 2007, I provided details on how to utilize these operators for more effective searching. Remembering these operators isn't exactly a simple task considering how many operators there are. However, Advanced Dork, which is a very slick Firefox add-on, assists you in recalling various Google search operators. Once Advanced Dork has been installed, highlight on a Web page, right-click it, and from the pop-up menu, choose Advanced Dork. This will cause a list of advanced operators to be displayed. Pick one and it will launch a Google search. Then you may update your search query, if needed. This particular add-on will enable you to perform searches through the Scroogle anonymizer, rather than utilizing Google as you normally would. What Scroogle actually does is allow you to use Google anonymously by acting as a proxy go-between. Scroogle prevents any personal information from being transmitted to Google when you run a search.

It acts as a screen through which the query passes and the results return. Currently, there are 18 various advanced operators that are supported by Advanced Dork. Others are available, but you must manually add them to your search queries.

There is a full list of search operators available on Google's Advanced Operators page. Firefox + Gmail = online file storage Google's free e-mail service, Gmail, allows you to retrieve your messages and data from any location where there is a connection to the Internet. One of the great features of Gmail is you are given more than 6.6GB of online storage space with your inbox. That is quite a bit of space! The Gspace add-on for Firefox 3 allows you to use your Gmail account for more than just email and converts it into an online file storage system. You will be able to access your documents, data files, multimedia, etc., from any computer. Once installed, select Gspace by choosing Tools and then Gspace.

A window that resembles a standard FTP client will appear. Fill in your Gmail account details by clicking on Manage Accounts. You can now upload and download files. The Gspace window will consist of two panes: to the left will be the pane displaying your local hard drive and to the right will be the pane displaying items stored in your Gmail. Select the file you want to upload in the left pane and then click the right-pointing arrow between the two panes. In order to download a file, simply click the left-pointing arrow on it once you have selected it in the Gmail storage pane on the right. It is that easy. Take a look at the demo on the Gspace website, where you can also download the latest releases for Windows, Linux or OS X.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1363606

Firefox 1.5 vs. Internet Explorer 7 - It Is A Matter Of Trust

Firefox has been around for a much shorter time than Internet Explorer and still it is much more secure and reliable. Microsoft has released the newest version of their web browser, Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1. Already you can see complaints everywhere about bugs and problems experienced by people who upgraded to the newest version. Internet Explorer 7 boasts an array of new features, but almost all of them have been around in Mozilla Firefox for quite some time.

I guess the one feature Microsoft is bragging with the most is the new tabbed browsing interface. This is nothing new to Firefox users and I would rather trust a browser that has been using this feature for a couple of years because it had enough time to straighten out all the bugs and problems associated with it. Internet Explorer 7 is new to the world of tabbed browsing and one wonders how many problems will one experience with this feature before Microsoft gets it right. I'm not saying that there are any problems with its tabbed browsing feature, but if they could not even get the basics right in the past one does not have much trust when they come up with a brand new feature.

Later versions of Internet Explorer 6 introduced a built-in pop-up blocker. Users of Mozilla Firefox has been enjoying pop-up blocking long before Microsoft decided to add it to their browser. With its pop-up blocking feature and enhanced security, Firefox has been much less vulnerable to virus and spyware attacks than Internet Explorer. Firefox may not be 100% secure but security issues gets fixed in a much more timely fashion than the ones in Internet Explorer. The main reason for this effective attention to bug fixes is the fact that Firefox is Open Source software. Many people argue that it poses a great security threat having your source code available to the public, because it is easier to discover and exploit vulnerabilities when you have access to the code. This may be true, but the fact that the source code is available to anyone, creates a bigger pool of software developers contributing to the development and enhancement of the software, which results in faster and more effective releases for bug fixes and security issues. You are left at the mercy of Microsoft to get the problems in Internet Explorer fixed and all of us know how slow their response sometimes are when it comes to resolving security issues.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/302528

How Do I Fix Firefox Flash Issues

Have you tried all the steps and still the Firefox Flash doesn't work in your computer? Undoubtedly most of the multimedia content on the web requires Flash player. Although there is a new version of the player (Flash 10) available, but a lot of people still are not able to resolve Flash crashes in Firefox. This problem is really troublesome as it crashes videos and different type of Flash content in web browsers.

Here are given a few simple techniques that have been tested and found to be of great help. If your Firefox Flash doesn't work follow these steps:

Step 1: Repair Flash, Active-X and Registry Errors

Most of the times people think that Flash crashes Firefox browser due to some virus or malware infection. However, this is not correct. The actual reason behind Flash crashes, in majority of cases, is linked to the corruption in registry keys created by the browser and the Flash player. It is, therefore, recommended to repair Flash, Active-X and other registry errors to fix Firefox Flash crash.

Step 2: Create a New Firefox Profile

Some people have found creating a new Firefox profile quite helpful. This profile allows you to import data from your old profile and start browsing with a newly installed Firefox browser. You can make a new profile here. However, this option may not be suitable for most people who are accustomed to the existing Firefox usage. Therefore, repairing Flash, Active-X and the registry errors is a preferred solution.

Step 3: Uninstall the Existing Flash Player

As we know Firefox Flash doesn't work sometimes and also makes it difficult for us to watch videos online, it is better to uninstall the Flash player and then replace it with the latest version. You can uninstall your current version of Flash player from your computer by using the official uninstaller tool from Adobe. It is very important to completely remove the Flash files for resolving errors with the application.

Step 4: Install Latest Flash Version or Install a Previous Version if the Latest Doesn't Work

It is recommended that you install the Flash 10 player which is the recent version. You can get it from official web site of Adobe. If Firefox Flash doesn't work in your computer changing the version can help you fix the issue. However, to avoid future instances of Firefox Flash crashes you shall use some good registry repairing program.

Read more: http://EzineArticles.com/4730411