Changing Web Browsers

[Rooster71]

I have used IE as my web browser for the past 6 years, prior to that I used Netscape. Some recent threads mentioned Mozilla (which I've heard good things about) and I am considering making the switch. Another point of concern is that the vast majority of spyware has been developed to run on IE, so using Mozilla would help reduce exposure to spyware. I have any extensive collection of IE bookmarks and I'm curious to know if there is a way to tranfer them over to Mozilla. Does anyone know? Any thoughts on Mozilla vs. IE?

In the meantime, I will find the Mozilla website and see if I can download the browser.

[wacki]

Yes to all you questions, everything is better and easier with Firefox.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

[stabn]

I have both IE and firefox, and normally use IE, but if you want to use a browser besides IE firefox is the way to go.

[wacki]

By the way you can change Firefox's looks, and customize it any way you want. Install modules... etc.

[Alobar]

firefox = pimp ass [censored]

[theredwave]

Rooster when you switch to Firefox it asks if you want to import all your favorites/bookmarks to Firefox from IE so no problem there. You should download Firefox right now if you haven't already.

[Rooster71]

I want to thank everyone for the input. I just downloaded Firefox and imported all of my settings & bookmarks. I can already tell that I like it much better than IE.

I haven't went really indepth into customizing it yet, but I have not been able to figure out how to move the icons on the Navigation Bar. For some reason, I like having the address window on the far left side of the nav bar. Anyone know how to move these icons? They won't drag and drop.

[jrobb83]

Right click on the nav bar and choose customize. Then you can move everything anywhere.

[edtost]

extentions you need to get:

mouse gestures
adblock
bugmenot
tabbrowser preferences

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
extentions you need to get:


bugmenot


[/ QUOTE ]

Where is bugmenot extension? I couldn't find it.

[Alobar]

they dont have it for 1.0....or at least they didnt last time I checked

[theredwave]

I've got it on Firefox 1.0, but I got it off their site right after 1.0 was released. I tried searching for it but nothing came up so maybe they removed it.

[dodge_holdsem]

Bugmenot is pretty cool, even works on 2+2. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[fatmongo]

How good can firefox be? Seriously, someone enlighten me, I'm willing to listen. I'm stuck on IE, and I was gonna download firefox but I told myself if I was gonna customize it, it would end up looking just like IE.

Reminds me of back when I was in college, all those losers that downloaded linux because they hated Bill Gates, but then they customized their linux interface to look EXACTLY like Windows.

Maybe take a screen shot for me so I can see how you customize it. I like stuff as simple as possible. No clutter in other words.

[dodge_holdsem]

Why yes it does, strange.

[wacki]

Run spybot search and destroy.... Tell me how many spyware programs you see.

Then, if you ever manage to get rid of them, install and download Firefox. Use it for a month, and then see what spybot comes up with.

Have fun and don't be lazy, just try it.

Even the department of homeland security says not to use IE. Hell, Microsofts lead security guru uses firefox, not to mention the team manager for IE programers. Oh and remember MSN Slate? They recommended firefox as well, then MS sold them right after they printed that article.

Google to confirm all of these stories, they were all reported on /.

On a different note, Firefoxes features kicks ass. You learn things about it all the time that you never knew existed. IE sucks... no tabs.

[fatmongo]

I used to run AdAware and Spybot S&D regularly on my old PC, and came up with stuff quite often, so I know where you're coming from. But since I've gotten my new laptop with XP SP2, spybot and adaware never come up with anything. I think its due to regularly running Windows Update.
Still, I'll give firefox a whirl sooner or later.

[stabn]

[ QUOTE ]


Hell, Microsofts lead security guru uses firefox, not to mention the team manager for IE programers.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is FUD. Neither of them actively use firefox as their primary browser.

[wacki]

Not sure what FUD means, but I know what I read on /.

The article didn't specify primary, but both people expressed short commings with IE.

I will try and find the article about the Microsoft people. Until then heres this link:

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/07/02/1441242.shtml

[stabn]

It's interesting that you read slashdot and don't know what FUD means.

In any case, i read all the stories you are talking about, the microsoft one just isn't true. Lets just say that it isn't surprising that security guys at MS would many browsers and 3rd party utilities, and would use or look at them as part of their work, but it doesn't mean they personally use it for browsing. Basically he mentioned he had to update Firefox that morning in an interview, and some linux people lied / added onto his reasons for doing so, and made it sound like it was his browser of choice. Which simply wasn't and still isn't true.

[wacki]

Well since you know the articles I am talking about, maybe we can find them and get to the bottom of this. If what you say is true, it will be good info to know. I'm suprised /. would have FUD as you say.

[stabn]

Slashdot is a biased site, it always has been, and they post FUD quite often. They probably don't always knowingly do it, but a lot of the story submitters know what they are posting is FUD, but pass it along anyway. I'm getting off track though

The relevent story:

[ QUOTE ]

Meanwhile, Firefox and Opera look awfully appealing.
Security is really an industry-wide problem. Just this morning I had to install an update to Firefox to block a flaw that would've allowed an attacker to run a program on my system. We're working around the clock to make Internet Explorer safer, and we're making changes with our Windows XP Service Pack 2 to make browsing a lot more secure.



[/ QUOTE ]
From:
http://it.slashdot.org/it/04/08/30/1835212.shtml?tid=201&tid=172&tid=218
From:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.09/view.html?pg=3

Points:
Stephen Toulouse is only a program manager for security. A Security PM is nothing special and he isn't the only MS security PM, they are simply too big for that, and PM is simply too low a title in their structure.

Proof of the above:


http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=19449
Note the A in the first sentence:
[ QUOTE ]

Stephen Toulouse is a security program manager with Microsoft's security response center.

The security response center is the team (and place) that goes into action when a new vulnerability or attack on one of Microsoft's products or customers is found and reported to secure@microsoft.com (that team watches that email address seven days a week, 365 days a year).


[/ QUOTE ]

And for the overall proof of what his primary browser is:

http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/columnItem/0,294698,sid1_gci1004276,00.html

[ QUOTE ]

And for Wired readers who thought Microsoft's Stephen Toulouse was committing a mortal sin by saying in an interview that he uses Mozilla's Firefox browser, his job is safe. In his blog, Toulouse, a security program manager with Microsoft's Security Response Center, wrote, "What really cracks me up are the sheer number of people who think Microsoft would fire me for saying I run Firefox on one of my machines." For the record, Toulouse said SP2 Internet Explorer is his primary browser.


[/ QUOTE ]

And from page 3 or 4 of Stephens blog:
http://www.stepto.com/default/default.aspx

[ QUOTE ]

Slashdot.


UPDATE:

New channel9 videos! Here, and here.

Ha. You gotta love Slashdot.

A word about the Wired article. I didn't "reveal" that I run Firefox. The interview itself was a 45 minute long affair from which they distilled four questions and answered them with paraphrases from my answers to the questions during the total interview. That's how their hot seat interviews are done.

What I stated in regards to Firefox is that as a security professional I keep abreast of a variety of products on test machines and that just that morning I had to install an update on the machine running Firefox, which was true (EDIT: The update I applied was specifically to Firefox, I merely point out that it was not on my primary machine). That got distilled down to just the last part, that I had to update Firefox to apply a critical security fix.

And I didn't say Windows would finally be secure in 2011. When asked about our efforts I pointed out that security is a journey not a destination, and that our trustworthy computing initiative was a 10 year one.

Lest anyone be confused, my primary browser is SP2 Internet Explorer using Maxthon.



[/ QUOTE ]

I think i've covered all the bases /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[stabn]

Additionally, the browser he uses, Maxathon, is basically a skin on top of IE. It's pretty cool. It has a decent add blocker, a pop up blocker, tabbed browsing, etc.

[wacki]

Very thorough, good post. It looks like I'm going to have to be more carefull when reading /.

Just curious, your location says Redmond Washington, does that mean you work for Microsoft? I'd really like to know why it's taking so long for Windows 64 to come out.

[stabn]

There are quite a few Software Companies around here, for instance there are HP and Nintendo Campuses in Redmond as well. I'm not going to say where I work on here, but I do work in the software industry.

As far as 64 bit windows, Intel had a long lead on AMD with the Itanium, and a 64 bit OS was released for it at the time that XP shipped. No one realistically wants an itanium in their home though, it was totally a server farm class design. AMD though, went for the home market, even though 64 bit CPU's won't realistically be needed in the home for years. They released late, which meant they were inbetween windows OSes. IE, XP was done Windows 2003 Server was close to completion and longhorn is still a long ways off. I don't think you'd be wrong in expecting an AMD64 and 64 bit os for the extended intel Xeons the next time Microsoft does a significant OS release.

Of course, no one running an AMD-64 at home really needs one anyway /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Stabn, why do you so adamantly support MS? /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[stabn]

I wasn't aware correcting one specific piece of information about a web browser was so adamantly supporting MS.

[ThaSaltCracka]

oh, well in that case MS sucks, except for XBOX.

[wacki]

I'm curious why he changed his location from Redmond, Wa to Bellevue, Wa.

[stabn]

I figured you'd ask that. I live in Bellevue instead of Redmond these days. When you asked me about Redmond the other day i realized i hadn't updated it when I moved.

[daryn]

yeah right, you are just paranoid that we are gonna find out where you work! OH NO!! /images/graemlins/shocked.gif /images/graemlins/shocked.gif /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[stabn]

LOL

[mosta]

I stick with mozilla as much as I can, but one thing I liked on IE that I haven't figured out on Mozilla: is there a folder somewhere with my bookmarks in it that I can access directly? I like being able to copy my favorites folder onto a thumb drive and have it with me when I'm out and about. But as far as I can tell in Mozilla you can only access the bookmarks through the browser window.

[AncientPC]

If you have access to an FTP server you should check out the Bookmarks Synchronizer extension.

Otherwise you can go to Bookrmarks -> Manage Bookmarks -> File -> Export to an HTML file.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Bellevue is better than Redmond anyways. Better question is why do I put Seattle for my location when I actually live in Bellevue /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

[stabn]

Probably because people have heard of Seattle. Whenever i'm out of state i always say i'm from seattle, and typically online i say i'm from seattle as well. It eliminates a lot of questions.

[ThaSaltCracka]

yeah it is a hassle.

[Rooster71]

The QuickNote extension kicks ass. I have been looking for something like this for quite a while.