Tony's Tech Tips!

Friday, August 24, 2007

What Web Browser should I use?

It may be obvious to some, not so much to others, but the browser you use makes a really big difference when it comes to getting a case of the 'Vista's'

Opera: The 31337 (ELEET) browser.

I would say the best browser out there right now, with a single caveat, it almost has TOO many options, and that's why I call it the 31337 browser, If you use Linux, understand how the internet works, and love going thru endless option check box's, wow is this the browser for you. It's fast, sleak, doesn't hog up system resources and is a godsend to what is unfortunately an 'Internet Exploder' dominated market. If you want to start having an awesome experience using the internet, and don't mind going thru a myriad of options in order to get things the way you like, you need to click here, NOW!

Firefox: One word... FOXY!!!

First off, let me get it out in the open, I'm in love with Firefox, being an old Mozilla user from back in the day, before Mr. Gates even knew what a web browser was, before the empire, before the dark times... Anyone out there remember good ole Netscape Navigator? Well the name's moved around quite a bit, but Firefox seems like it's Navigator reborn from it's own ashes, only 10 times better. It's totally customizable, and has a very strong user and development base. The Extensions, or plug-ins if you prefer, are not only top notch but really easy to find and install. Themes? There's a billion, from the wacky to the sleek, anything you could think of. I install this browser on all of my customers machines after removing viruses and spyware. Then I install this add-on, followed by this one. Last but not least, I finish with this, and bam, not only will you see a huge reduction in pop-ups, but you won't even see most ads that are embedded in all these bad websites out there. I have my browser "pimped out" for myself, and simply refuse to use anything else I am so happy with my over-all surfing experience. I don't run any antivirus software on my machine, none whatsoever, and since using firefox, I have yet to get any viruses or spyware. Not that it's virus or spyware proof, I'm an experienced surfer and know what not to click, but I'd go so far as to say Firefox will remove 90+% of your internet threats if you install those above add-ons.

Internet Explorer: Welcome to your doom.

Well, There's a reason this sucker is last. Worst... Browser... Ever... Known as 'Internet Exploder' to those of us in the know, this is most likely the reason you have viruses and/or spyware on your machine. Bill and Ted, had they been geeks, would have referred to IE as "The most heinous personification of evil ever encountered by the human race." The only reason you should ever even look at IE, is when you are performing a windows update or the website you're using requires it. One of the larger problems is just how entangled into the windows base system IE really is. It's damn near half of your operating system, AT LEAST... Do you really want to be browsing around, clicking here and there, not really paying much attention to what's going on or what your clicking on, unknowingly giving some random website complete access to your entire system? Of course not. Avoid this foul turd of a browser as if it were the plague. I usually remove it from the users desktop and start menu after installing Firefox, leaving only "Windows Update" as a way to use it.

One rule that binds them all: Surf Defensively.

If your downloading something, and it's supposed to be, say, a pack of pictures, or maybe some Clip Art samples, anytime it asks you if you want to run or open or save an executable file, BEWARE! This is also the next best way to get yourself infected. Your best bet is whenever it asks you if you want to open, run or save, always use the save option, pay attention to what type of file it is. Is it an executable or 'program' file? Do you trust the site you downloaded it from? Obviously, if you go to www.firefox.com and click download firefox, that's an executable program that you can trust and run without worrying about viruses. On the other hand, if your googling "Free Clip Art" and find a site trying to get you to download and run an executable file, when it really should be a compressed package of clip art, usually in RAR or ZIP format, then you should definitely head over to
housecall.trendmicro.com
and scan that file for viruses before you try and double click on it.

That's all for now, check back for my next entry,

"Linux, Why you need to take another look."


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