fire fox vs INTERNET explorer

ran · September 15, 2010

Does anyone have any pros and cons to whether I should use use one or the other i seam to be getting a lot of viruses

MomaZunk · September 15, 2010

I prefer Firefox:
I like the add-ins, particularly: Linked-in, yahoo mail, web developer
I feel like I have better control of the downloads
I like the themes
It used to be much faster than IE, but FF 3.0 slowed things down quite a bit, and I have not compared with IE 7 or IE8

Chrome is supposed to be the fastest, so I tried it too earlier this year. I did not like the feel. It felt faster, but the menu structure was obscure. Things just did not seem intuitive for me.

I still use IE to check what my web page looks like, and for some bank transactions, only IE is supported.

My son and husband use IE, My husband does not get any more viruses than I do, but my son does. My son is a gamer that is always downloading mods, so I believe his higher virus rate is not related to IE versus Firefox.

We use Norton Antivirus with virus signatures getting updated continuously.

r3t1awr3yd · September 15, 2010

I work in IT and do PC sidework... I'll tell you the first thing I tell everyone who says they have lots of viruses: Quit surfing porn. lol.

If that's not an issue, certainly firefox is the way to go. AdBlock is a great plugin that stops a LOT of ads, even fake ones that look real that make you want to click them. Between that and PcCillin (virus scanning and detail monitoring software) I never have issues. I've had one virus on my PC ever in 10 years. Hope that helps.

-Wally

ian408 · September 15, 2010

I like FF over IE for many of the same reasons MomaZunk cites.

mercphoto · September 15, 2010

I'd vote for FF as well but mostly because I simply hate anything related to Microsoft. Their software is clumsy to use, not intutitive, usually bloaty. Its sad that they somehow managed to become the most successful software company in the world. Its certainly not because they built a better mouse trap. Have you considered Safari?

MarkR · September 15, 2010

I work in IT as well. Unfortunately the "don't surf porn" is no longer enough. Nowadays attacks can come from any angle, from any site. Not too long ago the New York Times was hosting malware through it's advertising. Google "malvertising" sometime.

.

Get a good antivirus program and a good anti-malware program.

Microsoft's Security Essentials is free and very very good. You might want to pony up the $25 for Malwarebytes' real-time malware prevention software as well. Super Anti Spyware is another good piece of software that can be had for free.

The other free AV software I like is Avast, mostly because it flashes and makes a siren noise when it detects a virus. :lol

MileHighAko · September 15, 2010

I'm a big fan of Chrome. It's fast, lightweight, and does a good job protecting me from malware (as far as I can tell anyway).

I use Chrome with the EXIF Viewer extension, so I can see summary EXIF information of any imagine I mouse over. Very helpful on this site to get a better understanding how things were shot.

For anti-virus and malware, I use the FREE version of Avast. I haven't had a virus or problem in years - but then again I don't click on stuff I'm not reasonably sure that is clean.

Foques · September 15, 2010

Dee and Wally got it spot on.

Newsy · September 15, 2010

Simply from the perspective of the fact that this site is all about photography and viewing images....

FireFox is the ONLY Windows OS browser that supports color managed viewing.

IE, Chrome, and others do not.

In the Apple world.... Safari also supports color managed viewing.

If you want to do the most to ensure that you are seeing images online with the most accurate rendering of their color, you must use FireFox.

However.... FireFox 3.6.x.x has a bug in that if you are using a calibrated system and your monitor's ICC profile is a version 4 standard, it won't work. FireFox 3.0.x.x is able to use both v2 and v4 ICC profiles.

Here's more info (some is getting dated)....

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-9311-9478

http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/06/color-correction/

https://developer.mozilla.org/En/ICC_color_correction_in_Firefox

http://www.color.org/version4html.xalter

http://www.gballard.net/psd/go_live_page_profile/embeddedJPEGprofiles.html#

Even with FireFox's defined color management there are still some issues with viewing images where they are not tagged properly so some people have had to use a different setting to deal with this issue. This is where the "gfx.color_management.mode" preference comes in and why I provided that link above.

I'd like to explain that a little more but I have to run. Sorry.

PS.... for dealing with Malware, I use the "NoScripts" FireFox plug-in. It is intrusive at times but I value the info it provides on what a web page is running in the background that you normally don't "see" when browsing.

.

Art Scott · September 15, 2010

I haved been using FF since I 1st heard of it......pretty much like Mercphoto.......but I have had no probs with malware, spyware or viruses.....then I run 2 anti viruses, only because I could not decide which to buy..........free is nice but those companies need to be supported....I run both AVG and AVAST.......both had their home office out of Brno Czech Republic..........but they have been extremely good for me for over 8 yrs.

Also FF is color managed and IE is not...................

racer · September 15, 2010

MarkR wrote: »

I work in IT as well. Unfortunately the "don't surf porn" is no longer enough. Nowadays attacks can come from any angle, from any site. Not too long ago the New York Times was hosting malware through it's advertising. Google "malvertising" sometime. .

Get a good antivirus program and a good anti-malware program.

Microsoft's Security Essentials is free and very very good. You might want to pony up the $25 for Malwarebytes' real-time malware prevention software as well. Super Anti Spyware is another good piece of software that can be had for free.

The other free AV software I like is Avast, mostly because it flashes and makes a siren noise when it detects a virus. :lol

That is great advice

I want to point out that most of the time it dosnt matter what browser you use, because a lot of the viruses will work the same no matter what browser your using. Sure some browsers are better then others, but most people are quick to blame there browser for getting viruses, not realizing it was there firewall/virus scanner (if they even had one), in combination with there ability to recognize and respond to a potential threat.
Viruses are hardly ever a issue for people who can recognize and prevent them. Here are some tips on how to prevent them,
http://uit.tufts.edu/?pid=540

MileHighAko · September 15, 2010

Newsy wrote: »

Simply from the perspective of the fact that this site is all about photography and viewing images....

FireFox is the ONLY Windows OS browser that supports color managed viewing.

IE, Chrome, and others do not.

In the Apple world.... Safari also supports color managed viewing.

If you want to do the most to ensure that you are seeing images online with the most accurate rendering of their color, you must use FireFox.

However.... FireFox 3.6.x.x has a bug in that if you are using a calibrated system and your monitor's ICC profile is a version 4 standard, it won't work. FireFox 3.0.x.x is able to use both v2 and v4 ICC profiles.

Here's more info (some is getting dated)....

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-9311-9478

http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/06/color-correction/

https://developer.mozilla.org/En/ICC_color_correction_in_Firefox

http://www.color.org/version4html.xalter

http://www.gballard.net/psd/go_live_page_profile/embeddedJPEGprofiles.html#

Even with FireFox's defined color management there are still some issues with viewing images where they are not tagged properly so some people have had to use a different setting to deal with this issue. This is where the "gfx.color_management.mode" preference comes in and why I provided that link above.

I'd like to explain that a little more but I have to run. Sorry.

PS.... for dealing with Malware, I use the "NoScripts" FireFox plug-in. It is intrusive at times but I value the info it provides on what a web page is running in the background that you normally don't "see" when browsing.

.

Wow, cool. Learned something new today. Thanks!.

I found this website [http://mansurovs.com/is-your-browser-color-managed] that has two images to compare to make it easy to see if your browser is color managed.

Like you said, IE 8 and Chrome are NOT color managed. IE 9 (Beta) IS color managed, but I don't recommend installing it on your primary computer (yet) as much stuff doesn't work right (e.g. smugmug galleries do not work in IE9 at this time).

Newsy · September 15, 2010

The new IE9 BETA is said to support color management but there appears to be issues with scaling of images. Don't forget that it is a BETA.

Was just reading a thread in another forum. Chrome absolutely blows away IE and FireFox for rescaling images - you get a much cleaner image without moire effects and the like.

I know Chrome has plugin's like fireFox and I have read they are working to include color management but know nothing other than that. It's faster than either IE8.0 and FireFox 3.0 or 3.6.

.

MarkR · September 15, 2010

Art Scott wrote: »

I haved been using FF since I 1st heard of it......pretty much like Mercphoto.......but I have had no probs with malware, spyware or viruses.....then I run 2 anti viruses, only because I could not decide which to buy..........free is nice but those companies need to be supported....I run both AVG and AVAST.......both had their home office out of Brno Czech Republic..........but they have been extremely good for me for over 8 yrs.

Also FF is color managed and IE is not...................

Art,

With due respect, I have had many, many negative experiences with AVG of late, specifically with it missing very obvious infections, repeatedly. Other colleagues have reported similar issues. (I currently support over 2,000 users, plus friends, family, etc.) IMHO, a bad AV solution is worse than no solution, as it literally gives you a false sense of security.

Also, if you have two AV solutions, you are probably negatively impacting your PC's performance without gaining any real benefit. Just remember to have your primary AV update at least once a day, and schedule a full scan often (once a week/month is NOT enough.)

HTH

Pupator · September 15, 2010

A few opinions from a PC user:

1) Currently I prefer Chrome, except when color management is essential
2) The IE9 beta rocks. It may soon be my default browser (soon = tomorrow?)
3) Microsoft Security Essentials is now better than Avast! or AVG

brancaleone · September 15, 2010

Are you a Mac or PC?

ran wrote: »

Does anyone have any pros and cons to whether I should use use one or the other i seam to be getting a lot of viruses

If can go to Safari don't waste any more time, since my first Mac Plus I never got a single virus.

Art Scott · September 15, 2010

MarkR wrote: »

Art,

With due respect, I have had many, many negative experiences with AVG of late, specifically with it missing very obvious infections, repeatedly. Other colleagues have reported similar issues. (I currently support over 2,000 users, plus friends, family, etc.) IMHO, a bad AV solution is worse than no solution, as it literally gives you a false sense of security.

Also, if you have two AV solutions, you are probably negatively impacting your PC's performance without gaining any real benefit. Just remember to have your primary AV update at least once a day, and schedule a full scan often (once a week/month is NOT enough.)

HTH

they both update each day...and so far after over 8 yrs with both...I have had no probs....including with pc performance...I am not seeing ill effects at all......but thanx for your advice.

Newsy · September 16, 2010

I misspoke on Chrome - it does support a bit of color management. I completely forgot that you can start it with a command line switch so that it will use your monitor profile, either ICC v2 or v4.

add in this switch... --enable-monitor-profile

Example from the desktop shortcut I use to launch Chrome.

"C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --enable-monitor-profile

At this time it ignores embedded tags.

.

basflt · September 17, 2010

Foques wrote: »

Dee and Wally got it spot on.

i agree

what a hilarious thread :lol4
i laughed my ass off reading

Jane B. · September 18, 2010

Not sure if this is a place to get a suggestion of how to cope? But. . . for ages I have been dreaming of a way to BOTH have the comments/story/captions at a size that my older eyes can read easily and have the photos in a thread come up where I can see the whole photo WITHOUT SCROLLING!

I am using a laptop with a 15" XGA (1024x768) screen as my ONLY computer. Most photos here come up such that I have to scroll to see all of them (makes it hard to get an impression of the overall composition and I DO appreciate those that post something slightly smaller) and besides that when they are that wide I have to scroll to read each line of text.

Suggestions PLEASE
Jane B.

PS If this should be a separate thread please move or tell me where the correct place is.

basflt · September 18, 2010

in firefox ; use ctrl+scroll wheel , or ctrl + +or -
use ctrl + 0 to reset

WillCAD · September 18, 2010

I like Firefox better than IE for most things. The one feature I like better in IE is Favorites, which are much easier to relocate, backup, and share than Firefox's Bookmarks. Firefox buries the Bookmarks somewhere in your profile, making it difficult to find them for backup purposes without backing up the whole profile. I have yet to find a decent plug-in for automatic backup or sync of my bookmarks, except those that copy your bookmarks to a third-party web site. I just want to use my Windows Favorites in Firefox, and abandon the Bookmarks - is that so tough?

Firefox does seem a bit faster on my machines and less invasive; after all, there is a portable version of Firefox that can actually be run from a USB drive.

Jane B. wrote: »

Not sure if this is a place to get a suggestion of how to cope? But. . . for ages I have been dreaming of a way to BOTH have the comments/story/captions at a size that my older eyes can read easily and have the photos in a thread come up where I can see the whole photo WITHOUT SCROLLING!

I am using a laptop with a 15" XGA (1024x768) screen as my ONLY computer. Most photos here come up such that I have to scroll to see all of them (makes it hard to get an impression of the overall composition and I DO appreciate those that post something slightly smaller) and besides that when they are that wide I have to scroll to read each line of text.

Suggestions PLEASE
Jane B.

PS If this should be a separate thread please move or tell me where the correct place is.

My first suggestion is to get yourself a desktop computer.

Using a laptop seems very convenient at first; they save space, they're all-in-on, and you can take your whole computer with you wherever you go. But using a laptop is an ergonomic nightmare; the forward lean needed to both type and look at the screen, particularly if you're using it on any kind of lap desk, can give you back and neck aches, and wrist and arm problems. Netbooks are even worse - they're so darn small, you have to scrunch yourself up into a ball just to use them. I use my laptop and my netbook for short periods only; any serious computing, or web surfing, is done on my desktop PC.

A desktop PC, equipped with a large monitor and full-size keyboard and mouse, can be set up with the keyboard and monitor in proper ergonomic position to avoid those problems.

A desktop PC can have a much larger monitor than any laptop. I'm typing this on a 19" widescreen LCD that only retails for about $120. It's big enough that I can read text without my contact lenses and see whole pics on Dgrin without scrolling, and it's adjusted high enough to avoid back and neck pains. I also have a full-size keyboard and mouse on my desk, making it much easier for me to type.

My PC is also next to my TV, so I connected them and now I can watch any online TV shows or movies on my 40" TV (I like Hulu.com and SouthParkStudios.com) form the comfort of my sofa.

basflt wrote: »

in firefox ; use ctrl+scroll wheel , or ctrl + +or -
use ctrl + 0 to reset

IE 7 and above also use these shortcuts for zooming, and MS started putting them into versions of MS Office, too. It seems like they're implementing those control sequences as a standard throughout the Windows world, much like they did years ago with Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V for copy/paste, and the F1 key for help. I like the idea, personally; makes it easier to transition from one application to another if the key combinations and control sequences for common operations are consistent across applications.

Jane B. · September 18, 2010

basflt wrote: »

in firefox ; use ctrl+scroll wheel , or ctrl + +or -
use ctrl + 0 to reset

OK I rechecked some settings as I had forgotten details. With ctl+scroll wheel I can get photos to fit if "Zoom Text Only" is NOT checked. If I have it that way and get photo to size that fits and THEN try checking "Zoom Text Only" the photo DOES NOT stay at the size that fits while I would increase the text size BUT immediately jumps way up! So. . . I think I need to be looking closely at small, small text most of the time at keep the mouse handy for times I want the larger text more than the photo that fits.

Thanks for the tips that got me to do more testing again.
Jane B.

Jane B. · September 18, 2010

WillCAD wrote: »

My first suggestion is to get yourself a desktop computer.

Using a laptop seems very convenient at first; they save space, they're all-in-on, and you can take your whole computer with you wherever you go. But using a laptop is an ergonomic nightmare; the forward lean needed to both type and look at the screen, particularly if you're using it on any kind of lap desk, can give you back and neck aches, and wrist and arm problems. Netbooks are even worse - they're so darn small, you have to scrunch yourself up into a ball just to use them. I use my laptop and my netbook for short periods only; any serious computing, or web surfing, is done on my desktop PC.

A desktop PC, equipped with a large monitor and full-size keyboard and mouse, can be set up with the keyboard and monitor in proper ergonomic position to avoid those problems.

A desktop PC can have a much larger monitor than any laptop. I'm typing this on a 19" widescreen LCD that only retails for about $120. It's big enough that I can read text without my contact lenses and see whole pics on Dgrin without scrolling, and it's adjusted high enough to avoid back and neck pains. I also have a full-size keyboard and mouse on my desk, making it much easier for me to type.

My PC is also next to my TV, so I connected them and now I can watch any online TV shows or movies on my 40" TV (I like Hulu.com and SouthParkStudios.com) form the comfort of my sofa.

IE 7 and above also use these shortcuts for zooming, and MS started putting them into versions of MS Office, too. It seems like they're implementing those control sequences as a standard throughout the Windows world, much like they did years ago with Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V for copy/paste, and the F1 key for help. I like the idea, personally; makes it easier to transition from one application to another if the key combinations and control sequences for common operations are consistent across applications.

OK that fits YOU what I have works for ME for more things than not. When at home the laptop is on a desk and a full size keyboard is on a pullout keyboard tray that is built into the desk; a full size mouse is also connected.

I do also have a TV near my desk but use it as a back and forth type thing (computer stuff on computer screen at the same time as TV is on with TV programing. Also, the last I knew you COULD NOT count on online TV having CLOSED CAPTIONS which I need to make any sense AT ALL from a show.

I couldn't care less what M$ Office does as my suite of choice is WordPerfect OFFICE X4.

basflt · September 18, 2010

Jane , i found what U looking for
its called ImageZoom , a free addon for firefox

it resizes images either with menu or with scrollwheel+right mouse

i just tried myself and it works fine

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/139/

http://imagezoom.yellowgorilla.net/install/?source=install&version=0.4.4

Jane B. · September 18, 2010

THANK YOU! I have been wanting something like this for soooo long. Will try later though I am about to try a BIG project for me as I have not done it before. That is — put a larger hard drive in my laptop. Think I have everything collected and will not be touching the old smaller one until I have the new larger one working correctly.

basflt · September 18, 2010

Jane B. wrote: »

THANK YOU! I have been wanting something like this for soooo long. Will try later though I am about to try a BIG project for me as I have not done it before. That is — put a larger hard drive in my laptop. Think I have everything collected and will not be touching the old smaller one until I have the new larger one working correctly.

cool
dont forget to discharge yourself before you start, as disks are sensitive for ESD !!!

Pupator · September 18, 2010

WillCAD - try the XMarks plugin. I've got it on Firefox and Safari. It will sync your bookmarks across browsers (backing them up also). It will do the same (in Firefox) with your logins and passwords, if you want.

Andy · September 18, 2010

Pupator wrote: »

WillCAD - try the XMarks plugin. I've got it on Firefox and Safari. It will sync your bookmarks across browsers (backing them up also). It will do the same (in Firefox) with your logins and passwords, if you want.

xmarks, been using it for a long time.

Newsy · September 18, 2010

Love Xmarks!

Chrome also supports backup of favorites or access to favorites across multiple PC's in a similar way to XMarks. You need to have a Google account for this to work.

.

WillCAD · September 18, 2010

Thanks for the heads-up on Xmarks, guys, but as I said, I really don't want a utility that syncs my bookmarks/favorites by copying them all to a third-party web site. It's just one more potential vulnerability in the browser - something that copies what should be private info - my bookmarks and, if I say so, my passwords - to someone else's web server. Why does it need to copy it to the Xmarks server when all I want to do is sync between two browsers on the same PC? I don't really need to sync between my PCs, I do that as part of my regular backup schedule.

fire fox vs INTERNET explorer

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