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Helpful Hints for Using Firefox

June 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Firefox, an internet browser, is well-liked for many reasons.  Easy accessibility, beginner-friendly elements, and useful features make it one of the most reliable tools for the internet.

 

Most of the included items in Firefox are typical for web browsers.  First, tabbed browsing makes it possible to view multiple windows at once.  Simply by clicking an additional “tab” at the top of the screen, users can keep current items at hand while moving on to new projects and information.  This is helpful for those who are completing projects or choosing between two items online.  Direct comparisons can be made and key points can be fused easily.

 

Locating information has never been easier.  With Firefox, typing ctrl+k can bring up a search bar immediately.  Also, right clicking on a highlighted word generates a search as well.  Users can find definitions, answers to questions, or pertinent information in a snap.  Or one click to be exact.

Internet Access: Image Download

Image Location:  http://computerlcd.org/Magician_Economic_Computer_19_LCD.jpg

Firefox makes downloads easy through a tool called background downloading.  Basically, items that are to be downloaded begin immediately, and by the time users save them to disk, they are already finished.  Firefox is quick when it comes to putting information on the computer.  Usually, it takes just as much time to choose where to store the information as it does to actually download it.

 

One last important element of Firefox is this:  it’s largely successful due to those who use it.  Improvements are made through user’s suggestions, and anyone is able to communicate with the Firefox team leaders.  Source codes are readily available at all times.

Filed Under: Advantages, FireFox Tagged With: , ,

Plenty of Browser Options

April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

While it may be nice to pull a computer out of the box and get right to the matter at hand using all the pre-installed programs, it is wise to know just which of these programs you want to use and when you might want to consider other options.

One example of this is the Internet browser. Nearly all computers come with Internet Explorer installed on them, and since it is a necessary program in order to be able to get Microsoft updates, it is nice that it is present. However, it does not have to be your default browser.

 

Image representing Firefox as depicted in Crun... 

Image via CrunchBase

There are many other options available. Mozilla’s Firefox is one that is rather popular, in part because it has numerous add-ons to personalize your browsing experience. Firefox 4 is available to download at www.mozilla.com. You can also browse their add-ons there and choose from about 5,000 different ones.

 

 

 

Image representing Google Chrome as depicted i... 

Image via CrunchBase

 

A relative newcomer to the scene is Google Chrome. A free download for this web browser is  at www.google.com/chrome. This browser was designed for efficiency and has been kept simple and easy to use. They have a number of included features as well as many add-ons.

 

 

Image representing Opera Software as depicted ... 

Image via CrunchBase

 

A lesser-known browser is Opera.  The newest version, 11.1 is very fast and has an amazing number of built-in features.  One feature is especially worth mentioning – you can browse in private. Check it out at www.opera.com/browser.

 

 

 

 

There are actually more than a dozen different browsers available. Take some time to research the strengths and weaknesses of each one to find what makes sense for you.

Filed Under: FireFox, Web browser Tagged With: , ,

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Chrome

March 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google Chrome is the latest and greatest in web browsing. It has not only added another layer of competition to the industry, but it has also pushed established web browsers like Firefox to step it up a little.

Chrome has several features that are an advantage to its users. It is very efficient, and moves very quickly. Since there is not a local program that needs to load up, Chrome will be up within seconds of the click of the mouse. It is designed to be light weight and not take up a lot of memory since all activities will be done online. All the data from users will not be saved on the computer, but on servers so it will not use up memory.

Although Google Chrome is good and growing into one of the most use browsers by web surfers, it does have some shortcomings. While one of the advantages of Google Chrome is that it is all web based, this could also be one of its initial downfalls. Users will need to have access at any time to the internet in order to take advantage of Chrome. It will also require users to have an extremely reliable internet provider with high speed access. Without this they will not be able to run some of the applications or to perform more than one task at a time. This is in contrast to traditional browsers that allow both online and offline functionality at the same time.

At this time it is still unknown whether or not the new Google Chrome will match traditional applications. Those who are technically savvy will undoubtedly be able to take full advantage of it, but it may be a little slow going for those who are just run of the mill internet users. The area where Chrome may shine is on netbooks and on laptops since they are designed to run on web based applications.

Filed Under: Advantages, Google Chrome Tagged With: , ,

Firefox Security Features

February 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Keeping our computers safe, our identities safe and our children safe is a big issue for most internet users. Firefox has several features to help you do this as you browse the internet. Firefox, like other web browsers is always evolving and changing to make your experience better, but here aer some of the security features that are already in place.

  • Anti-Malware. If you click on a website that wants to attack your computer, Firefox will block you and give you a warning about the site. This, along with you being aware and careful about what you click on will help to keep you safe.
  • Web Site ID. If you want to make a purchase from a site that you are not familiar with, and are wondering if it is legitimate, you can have Firefox give it an overview. You can check on websites you think might be suspicious and find out if a website is what is it claiming to be.
  • Forget This Site. This is a feature that will allow you to remove any trace of a website from your computer. If you clicked on something and then wished you hadn’t, have make it seem like it never happened.
  • Parental Controls. Set the parental controls that you want.
  • Detect Plug-ins that are outdated. Plug-ins can be added to your computer when you need to view a video or play a game. If a plug-in has become outdated, it can be the cause of a security risk. Firefox will let you know if you have an outdated plug-in and then tell you where to go to updated it.
  • Set Your Own Security. You can go in an set your security to the level that you want. If you visit sights often that you know are safe, you can have Firefox make exceptions for these sites. You can also increase security as well if you want extra protection.
Filed Under: FireFox, General Tagged With: , , ,

Firefox: The Best Addons

January 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Firefox started the web browser add on craze, and although Google Chrome is giving them a run for their money with their extensions, Firefox is still the leader. You can find add ons for almost anything you want or need including adding different functions to just changing the way your browser looks. These are added easily to your browser and change what the browser can do.

Over the past few years there have been many different add ons developed, but here are some of the best.

  1. AdBlock Plus. This is one of the most popular add ons. It will allow you to browse the web without being bombarded with advertisements. It does a very good job of blocking the majority of the ads.
  2. Aviary Talon. Although there are other ways to get a screen shot, this add on will allow you to instantly capture a shot of a page. You can then save to one of several places with just a click of a button.
  3. Copy Plain Text. If you do a lot of copying and pasting this will come in handy. You can copy text without having any of the formatting come with it. There is no need to paste it into notepad and then copy it again to paste it where you really want it.
  4. LastPass. This is a convenient way to manage your passwords. It allows you to log into websites easily without having to remember your individual passwords, and helps to protect your computer from malware and other phishing websites.
  5. Morning Coffee. This is a great add on that stores different bookmarks so that certain ones open for you on the days you want them to. If there is a website you like to check regularly, but you know it only updates on Monday’s then you can set Morning Coffee to open it for you every Monday morning.
  6. Personas. A fun add on for those who like to personalize their browser and make it their own. You can design the look of Firefox to suit your own taste.
Filed Under: FireFox Tagged With: ,

Do People Know They Have A Choice In Browsers?

January 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is a huge war being fought by companies that develop internet browsers, but is it really worth it? As Google, Microsoft, and Modzilla continue to develop new and better versions of their web browsers, are they gaining new users with each new release?

Many users don’t even know what a browser is, let alone that they have a choice of what they can use, or that it could have an updated version. They turn on their computer everyday and click on the icon that brings them to the internet. Done. That is all they do to get to the internet. Many people have been clicking on that same icon for years without realizing that the technology behind it has changed significantly.

So, the challenge for companies like Google and Microsoft is to educate the public about their browsers and what is going on behind it. Each company has their own way of trying to get their users to update, but stopping support of older versions seems to be the most effective.

Firefox recently had their users complete a survey if they refused the offer to update their browser to find out why people didn’t want a new version. The majority of the people answered that they were just happy with what they had. For others, the response was just that they didn’t have time to update. This is good news though because the previous concern was the cost, and since the browser is free, the public needed to be educated.

Not only does updating your browser make your internet experience better, but it also keeps you safe. As the war continues between the browsers, so does the fight to get users to update to newer versions.

Filed Under: Web browser, WWW Tagged With: , , , ,

Mozilla Add ons Part 1

December 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In the war of the web browsers, Mozilla’s entry with Firefox will most assuredly go down in history as a heavyweight. With great speed, easy customization and a myriad of ad on applications and tools, Firefox is a great way to manage your web interface.

Because there are so many different additional features to Firefox, choosing the right ones can be a heavy burden. This several part series will introduce readers to a couple useful tips, and a general review of some of the more useful and popular add ons and plugins for the Firefox web browser.

To begin with; if you don’t have Firefox it’s easy to get. Simple navigate to mozilla.com and click the download link for the latest version. From there it’s as easy as following some basic instructions to get the browser installed. You can also make sure during the installation that Firefox is the primary browser for your PC. That way, when you click on a web link in an email, Firefox will open the web page.

A few other things it is good to know about Firefox when getting started are the password and user name options and the theme setting feature. For the first one, whenever you type in a user name and password for a secure web site the first time, Firefox will ask if you want it to remember those keys for the next time you visit the sight. You can either tell it yes, no or ask again later. Remember, even if you have it store secret user names and passwords, you can always delete them back out later.

And, as far as themes go, that’s a whole separate story on it’s own. There are so many different options settings, looks and styles that it can be a day-long experience tweaking your browser to get it just right.

Filed Under: FireFox, Web browser Tagged With: , ,

Mozilla Add-ons Part 2

December 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

On the topic of themes for Mozilla’s Firefox web browser; there are a ton of them. Choosing the right one is about as complex as choosing what art to hang in the living room, assuming you can choose from nearly any piece of art, ever.

A theme is what your general background will look like while you are surfing the web. For the most part that’s just the top bar across the web browser application window, which shows the options, navigation buttons and address bar, search bar and tabs. So, if you choose a Hello Kitty theme, you are going to have a white cartoon cat peeping at you while you check your email.

There are several ways to manage your theme, but the most direct way is to click on Tools in the option menu at the top of the browser. Then choose Add-ons when the menu drops down.

Choosing that option will open a second window which is your ad on manager. At the top are the three basic types of add-ons for Firefox, along with a Get Add-on option. For now ignore everything but the Themes option, which has a painter’s pallet and paintbrush as an icon.

When you first click on themes the only thing available will be the default Firefox setting. However, near the bottom right of the window is a get themes option, which if clicked will lead the viewer to a web page within Mozilla.com which houses the sizable selection of various themes available.

This web site is pretty easy to navigate, with a helpful and quick search feature and some common sense categories listed along the right side of the page. And, it’s even easier to actually use. After checking out the various categories of persona’s and themes, simply click on the ‘wear it’ option, and the theme is instantly downloaded and activated.

Filed Under: FireFox, Web browser Tagged With: , ,

Creating your own persona

December 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In this day of custom paint jobs and monogrammed lip rings why shouldn’t a web browser be as distinct as the person viewing it? If this problem has been vexing you ever since you thought up your penguin-themed browser, then worry no longer.

Mozilla’s Firefox web browser has the answer to your flightless bird dreams. Using a simple tool and a few online resources anyone can have their internet experience look exactly the way they want it to.

The first step is to create a file which will display correctly on the browser’s header bar. That’s the strip at the top of the browser window which starts out a simple gray when you first load Firefox.

If you don’t have a program like Adobe Photoshop loaded on your computer, that’s not a big deal. There are a couple of online resources which will allow you to start with a basic picture and create a file which will work for Firefox’s make-it-yourself persona feature. You can find a huge collection of images that can be used to create your persona using a P2P network like ares P2P.

SUMOPaint and Photoshop.com are two free online browser-based photo editing platforms which will let you open and manipulate a photo. Basically you need to either crop the image into a 3000 pixel wide by 200 pixel tall canvas. A simple way to do this is to open the photo, then create a new file the correct size. Copy the photo into the new canvas, and crop it to fit.

When you are saving the file, be sure to use JPG or PNG file extensions, and make sure the file is no bigger than 300k. Once you have the picture file the way you want it, go back to the Tools option and click Add-ons. From there, browse for new themes and when the web page opens look for the Create Your Own option near the top left of the window.

Finally, the penguins you wanted.

Filed Under: FireFox, Web browser Tagged With: , ,

Bad Weather(Bug)

December 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

In a perfect world the internet would always be free, fast and void of spam, malware, spyware and the like. Things being the way they are, however, the internet is a potentially dangerous place.

You don’t want your computer wandering, unsuspecting through the untamed internet landscape, after all. It could catch a serious virus, or even worse, relinquish your vital data to some nefarious web bandit.

We take precautions to try and keep our various PCs, laptops, Macs and so on safe from the nasty things lurking in the web. We load it with anti-virus this and scan it for anti-malware that.

We know a few basic tips for staying safe we like to pass along. For instance we know the African prince who needs help getting his millions of dollars is a scam. We’ve even heard of Snopes.com which has proved useful when trying to weed through countless forwards and discerning fact from urban legend.

But did you realize sometimes the problem is your browser? It hardly makes sense that during these times of high competition between web browsers that any of them would fall in with the sorts of companies and individuals who (shudder) spam our in-boxes. And yet, that’s what can happen.

Take WeatherBug, for instance. When this neat little widget first showed up everyone and their mother had it blipping away the local weather in the corner of their desktop. It was, after all, pretty neat to get the current weather and a short forecast at a glance.

But things sort of fell apart when people starting realizing WeatherBug was a spyware distributor. And WeatherBug is a recommended Add-on at Mozilla.com, just going to show you can’t always trust a company to do the right or the smart thing. While it doesn’t make Firefox any less of a great browser, it’s important make sure you know what you are agreeing to when adding an add-on.

Filed Under: FireFox, Web browser Tagged With: , , ,
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