Presented by: Charlie Le Ber

Firefox vs Internet Explorer

Hackers, likely from China, targeted Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Last week several countries warned users to not use Internet Explorer (IE) until fixed.
Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera were suggested as an alternatives.

IE Emergency Fix:
The emergency patch by Microsoft last Thursday, KB978207, will fix this latest attack but there will be more and Firefox is worth looking at.

Attackers write their attack code to market share: IE has 62% of market share. Firefox has 25%

Security:
 IE manages its security via "zones"-Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites. Firefox, is simpler - JavaScript, can be enabled or disabled.
In IE, ActiveX and Active Scripting allows websites to install programs and control IE, giving control to unsecure websites. No ActiveX in Firefox.

Firefox Extensions:
Firefox has added functionality through the use of 'extensions'. Thousands of developers program small additional tools for Firefox that allow you to add many useful functions.

Firefox is Easy to Use:
If you know how to use Internet Explorer, Firefox will be easy. All of the keyboard shortcuts are the same, and Firefox will import your bookmarks and settings during the install. Updating can be automatic.

Browser Speed:
Firefox is faster.
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How to Install Firefox:

  1. Download from Mozilla Firefox or run from the club memory stick.

    2. Don't forget to close running programs, especially your Anti Virus program.
  2. Right click on its icon near the clock and then click Stop or Exit.
  3. Use the "Standard" setup to install. Click "Next".
  4. In the box "Use Firefox as my default browser" click in the box to remove the check. You can change this later if you wish.
  5. Click "Install".
  6. Click "Finish"
    7. Under "Import Settings and Data" leave the default checked if you wish to have the same settings as Internet Explorer.
  7. Click "Next".
  8. Under "Home Page Selection" Click on "Import your home page from Internet Explorer".
  9. Click "Next".
  10. Click "Finish"
    They ask again if you would like to make Firefox your default browser.
    Uncheck the box and click "No" if you want to keep Internet Explorer as your default and you don't want to be asked.
  11. To start using Firefox you may wish to have the icons in the toolbar named.
  12. Right click just to the right of "Help" and click on "Customize".
  13. Click on the down symbol beside "Show Icons" and then click on "Text".
  14. Click "Done".

    15. NOTE: Favorites is called Bookmarks in Firefox.

  15. Click on "Home".
  16. Click on "Tools" and then on "Options".
  17. Click on "General" and then on "Use Current Pages" to get your home page the same as IE.
  18. Click on "Content" and make some choices:
    • If you are on dial service and want faster loading without images, uncheck "Load images automatically".
    • If you want more security uncheck ""Enable Java Script", however, many websites such as on-line banking, use it and may not work without Java Script.

  19. Click on "Privacy" and make some more decisions:
    • Leave as is unless you want more security by checking "Automatically start Firefox in a private browsing session". This leaves no history.
      A better approach may be to just check "Clear history when Firefox closes.

  20. Click on "Security" and make some more choices:
    • You may wish to leave the defaults.If you want Firefox to save passwords and you do on-line banking or any other personal work use a Master password option or better yet use Roboform.

  21. Click on "Advanced" and click on "Update".
    Choose the options you wish. High-speed users could leave the defaults and dial may wish to control the updates by unchecking.
  22. Now click on "OK" to complete the settings and to save them.

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Tabs:

Firefox was the first to have Tabbed browsing. You can have two or more web pages open at the same time and go from one page to another without reloading.

Click on the plus sign here...  

Now you have another Tab. Now find a webpage to display in it.
Try one of your bookmarks. You can add some more Tabs.
Adding too many, however, may slow you down.
Now you can jump from one webpage to another without reloading.

Add-ons for Firefox:

There are thousands of Add-ons that you can install to enhance, speed-up and customize Firefox.
The most popular one currently is Adblock Plus. It removes ads from the websites you visit.
This allows for faster downloading and a more enjoyable experience.

To install this Ad-on:
  1. Click on "Tools" and then on "Add-ons".
  2. In the box "Search All Ad-ons" , type in "Adblock Plus" (without the quotes).
  3. Click on the magnifying glass.
  4. Enlarge the screen by clicking on the square in the upper right.
  5. Find and click on Adblock Plus ad-on.
  6. Click "Add to Firefox" and when ready click "Install Now".
  7. Click "Restart Firefox".
  8. Click in the box "Do no ask me next time" and click Restart".
  9. Now click "Options". Click "Filters"; click "Add filter subscription". "EasyList (USA) should be checked.
  10. Now click "Subscribe" and "Apply" and "OK".
Adblock doesn't affect the reading of P.D.F. files, only ads.Now when you visit a website you will see no ads.
If you install too many tabs it will slow down the browser. I try to keep it less than 10.
You may find more add-ons by clicking on "Get Add-ons" and click on "Browse All -Ad-ons".
Click the X in the upper right to quit adding Extensions.

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Here are some that you may want to look at:



Charlie Le Ber