Best Web Browser? - Comments Page 1

This is a very pared down list of browser options, and completely discounts other browsers built on similar engines as those listed above, like a Maxthon or Avant. I have used Maxthon for two years and with over 8 million downloads I am not the only one. It is built on the Internet explorer engine but had tabbed browsing a long time before Internet explorer and has a ton of great security features built in to shore up the weaknesses in that program.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm aware of Maxthon and Avant. But with the release of IE7 with tabbed browsing and beefed up security, is there any reason to bother? I was tempted to mention them, but neither one even shows up in the browser market share reports. Opera has less than 1%, so I'm not sure going further down the food chain is valuable.

I'd like to know your thoughts on Slimbrowser. So far, I like it much better than I.E. although I don't have the latest version of that.

EDITOR'S NOTE: SlimBrowser is built on top of IE, just like Maxthon, Avant and others. What does it offer that's not already in IE7?

How about Mozilla Suite, SeaMonkey, Netscape and Konqueror? They are worth mentioning 'cause, dispite their small market share, they are a good choice lacking popularity not features. (maybe I should strike out Netscape :])

Konqueror in particular is the default for most linux users and ahead of its rivals in terms of web standards.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mozilla Suite is the old name for SeaMonkey, which includes the Navigator Browser and an email program. Personally, I consider this a poor cousin to the Firefox + Thunderbird combo.

I prefer Firefox for its speed and security. However, I want to use the Norton 360 virus program, as it has tested out better than the Windows Live OneCare program that I had been using. Only problem is that for some unknown reason, it is only certified with Internet Explorer. Therefore, I have both browsers and use each for their specific purposes. I would like to only use Firefox. Bob, if you can get that fixed, you would be a hero again.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I generally recommend against Norton products, because they are bloated and do not play well with the other programs. Sometimes they even run with scissors. There's nothing I can do if Norton doesn't want to acknowledge the existence of a browser with 15% of the market share.

Bob, I am so glad to hear your recommendation on Norton products. I am just an average user, but have never liked Norton because it took up so much room and seemed to be a glutton for memory. I use AVG Free now, and have for almost 6 years. Never have any problems. I use Firefox most of the time, and love it. However I have a few problems with Thunderbird.

I think it would be good to note that Apple's safari is based on the rendering engine found in Konqueror. Also, safari just recently was released for windows platform.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I just tried the Safari for Windows beta (see http://www.apple.com/safari/download) and it seems to work very well. Nice for web devs who want to test on a Mac(ish) browser.

hi.. you should rewrite this because apple has released safari public 3 beta. in otherwords safari is now avalible for windows.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Good point, I updated the article.

Hi Bob,

I've been using Mozilla Firefox for about four years now, and I can tell you that I absolutely love it. When there is an upgrade for it, I always get a notice right on the browser. And I always let it put the upgrade on. I have never had the first problem with it. Therefore I will stay with it. Just thought your other readers who do not use Firefox would like to know. By the way, if I were to put the Opera browser on my computer, since I have both Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer on, would it bog my computer down or take up too much space on my computer? This is really important for me to know.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Adding Opera wouldn't slow down your computer at all. And it's pretty lean, so go for it.

Opera actually pioneered tabbed browsing, among other things. It's also the most standards compliant browser out there.

I've been using a web browser called Flock for almost a year now, I think they call it an Add-On to Firefox, they're built the same way or something I guess. Anyway, it's a great browser if you're a blogger and like to post a lot of photos, or even just if you want to keep and manage your photos on the internet (saves up a lot of space on your computer).
It's a bit buggy though, from my experience...
But it has great features synchronizing it with online accounts like Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket and more. :)

I have used opera,IE7,firefox2 and also safari 3. fire fox is not secure because if you use it there may be many spy wares on your computer.fire fox is faster than opera and IE7 but safari is faster than fire fox. opera is the slowest. IE7 is the most secure but safari secure but not as IE7 but it is the fastest in windows.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Whoa... better check your facts there, buddy. Firefox is NOT secure, but IE7 is most secure??? Bzzzzzt! Wrong answer.

I was feeling a bit bored the other day, so i decided to strip down a XP SP3 install to the bare minimum Windows apps.

The first new additions were Firefox 2.0.0.13

and Thunderbird 2.0.0.12. Everything was fine until i tried to install add-ons to Firefox.

Then i spent the next 2 days trawling forums and getting bombarded with pop ups from my AV telling

me about attempted DCOM exploits. All in all, not

a very good experience.

Installed Opera 9.27 and everything is running

very nice now. No problems installing add-ons, no

security issues, just the name is not as cool as

Firefox.

Flock is Better!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Wow, with that stunning informative review, you've sure convinced me!

fyi, some guy named kevin nunez plagarized your entry. or, maybe you plagarized his. going by datelines, you beat him by a year so you get benefit of the doubt. (http://www.lockergnome.cmo/nunez/2008/05/31/best-browser)

Why someone would want to plagarize blogs on his blog is beyond me. why even keep one?

EDITOR'S NOTE: You're right, he ripped off my post, almost word for word.

i'm using Opera 9.5 it is the best for me. features like email/chat/note/rss/voice enabled/text reader/password manager/mouse gestures/shortcuts/low-end cpu support and of course the fastest. What about IE8? no one is for that?

EDITOR'S NOTE: IE8 is still in "Beta 1" testing, so I would not recommend it unless you are a web developer or designer. Although the new "Activities" feature looks pretty cool...

It's hard for me to write this note, I am still reeling from the Tharru comment, IE7 is More secure then Firefox or Opera, Come on now, is that Big Bad Billy G hiding behind that alias, Believe me, I'm not tryin to bust your chops pal I to am guilty of not getting my facts straight now and then.

Cheers

What about Chrome ??

EDITOR'S NOTE: I wrote about Chrome here: http://askbobrankin.com/the_chrome_browser.html -- and will be updating this article soon.

ok . no body here seems to have said from a web hackers point of view.. well here comes one, i have tried all the web browsers for almost everything and firefox came out on top. you have hundreds of addons that allow you to do things alot easier and make surfing safer. and also some can be used for other things as well xD

And if you want speed firefox is the best. ok yes ino safari is faster. but you can make firefox 10X faster than safari by changing the directorys of the browser its a 3 step thing and here is a link how to do this - http://forevergeek.com/open_source/make_firefox_faster.php

Firefox is BEST!

i am running opera =) it is the best in my opinion. Since I run windows ME it is verry nice do to its speed. =) and its the only browser that allows windows ME to use Tabs. =D I really think that all low resolution browsers should use opera. By the way, if you ever notice Opera also has some Nifty features. My favorite being the widgets :). The wand password saver thingy is also good.