Firefox / IE.

[johnytrout]

If I install Firefox, Will it overide IE?
Do I uninstall IE or do both of them run side by side?
Will it hog resources by keeping both?

[vikingken]

You cant uninstall IE John, but Firefox will run OK as well. I dont use it, some people do. Unless you need it for a particular reason, I cant see any reason to install it. People will tell you its faster than IE, I'm afraid I cant work in milli-seconds like they can. 

[jojo]

I use that configuration. I like Firefox because its more straight forward. I can load and use tons of great addons and so on. But it's personal preference really.

As ken says, you can't get rid of IE, all you can do is set Firefox to be your default.

IE doesn't seem to take up resources, though that can only really be demonstrated by removing it and comparing. Sadly, not possible.

But if you need to access Windows update, it will open in IE

[johnytrout]

The reason I asked is because IE keeps shutting down pages and re-opening them
I don't understand why.....
"INTERNET EXPLORER HAS STOPPED WORKING
A PROBLEM CAUSED THE PROGRAM TO STOP WORKING CORRECTLY.
WINDOWS WILL CLOSE THE PROGRAM AND NOTIFY YOU IF A SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE."
Which it never does!!
Would Firefox do the same?
I have Avast, Superantispyware, and malwarebytes running so I should be running nicely

[mikkh]

You can install as many browsers as you want, and you should have at least two to check problems like this

No extra resources are used, but they all want to be the default browser which is something to watch for when installing them and when they first start

Google Chrome is always worth installing because it comes with the latest Flash built in

If you're using XP you should never use IE because a new version hasn't been available for years and the older versions are full of security flaws

[johnytrout]

I am using Win7
Is there a safe site to download firefox?

[jojo]

The only site from which you should download Firefox:

www.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/new/

One of the problems with IE is the in build protection tools. Not only do these slow things down they may be responsible for your crashes. I'm sorry, but it's so long since I used IE I just don't know. I do recall it being slow though.

Now wishing to contradict mikkh, but I also had problems with Chrome. The problem is it comes with some ancillary programs, such as YouTube and updaters. These crashed on my machine.

I do like Firefox.

[buzzy]

It is fascinating that so many Internet browsers are available and yet members all seem to prefer different ones for a variety of reasons.

I have used several of the popular ones but have continued to use MAXTHON for a few years now and find it reliable, innovative and needing very few add-on's that seem to be constantly coming on other browsers whereas with Maxthon this aspect is taken care of by design and can be updated as and when necessary. It is fast, and uses Webkit and Trident modes at the click of a tab.

I am currently using the Cloud version v4.4.1.3000 - www.filehippo.com/download_maxthon/58165

This can be used with the "Maxthon Passport" which enables one to sychronise it to other computers in one's setup in a matter of seconds. Because of this Internet Explorer works well also and I periodically use IE11.

The Maxthon Forum is alway available - and fully informative

forum.maxthon.com/forum-77-1.html

Maxthon Cloud Browser Description

Name Maxthon Cloud Browser
Version 4.4.0.4000
License Free
Compatibility Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Maxthon Cloud Browser for Windows uses a unique, innovative dual-core design that uses both Webkit and Trident. Fast and efficient, our dual-core design displays all web pages quickly and reliably. With its first-place HTML 5 support and ‘out of the box’ features you can‘t get anywhere else, Maxthon Cloud Browser for Windows frees people to share and send files among different devices and platforms, easily.

[vikingken]

I think that Buzzy owns Maxthon, I have never met anyone else who will admit using it. I wont disagree with what Mikk has said, I would never disagree with him ever. We do have our difference of opinions and one is what he said about XP. I have never installed an update after SP2 and I had no more trouble than I had with fully updated Windows 7. Where it all falls apart, XP will not run new components of the Net in general. Anyway if you have got an old printer that wont work of later versions of Windows, you can still use it offline to print via USB or other media. 

[hawnik]

Hi Johny, it seem like you are uncertain as if to abandon IE or not and go for Firefox instead. IE, Firefox and Google Chrome can all co-exist together and in fact can all be running at the same time independent of each other.

I would suggest that you use a portable version of Firefox or Google chrome to see if you like it or not instead of installing the normal version.

Since you are having problem with IE, don't import anything from IE to Firefox or Chrome otherwise you may inherit the problem from IE.

As for uninstalling IE, it may not be possible to uninstall but Windows 7 allow you to turn it off as a feature from the control panel so that if you attempt to run IE, it wont. Having say that, it still allow you to use Maxthon so it looks like the IE engine is still remain intact.

If you are running 64 bit version of Windows 7, you may want to try Palemoon or Waterfox. Both are 64 bit 3rd party compilation based on Firefox source code.

[buzzy]

I would never disagree with Mikkh I have the utmost respect for him.

As far as "Owning" Maxthon and admitting I use it is concerned it almost sounds like a crime.

I did not elaborate on other browsers I have tried lest I upset anyone. One rarely hears much about "Opera" and "Safari" and for those that choose to use these, good luck to them, one makes one's own choices.

[mikkh]

Opera and Safari are both a bit of an enigma. In a World where even Microsoft didn't charge for a browser, Opera decided they could make money from 'the Worlds fastest browser' The commercial venture never took off, despite their claim to fame being true (amongst full featured browsers) and it became freeware fairly quickly afterwards. It's still probably the fastest and worth considering for older machines where browsing has become a bit of a grind

Safari is Apples flagship browser, but it's now so tightly integrated with MacOS and iOS, they haven't even bothered with a Windows version for several years. The Windows version was never that good anyway, so it's no real loss

Guess what I just found Buzzy? Maxthon for Linux! I'm using it now, but not having used the Windows version for a while, I'm not sure how close it is to 'real' Maxthon
Maxthon for Windows still uses an IE shell (I think) so it was never going to be exactly the same. This version 'borrows' parts from Chrome instead and that suits me fine because it means it comes with the latest Flash - hoorah! It's miles faster at loading anyway. Chrome has a definite lag of a second or two when first starting - even on a pretty fast PC like mine, but Maxthon for Linux is almost instant

Early days, but I think this may be my new default browser for Linux

[buzzy]

Mikkh,

How interesting that you should consider Maxthon for Linux.

Early days, but I think this may be my new default browser for Linux

In all honesty I would not even consider using any other (Windows) browser having been using it for quite some time now, but then as I said earlier "each to his/her choice"

[mikkh]

I'm always open to try new things, especially in Linux where it's forced upon you for many things because there isn't a Linux version available
Google Chrome is based on the open source Chromium, but obviously tweaked to be Google 'friendly' Maxthon for Linux is also Chromium based, but they don't have to tow the Google company line, so it's a cleaner leaner browser with some interesting additions from Maxthon.

After a few hours use, I've already pressed the 'make this my default browser' button

On their site, they're still offering the beta version which is quite strange when I found the final stable version was available in the PClinuxOS package manager

Scrub that, just looked again and they're now offering the final release! Looks like I got in on the ground floor

[jojo]

I'm sure I tried Opera many years ago and found almost half the screen taken up by their tool bar.

mikkh, how did you get on with the Youtube and Update addons with Chrome?

[mikkh]

I've seen you mention this before (about Chrome) I've never had youtube automatically added in any Windows or Linux install of Chrome myself, which leads me to the conclusion that you're not downloading from the official site maybe? The only thing I see in extensions is 'google docs' which I invariably disable.

Updates can be switched off in Windows apparently

www.chromium.org/administrators/turning-off-auto-updates

It doesn't apply to Linux though, so I haven't really investigated it.

Opera has been through many transitions over the years, definitely worth a look if you haven't seen a recent version

[jojo]

Hi mikkh, Sorry to not let go of this one, but I have finally managed to access my wife's computer and take screen shots of her startups from Ccleaner. (Have you any idea how much risk I go thorough for you?? )

Note, I have previously removed the YouTube addon.

As you can see, the wallet and updaters. I have these turned off on her machine, but otherwise they do take quite a bit of bandwidth.

Not trying to score any points here, just saying that, this is my experience with Chrome. I'm a little surprised you didn't notice on yours. Might be an idea to check again.

Just saying.

[mikkh]

No google wallet or youtube on mine, but that doesn't matter now because your screenshots set me off on another tangent that has added to my knowledge base and should be of benefit to that laptop and all 64 bit Windows users

Chrome is based on the open source Chromium - which in Linux are two separate entities, or might as well be, because one (Chromium) is tied to the 'official' 11.2 Flash for Linux, while Google Chrome uses something known as 'pepper flash' which basically means the latest version of Flash that I and other browser game players need.

The thing I noticed from your screenshots were A) it's got 8 GB RAM (and therefore 64 bit Windows) and B) it's got x86 (32 bit) Google Chrome installed

I just happened to be in Windows, so I checked mine and it was 32 bit too - not good. I went searching for a 64 bit version like I use in Linux and found this....

www.chrome64bit.com/

I uninstalled Google Chrome and installed V 39 (mini_installer.exe) and was slightly annoyed (at first anyway) that it was actually Chromium not Google Chrome

Because of the rather silly Linux situation involving those two browsers, the first thing I did was check which version of Flash it was using.
It's using the latest and being identified as Google Chrome - which it's not though

And the bonus of it not being Google Chrome, is that there's no updaters and definitely no youtube or other nonsense either

I signed in to get my bookmarks and extensions installed and tested it was behaving on my facebook games - all good )

Real 64 bit browser, no google affiliations - goodbye Google Chrome, hello Chromium

[jojo]

Thanks mikkh. Another excellent piece of advice.