Internet Newsletter for Lawyers |
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There is an alternative. It is called Firefox. It was launched last year by a non-profit,
open-source foundation called Mozilla. Their website is at
www.mozilla.com and there is
detailed information, and the opportunity to download the software, at
www.mozilla.com/firefox/.
The latest version (1.5) was launched in November 2005. Since its launch, there have
apparently been over 100 million downloads. Best of all, it is free.
I, like everyone else, had been using IE at home since I first had a PC. I only started having
problems with it recently when my computer became infected with a virus. Whilst I wouldn’t
want to blame a particular product such as IE for the temporary demise of my computer, I
wasn’t exactly thrilled that the product that was supposed to enable me to surf the net had
apparently allowed some kind of virus to get through the system. I had thought that installing
proprietary anti-virus software and a firewall was supposed to stop all that.
Therefore, when a friend in the computer industry suggested I try Firefox I decided to trust his
judgement.
In the six months since I installed the original version (1.0.7) I can honestly say that I haven’t
had any problems with bugs, viruses or any other of the ever increasing plethora of electronic
creepy crawlies although obviously I still use a firewall, and anti-virus software.
Firefox, and its adherents, will tell you that the reason for this is that it doesn’t allow ActiveX
plugins, and was designed from the ground up as a secure browser. I am not a computer expert
and as such I can’t really comment on whether this is correct. However, as a computer user,
I don’t really care why it works so well – I am just pleased that it does.
As for the look of it, you will see very little difference from IE so in terms of learning it, there is
nothing really new. It does have some nice features which you don’t get in IE, such as tabbed
browsing, an excellent download manager and a whole host of extensions and ‘skins’ so that
you can customise the browser to how you like it. Personally, I just want something that works
so I haven’t explored all the various add-ons.
Because of the way Firefox works, it doesn’t allow access to some sites that might otherwise
be accessible to IE. I can’t say that I have noticed this as a problem: occasionally it will block
some parts of a site and if it does so, it usually gives you the option of downloading a plugin that
will allow you to gain access. I have never known it block access to a whole site – just the odd
section here and there.
Can it be used in your office? From a technical point of view, it works fine on networks, but
obviously there will be different issues than for the home user. I suspect most IT managers will
continue to use IE on the basis that if they change it, and there’s a problem, it will become their
problem. I would suggest that if you are having problems with IE in your office, it must be worth
investigating this product further. It is used by quite a few universities and some government
departments so it is obviously stable enough for organisations quite a lot larger than the
average High Street firm.
Clearly, I would recommend that anyone thinking about installing any new software does some
basic research. There are some good reviews at Cnet.com, here. If you do search for reviews
at other sites, bear in mind that a lot of them will be talking about the old version since the new
one has only just launched. Version 1.5 is the latest version. However, most of the reviews of
the old version are very positive too.
I know that there are a lot of people out there who are ‘anti’ Microsoft, and take great pleasure
in knocking its products. I am not one of those people, and I hope that this article is not seen
an attack on IE. Unfortunately, the fact remains that when my computer did get hit by a virus,
I was using IE and I had to waste a lot of time resolving matters. This hasn’t happened with
Firefox and since it looked familiar to IE and cost nothing to install, I was happy to try it and
remain happy with that decision 6 months later.
Andrew Barrett is a solicitor at Vanderpump & Sykes, www.vanderpumps.co.uk,
commercial and private client solicitors based in Enfield, north London.
Back to Contents.
Why I Use Firefox
For those of you unfortunate enough to have downloaded a computer virus, you will no doubt
agree that it’s an experience you don’t want to repeat. The question is whether or not there is
an alternative to the ubiquitous Internet Explorer (IE) that most of us still use on a daily basis
and which no doubt had some part in letting that virus get through your system’s defences.
by Andrew Barrett
Email AndrewBarrett@vanderpumps.co.uk.