Tailgunner Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Every now and again I get "Windows Explorer has stopped working" or "Windows Explorer is not working," with the options "Check online for a solution and restart the program" or "restart the program." OK, I can click and restart, but it's mighty irritating. A friend has suggested switching to Firefox 3.5. But to someone with my depth of PC ignorance, plus unease about making changes, that sounds maybe a step too far. So I'd really appreciate verdicts on Firefox from any users out there. Would switching be a good move to make, or would I just be adding more complications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krono Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Hi Firefox is an absolute ripper. If you add the available add-ons you cannot go far wrong. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendrik Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Agree completely - haven't used IE since Firefox was first released.Never any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Harris Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Firefox is great, its the only browser I use, make sure you get the "Adblock" add-on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 And get the Noia eXtreme theme - that's the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribou Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Firefox rules! Best for me for years - haven't used IE in long time. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradHosking Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 So why is it so good.... 1. No ActiveX which means that you can't effectively get a malicious script from opening a web page. ActiveX is built into IE, but firefox if you want to use it, you have to install a 3rd party add-on to get that feature, and that would defy the purpose of not having it. 2. Firefox is made by a company called Mozilla, who also many years ago before they all got the sack made a browser called Netscape. Firefox has as much evolution really as what IE does. 3. It's free!!! 4. The most important feature - It's light weight meaning it is a small download, small installation, runs and performs well on slower machines than what IE 8 would do. Personally I have recommended Firefox to people for a long time, and tend to suggest it to people who seem to be prone to getting viruses and clicking the wrong things. Without that ActiveX component it makes a big difference. 5. It's easily skin able so you can customise it to the way you want it. 6. Majority of regular plug-in's such as Flash, Java, Shockwave, Adobe PDF...etc all integrate with Firefox as easily now as what IE does. Taken awhile to get that far but it generally works flawless these days. Also Mozilla make an excellent mail client called Thunderbird which again is lightweight and works extremely well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumman Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 I agree with all the positive comments about Firefox. It's no big deal to install. Just click "yes" when it asks if you want it to be the default browser and you'll never need IE again. But you can leave IE there if you really want it still available. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukester Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yep Firefox FTW! Beaware it maybe a small download but it can become a big monster with many add-ons installed. Not unusual to see it using 60-80mb of RAM. Although it doesn't really slow it down just takes a little longer to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Fire Fox has been my browser of choice since I stopped using Netscape , I have NOT used IE since Win 95 days and have removed it from the PC. If you have issues with web site that designers have made for IE then use the Open in IE Tab plugin option for FF. There are way too many plugins to list here but FF is IMHO the olny browser to use if you want to control your browsing habits and not bog down your PC with all the shite that IE clutter's the "C:/" with. FF allows you to control where you download too to hope fully a quarantined directory and NOT the desktop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailgunner Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 When ten guys are unanimous, that's quite some recommendation. Thanks to one and all: big help, and I'm downloading today. [Mango - what's the NOIA eXtreme theme, please?] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Like so many things in Windows you can apply a theme to Fire Fox and have glass look buttons and different colours and all sorts of other things as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
}SkOrPn--7 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 FF allows you to control where you download too to hope fully a quarantined directory and NOT the desktop So does IE Maurice and to Change Internet ExplorerDefault Download Directory do the following.... You can change this default path at any time by opening the Registry Editor and going to: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer] Download Directory=C:\Documents and Settings\User\Downloads This STRING specifies the default directory where IE will save downloaded files. Enter the path to wherever you want the new default to be. I'm another user of FF and with all the addons it really is a slick browser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but it doesn't allow you to do multiples all at the same time from a particular site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiko Glatthorn Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 When ten guys are unanimous, that's quite some recommendation. Thanks to one and all: big help, and I'm downloading today. [Mango - what's the NOIA eXtreme theme, please?] Just open the site with FF and click on Add to Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailgunner Posted July 15, 2009 Author Share Posted July 15, 2009 Up and running. Whole new world to explore. Fascinating! Thanks again, gents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
}SkOrPn--7 Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Yes but it doesn't allow you to do multiples all at the same time from a particular site. Sorry buddy I should have given this and that problem is solved as well........ [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings] MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server=0x0000000a(10) MaxConnectionsPerServer=0x0000000a(10) Create two new DWORD keys with the names shown above. Double click on each one and in Decimal view enter the maximum number of simultaneous connections you want in the "Value data" eg(10) box then click OK. Reboot your system and see if Internet Explorer is faster as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HercFan Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Add my approval. Been using for about only a month (installed it on my new system with W7) and love it. Still learning tricks after using IE for so many years, but all in all I find it great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua_Stone Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Use Firefox over IE. Much more reliable, and when it does crash, all your options are saved when you re-open it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goober Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I agree with everything said it's been great! however when I installed the new 3.5 on my XP setup I did get some problems not loading or just taking for ever, had a look at the Mozilla site and it looks like I was not the only one, and then were working on a fix. Downloaded the new 3.5.1 today and everything's back to being great again. Goobs http://www.filehippo.com/download_firefox/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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