What's The Safest Browser?

[babyoh]

ok...
opera, firefox, or netscape -- which is the safest with regard to exploits, malware, etc?

i'm FED UP with internet explorer, but i design alot of sites, and ie is the most popular... unfortunately, the pages tends to look different in each browser, sometimes dramatically so.

anyway, any thoughts on this are appreciated.

:rose:

[mitch]

the safest browser...hummm
ANYTHING BUT i.e.

now it should be that pages look different in IE and not any other browser...remember IE is non standard!

i myself think Firefox is a good one and there are some great security plugins for it..my fav.."noscripts"

i surf with java,flash disalbed, and then can allow or not what i want easly !
on a dialup makes the pages load a lot faster without that crap running
BUT on a safe site i can allow forever or temp

so my vote is firefox !
when a bug is reported it is fixed, not hidden!
great cookie management
ease of use and tabbed browsing

[Corrine]

Hi, babyoh.  I am also a Firefox fan, both for the reasons Mitch mentioned but mainly because it is so much faster for me than IE (I'm also on dialup).  A couple other LzD members are fans of Opera and I would expect you will hear from Jason about that.  ;)

As a web designer, you have to use multiple browsers to see how the site will render in each.  I suggest that you check out Tony Klein's "So how did I get infected in the first place?" for important tips on how to prevent future infections.  There is also a lot of helpful information in "Mitch's Good Stuff" linked from here (yes, that's the same Mitch who replied above :) ).  Tony & Mitch's suggestions will help you run IE safely.

[babyoh]

ok, another day of this, and my computer goes OUT THE WINDOW  :Win73:
:rose:

***
*great frustration trying to get int. explorer to work properly* it doesn't seem to want to work AT ALL with the symantec firewall -- it likes the XP firewall but that's HOW I GOT INFECTED...

:rose:
when i tried the i explorer settings recommended for ACTIVE X (i think mitch, you posted those), MS anti-spyware came on to alert me this was BELOW a safe standard.

so: MS anti-s is ALL WET, right?  -- those settings are good...
:rose:

(thanks, guys, it has been a ROUGH day)
:tease:

[mitch]

ok
when you are clean ...
go to the newbie oldie page and look down the list and
1. try a good firewall and make sure it passes the GRC test
2. install my 3 musketeers ( in spyware area newbies)




i see you posted your hjt log, so do the above after you are clean

[Jason]

Hi babyoh! :D

I agree with mitch comment "ANYTHING BUT IE" though it's sad to see that such a large vendor (when it comes to number of users) can't accomplish an acceptable level of security.
Moreover the MS IE browser doesn't apply to the standard rules decided under the WC3. If Microsoft would have decided to apply to WC3 some webpages shouldn't behave strange in other browsers like Firefox and Opera because the creators of webpages should be a bit more "forced" to follow the WC3 rules.

What's The Safest Browser?
My opinion is that Firefox and Opera both are excellent choices and as a bonus they both are freeware.

I've used Opera myself for several years but my first choice back then could very well have been Firefox instead.
The main difference between them are that Opera comes with a bundle of functionality built in, but Firefox has an interface where it's easy to add plug-ins to increase the browsers functionality to a level of your own preferences.

Opera also has a built in mailclient but Firefox cooperates in a splendid manner with for instance Thunderbird e-mail.

The Opera browser is a bit faster than Firefox but they both wip the a** (fill in some bodypart of your own choice) of MSIE, and as mentioned before they're developed with a smarter level of security.

Problems on IE's interacting with the firewall
I fully understand that your frustrated over the problems when it comes to IE's interacting with the Symantec Firewall.
I suggest that when you're computer is cleaned up properly you look up the settings for Internet Explorer in your firewall.
You'll find it under "Personal Firewall", choose Configure and then the tab "Programs" and remove the settings for Internet Explorer.
After that you may configure your settings for Internet Explorer fresh again.
I'm an experienced user of Norton Personal Firewall and haven't heard of any specific problems when interacting with IE.
It may very well be that you undeliberately created some rule that wasn't intended to, or otherwise it could have been done by some malware visiting earlier.

If your problem persists after my recommendation, don't hesitate to come back, cause I will of course try support you from the best of my ability.

Jason ;)

[Eric the Red]

Don't forget that there are other browsers available as well as IE, Firefox, netscape and Opera. An introduction to some of the others can be found at:

Browser Alternatives: Beyond Internet Explorer

Check out the discussion thread on that page as well.  :breakkie:

[JOSEPH]

I'll give my nod to  OPERA :thumbsup: since it is by far the fastest AND safest browser i ever come across in these years of surfing.

Only thing that deters me from FF is that it is not exactly up to snuff when it comes to Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash files, and since i too am into web development and services now i get bugged seeing me flash files "flickering" in firefox. Thats not a safety matter though so like is already been mentioned any other BUT IE and you're better off security wise.

IMO, theres been no excuse for microsoft's neglect of the IE browser except to create more industry which it seems they are very adapt at doing with each new limitation or neglect, or whatever it is designed to accomplish.

[babyoh]

:Win73: By The Way:
THIS is what my problems with ie ended up being --

:rose: 1) despite the fact i was "clean," some malware had CHANGED to bunch of my settings.
someone in a forum here suggested gently that "maybe" that was the problem.
TURNS OUT i had Over FIFTY settings in there i hadn't made; including LOADS of spammy domains being listed as "Safe."
When i changed ALL those settings, i e was able to connect to the net again.

:rose: 2) ie just SUCKED... it WOULDN'T OPEN alot of links.
i narrowed this down to ie choking on target="_blank" links.

TURNS OUT -- this is a known ie bug.
:firefox: :firefox: :firefox: :firefox: :firefox: :firefox:

problem was, since i was unable to "open a new window" via the target=blank link, i'd ASSUMED it was a security settings issue. NOT THE CASE.

:hysterical: i need to use ie to check on my pages -- but i use it for SECONDS. certainly no more than i absolutely have to.

:rose:
i'm finding pros & cons to both opera and firefox, altho BOTH are FAR superior to ie. (the "cons" are mildly irritating, nothing significant. for ex, when i right click on save a jpg, firefox takes several seconds to download, whereas opera & ie are instantaneous... in Opera, sometimes my BACK BUTTON DISAPPEARS! ... i've had to learn to use History to Go Back... closing my current window CLOSES OPERA... -- firefox and ie would open a few windows, so closing one won't shut down the app.)

***anyway, thanks all, for the input!

i'm going to take a valium and a warm bubble bath now... :tease:

[GR@PH;<'S]

babyoh,
I with the other here as i to use Firefox but i still use IE6 as well at least until I can find an add-on for a spell checker that is compatible for Firefox 1.5 I have not tried Opera as of yet but I am going to .
Which ever you decide to go for be assured you can always come here to get help with it as there are a number of other members here that do no longer use IE6 as there main Browser
So witch ever one you chose be it  :firefox: or   sure you will love it as other have come to love theres.

GR@PH;<'S    :breakkie: