Firefox Turns 8 Today!

Mozilla Firefox, the free, open source web browser was launched 8 years ago today. What began as an experimental branch of the Mozilla Project (by the Mozilla Foundation) has now grown to become one of the most frequently used web browsers in the world. And it’s one of our favourites, too!

To celebrate the occasion, we’ve compiled a list of our 3 favourite web browsers to share with you, our readers. Who knows? You might find something you like and decide to change!

1) Mozilla Firefox

As of October 2012, Mozilla claims that Firefox has over 450 million users worldwide. The browser has gone through many transformations, and it’s currently on its 19th version. Originally called Phoenix, it then changed its name to Firebird, and eventually became the Firefox we know and love today. But what’s so good about it?

Firstly, it’s the only web browser that is completely open source, meaning its source code is available to the general public. This has meant that users are free to customise their browsers with a number of add-ons. Being open source adds an almost personable feel to the browser – we are free to explore, to find out how Firefox ticks; it’s almost as though Mozilla trusts us. 

Secondly, it has an impressive array of features, including tabbed browsing, private browsing, geolocation and live bookmarking.

One of the reasons why a lot of users decided to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox is because of its improved security. IE is infamous for its security issues, so Firefox proved to be a breath of fresh air upon its release.

We also love Firefox’s branding. The logo design is creative and memorable!

2) Google Chrome

Chrome is the most widely used web browser in the world, and it’s fairly easy to see why. It’s super fast because it uses WebKit, arguably the best layout engine software for rendering web pages. We love the fact that Chrome runs on a wide variety of platforms – Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows, The Chromebook… We’re pretty sure it could run on a toaster if you tried hard enough.

As well as this, the home page is cleverly arranged so that your most frequently used web pages are displayed for easy access. It’s also extremely easy to navigate, and making the transition from Internet Explorer or Firefox to Chrome is a smooth one. That’s always helpful for people who dislike massive changes to their browsers.

For all of you elusive users out there, Chrome introduced the revolutionary Incognito Mode, which allows you to browse web pages at your leisure without them being logged in your web history.

3) Opera

In a nutshell, Opera is fast, secure and easy to use. What more could you want from a web browser?

One of the most frustrating things about surfing the web is the constant bombardment of advertisements. Opera comes with a build-in ad blocker, so you’re free to surf without being troubled by pesky sales pitches!

Opera also has a great privacy setting. It allows you to delete your private data, like your browsing history and caches with a simple click of a button. It also allows users to protect their saved passwords using a master password to prevent malware from accessing their data. Safe browsing is always important when selecting a web browser, and you’ll feel secure with Opera.

 

Which web browser do you use? Let us know in the comments, and a very happy Birthday to Mozilla Firefox!