Mozilla Firefox, the second most popular Internet browser, is free to download and compatible to Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. Firefox was one of the first browsers to have tabbed browsing, which has become standard for most browsers.

Firefox at first glance looks similar to Internet Explorer and is very easy to use. It features tabbed browsing, private browsing, history, and many options you would find on Internet Explorer. The following features are used on some other browsers but are worth mentioning. You will not find these features on Internet Explorer.

* Bookmarks, known on IE as “Favorites”, can be created with just one click on the star icon in the address bar.

* Tabs can be dragged into a separate window with your mouse.

* “Password Manager” offers to remember (or never remember) password information that you are entering on a website (also, instead of an intrusive pop-up like on other browsers, this feature displays briefly under the toolbars, in that way being more of a helpful option than an intrusive one).

* Links to downloads open the “Download manager” that displays your downloads' names and progress, and saves them for later reference. You can pause and restart downloads, and, when it is complete, simply double-click it from the list to run the installation.

Firefox is probably best known for having more than 6,000 customization options! Some of these features (known as add-ons) would be unavailable or automatically integrated on your Internet Explorer browser. The only problem with that is, if you don't want the features, they're download on the browser anyway. This is why Firefox is much faster to download—you can pick the options you want later!

These 6000 add-ons can be viewed from the Firefox homepage, or by using the Add-ons Manager in your Firefox browser. Sometimes Firefox will notify you when an add-ons is necessary to load certain parts of webpages. Most of the add-ons, however, are just fun or techy features that will change the look of your browser or add a cool accessory that could come in handy while surfing online. Here is a brief snippet of the wide variety of add-ons available for the Firefox browser:

• “Personas” are different “skins” for your Firefox browser. You can find thousands of themes celebrating your favorite music, movie, cause, etc! Change your skin everyday if you want!

• “Read it Later” is a great way to save a website, but not get it mixed in with your long-term bookmarks. You can access them offline, and check them off when you've read them.

• “WOT”--a.k.a. Websites Of Trust—this feature will help keep you safe from harmful websites.

• “Yoono” sidebar is a quick way to stay constantly updated on your social networking outlets, like Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging.

Firefox is continually improving and increasing it's add-ons, as well as speed and security technology. Firefox 3.5.3, is faster and safer than before and is now available to download for free. You can read all about security and speed features and improvements, browse add-ons library, and download Firefox on your computer at firefox.com.

***

Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles! 

If you like Google for its speed and simplicity, you might be interested in their Internet browser, Chrome. Google created Chrome because they wanted to start from scratch on a browser made for today's Internet. The Internet has changed a lot since the first browsers were developed. Chrome is simple and neat, but loaded with security, speed, and functionality features.

Google acknowledges their use of features already implemented on browsers, like Firefox Safari, to design Chrome. Chrome is an open source project, meaning that other can use from their ideas as well. One of the features you'll recognize is bookmarks. You can automatically copy bookmarks or favorites from another browser and instantly save a new bookmark by clicking the star icon next to the address bar. These features are identical to those of Firefox.

Like Internet Explorer, Chrome as the option of tabbed browsing and reordering the tabs. However, Chrome allows you to drag tabs into their own windows, or drag windows to become a tab of another window. Chrome also has “Crash Control”, which lets each tab run individually to avoid shutting down the whole browser if one tab crashes.

Chrome carries Google's tradition of personalizing and simplifying tasks, using the features from the homepage and Google toolbar. When you open a new tab, for example, you will see a thumbnails of previous and often visited websites to choose from, instead of a blank page. Also, while typing in the address bar, Google suggests visited sites and popular sites, or to run a Google search on the keyword(s) you entered.

Chrome was one of the first browsers to have a private searching option. While surfing “incognito”, pages are displayed as read-only, and nothing from these sites are saved on your computer. Google Chrome also has its own task manager. Just like Windows, Chrome allows you to track usage and running processes on the browser. You can detect what add-on, tab, or other process that is using the most bandwidth and end processes separately without disrupting the other processes.

Like many browsers, Google Chrome claims to be the safest and the fastest browser. There are so many ways to test this and different factors that effect actual speed, that this is difficult to prove. In fact, Chrome could work faster for some people or websites, where Internet Explorer or another browser would be faster in another area. Regardless, there is no doubt that this browser is well made and is preferred by a small group of users.

If you just want a fast engine and don't need a bunch of buttons and toolbars, Google Chrome might be just right for you. To read more details about Chrome features or to download the latest version of Chrome, go to google.com/chrome.

***

Written by Hannah Miller, Online Marketing Representative and Customer Service, Copper.net.

Copper.net is a nationwide Internet services provider that is all-American owned and operated. Call today, 1-800-336-3318 or sign up online at www.copper.net! Check out my blog for more articles!