My Computer Mechanic

Web Browsers: Which one is best?

A Comparative Review

Among the software on a PC, the most important is a Web Browser. It is probably the most frequently used, & usually remains open on most PCs all over the world.

The best browsers are those in which you feel you are alone with your favorite website. The browser loads pages quickly, without crashing, & it can handle any web page you visit without prompting you to do anything extra. It should not give any warning or any certificate to pass.

But there's more to a browser than just that. To satisfy power users, it must support a multitude of add-ons & extension. It must be customizable. And to protect you online, it should do a good job of catching & blocking potential security threats -- such as phishing (see article below), cross-site scripting attacks, & malware.

Here is my review of the 3 most prominent web browsers:

• Internet Explorer 8 & 9
• Firefox
• Google Chrome

Internet Explorer 8

The leading browser on the market has a decent interface in version 8, but feels cluttered when compared with newer browsers. However, 2 features pertaining to its tabbed-browsing function are useful. First, IE 8 groups related tabs together using color coding. For example, if you open a link from PCWorld.com in a new tab, it will open adjacent to the original tab, and the tabs themselves will have a matching color. You can move tabs from one group to another, but if you have three unrelated pages open you can't create a group out of them.

Second, IE 8 provides a tab thumbnail view: Click the thumbnail button (the one with four squares on it) in the tab bar, and up pops a screen with thumbnails of your open tabs' content. It's a good way to see all your open tabs at once.

Download IE8

Internet Explorer 9 (only for Vista and Windows 7 users)

After years of playing catch-up among its competitors, Microsoft caught up with the rest with IE9. It was introduced only 2 months ago, so there is not a good amount of usage to base opinions on.

IE9 builds on the work done in previous IE versions. Its interface is stripped down, clean, and simple. The intent is that the website should be the focus, not the browser frame. Tabs have moved alongside the address bar, status and menu bars are gone by default, the toolbars are gone by default, and the icons on the buttons use new artwork. Notifications within the browser have also been made substantially less intrusive; they are located at the bottom of the window frame.

Overall, it's a good look that mimics Google Chrome. It still lacks any direct equivalent to the "pinned tabs" found in Firefox and Chrome. These tabs occupy less space than regular tabs, making them convenient for persistently-open sites. Firefox 4 will have a new tab management facility that IE9 does not. IE9's main advantage today is in its security features with are discussed below.

Download IE9

Firefox 3.6

Bearing the same basic look and feel as earlier versions of Firebox, version 3.6 seems dated next to the other browsers. It has more "window chrome" (a window's toolbars, menus, title bar, and so on) than the latest version of Chrome and IE 9, which makes it seem like something out of 2006, not 2010. In addition, its highly cross-platform nature means that it can feel a little out of place at times, even on Windows.

There's nothing seriously wrong with Firefox's interface, and it has its share of niceties. For one thing, its Find bar makes searching for a specific word or phrase on any given page easy. And though Firefox isn't the only browser to have a URL-autofill feature, it does the job better than most other browsers do.

NOTE: Mozilla, the authors of Firefox, released a beta of Firefox 4. Among Firebox 4's new features is a revamped user interface that takes cues from competitors like Chrome and IE9. No date has been set for its final release.

Download Firefox

Chrome 11

With Chrome, Google applied its trademark minimalist style to its browser. The main Chrome window has only the basics (a tab bar, an address field, back/forward/reload buttons, and a couple of drop-down menu buttons), which lets the page you're browsing become the star of the show. You won't find a status bar; page-loading messages appear as needed in the bottom of the window. The overall results are a browser that's slick, speedy, and responsive.

Chrome's tabbed browsing is presented in a thoughtful manner. The tabs are located above everything else on the page, which makes for a logical flow of information in the window. As you open up more pages, the tabs shrink to fit the available space and as you close tabs, they grow again.

Download Google Chrome

BEST BROWSER: Chrome

Chrome comes out ahead thanks to its clean, functional interface, and combined address/search field. I understand that which browser is "best" can be subjective, so my opinion is largely a matter of personal preference. IE 9 is a close second. It looks almost exactly like Chrome and does so because of Microsoft's paranoia about their competition. Unfortunately, Microsoft no longer innovates; they copy their competition to try and not be left behind.

Security

Though some browsers are better than others at keeping you safe online, all of them have at least some security features. Phishing filters have become more or less universal over the past few years. These filters typically connect to an online database of known phishing sites to keep tabs on which sites are safe and which aren't. When you browse to a known phishing site, you'll usually get a warning indicating that the site may be trouble. The downside to such filters is that they may not have brand-new phishing sites on their lists.

Recently, fake anti-virus malware has been infecting computers. This malware uses the browsers to enter computers through infected websites. Of all the browsers, IE9's improved Smart Screen Filter helps to stop this malware better than any of its competitors. However, IE9 is only available for computers that are running Windows Vista or Windows 7.