As with any web browser, there will be a few vulnerabilities in the program's coding that could potentially allow the installation of spyware or malware on a user's computer, or worse. The Mozilla team has a reputation, however, of fixing Firefox's security vulnerabilities incredibly quickly. Symantec, the company that publishes Norton Antivirus, released a report indicating that on average Firefox vulnerabilities are patched one day after being reported, while Microsoft took an average of 9 days to fix Internet Explorer.
Performance
Reputable computer magazines like PC World have occasionally done performance tests that compare Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox whenever a new version of either is released. During one of their most recent tests, PC World indicated that Internet Explorer 7 used much more system memory than Firefox 2.0. Using less system memory can improve things such as the time the program takes to open, as well as the time it takes to load a new web page.
Features
Though newer versions of Internet Explorer have closed the gap as far as useful new features compared to Firefox goes, early versions of Firefox pioneered a lot in the way of web browsing. Firefox had things like tabbed browsing, a session restore feature, and an in-program spell checker long before Internet Explorer did. Firefox also supports creating and downloading add-ons to customize your browsing experience with useful tools in ways that have not been possible on Microsoft's browser.
Comments
savemoneycenter said
on 12/9/2008 Thanks for the comparison, I am contemplating the download, I may just do it now. Thanks