How to Set Firefox as Your Default Browser

Contributor

By eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (5 Ratings)

After using Firefox you may decide that you want to set Firefox as your default browser. The default browser is the browser that your computer will automatically launch when a browser is needed, such as when you click a Web site link in an email message. Fortunately, Firefox makes it easy for you to set it as your default browser.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Computer with Internet access

Choose and Set Your Default Browser

Step 1

Launch the Firefox Web browser.
Step 2

Click the 'Tools' Menu and then select 'Options' from the drop-down list. The 'Options' dialog box will open in a new window.
Step 3

Go to the 'Main' tab and then locate the 'System Defaults' section.
Step 4

Click the 'Check Now' button to have Firefox check whether it is the default browser. A 'Default Browser' dialog box will appear on your screen.
Step 5

Read the message and decide if you want to make Firefox your default browser. Click the 'Yes' button to select Firefox as your default browser.

Tips & Warnings

Check the box that says 'Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser on setup' in the 'System Defaults' section if you want Firefox to always be your default browser.
Download Firefox 2 at the Mozilla Web site (see Resources below).
To use Firefox, your computer needs to meet minimum hardware requirements. For Windows, the minimum requirement is a 233 Mhz processor, 64 MB of RAM, 50 MB of free space on your hard drive and Windows 98 or greater. The minimum requirements for a Mac are a PowerPC G3 processor, 128 MB of RAM, 75 MB of space on your hard drive and Mac OS X 10.2.
For the best Firefox experience using Windows, Mozilla recommends that you have a 500 Mhz processor, 256 MB of RAM, at least 100 MB of free hard drive space and Windows XP.
To prevent someone else from having access to your personal information, go to the 'Tools' menu and choose 'Options' and then the 'Privacy' tab. Here you will be able to tell Firefox to delete all of your information.
These directions were written for Firefox 2.00.2. If you are running a prior version of Firefox, some of these steps may not work for you. You may want to upgrade to Firefox 2, which can be downloaded for free for use on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.