29 replies to this topic

[ford101]

Hi everyone,
I recently stumbled across this site whilst trying to get rid of, what I thought was one trojan. After reading thru the different forums and taking alot of good advice on board, I downloaded HJK(which is scary for me lol, so I have a friend looking at my log), spywareblaster, trojanhunter,frontgate mx,and running scans using avg and panda. Unbeknownst to me, and being a novice in the world of the internet and computing, I actually had 9 trojans, and 2 viruses . So thank you to the gods who gave you all the knowledge to help not so clever people like me
Anyways, I have read a lot of chatter about mozilla or firefox (told you I was new ). Is it easy to use?, should I or can I change from IE easily so that anyone with my brain capacity can use it?...........btw, this is my first post, so if I have asked in the wrong forum or other, my apologies in advance.
Also to any who reply, Thanks in advance

[wawadave]

its vary easy to use.

[ford101]

Thanks for the reply wawadave.

[Rogue298]

yes, Firefox is very easy to use Was using 0.8, just recently installed 0.9. You can even import all your bookmarks from IE into Firefox I've been very happy with this browser. I don't use IE anymore unless I absolutely have to. Firefox is my default browser

[Doctor J]

Hi Ford101,
would-be users of Firefox often think they have to give up IE, in order to try Firefox; NOT SO. You can have 10 different browsers, if it makes you happy, just as long as one of them is set as default (to click on links, etc). Leave IE as default for now, you might change your mind later.

As soon as you d/led & installed Firefox, go to their Help page, it will explain extremely well the super features (tabbed browsing is best thing is sliced bread) that comes with it. The more you use it, the more you'll wonder why you waited this long...

[ford101]

....Thanks for the advice guys, and yes doc, I was one of those ppl that thought I had to give up IE , but thankfully Im a little bit wiser. I will be taking all your advice on board.
Cheers

[Rogue298]

LOL, I have 6 browsers on my puter, including IE...I'm a browser hog

[Paranoid]

Let's be frank here, I would love to encourage you to try Firefox, but I would be less than honest if I do not state some of the problems you may encounter

1) The first thing you might notice is that some sites start to look funny, or may even totally fail to work. The later could be due to the fact that it requires active x or the web master could be blocking you intentionally. There aren't that many of those, but MS related sites like MSN, hotmail might give you problems, and some banks sites.

2) You *might* have some problems installing the plug ins for flash, shock wave, but as longer as you use the installer version of Firefox, this problem shouldn't be there, unless you are very unlucky

3) You might run into some problems if you play with too many extensions, particularly when upgrading to the next version, but by then you should be experienced enough to know what to do.


But don't let me scare you away, try it and see.

Edited by Paranoid, 06 July 2004 - 10:48 AM.

[Rogue298]

yep, I did encounter a few of those problems, too...especially on the microsoft site when checking for updates and such. I also had to re-install plug-ins for flash, and such. I did notice that the new version 0.9 has fewer extensions available than 0.8 did. BUT 0.9 does load much faster than 0.8....it used to take FOREVER to load. So it did improve in that aspect. I also had a few problems with plug ins for 0.8...it was like the initial installation didn't take, as I'd get prompted on other sites to reinstall. Haven't had that problem with 0.9 though. It definitely has it's flaws But I still think it's a great browser
Like Paranoid said, try it and see

[lonewolf]

I think Firefox is so much better than IE. For one thing it doesn't use active-x which is one of the more popular ways spyware can infect your machine. Also you can't get hijacked using Firefox. Firefox is just an all around better browser. And with all those flaws in IE (153 holes since 4/18/01 -last time i checked) some so bad they allow an attacker to take control of your computer. IE is just a big headache for most people concerned with proper security. True Firefox has it's flaws but nowhere near as bad as IE.

[Rogue298]

yikes, I didn't realize IE had that many flaws...I didn't know the # was that high. I personally would love to get IE off my system (not that it's really possible), but hubby, who isn't very computer/internet knowledgeable, insists on using it because he's used to it. I think he's afraid to try the other browsers He's not online much, so no harm done...well it's about as secure as it's going to get anyway, which really isn't a comforting thought

[spyware fighter]

I would certainly encourage anybody to try Firefox. As already mentioned by other members of this board, it is more secure and simply has much better options. I use both Opera and Firefox and they really provide much better and enjoyable experience on the Internet.

Well, try experimenting with different browsers and you will see which one fits you best...

Switching from IE to another browser is like giving up a bad habit... So it might take a while until you get used to Firefox. However, so far I have not heard anybody complaining...!

Good luck!

[ford101]

Hi everyone,
Well I downloaded firefox 0.9, which the site recommended for xp, and so far so good. You were all right it is very easy to use. I like the fact that google is included in the tool bar, and the bookmarks are easily organised too. My hubby is like yours rogue, but he will do as he's told , jk. Both he and I like to browse and spend a lot of time on the net, and we used to like downloading alot of stuff too, (both of us under the false belief that we were protected by Norton, so it's ok), how wrong we were!!. Im sure I will still run into probs along the way, but Im more wiser than before, and have more security as well. I have kept IE as my default browser but im sure through trial and error I will be able to rid myself of old habits(It took friends an age to convince me that xp was better than win 98 lol, which I still dont believe, but I changed anyway, bad habits die hard) Each to their own I guess. Thanks again

[Rogue298]

My hubby is like yours rogue, but he will do as he's told , jk.

LOL!! Not mine
I think he really is afraid of the other browsers......he's also a closet net surfer. Says he hates the internet and everything about it.......yet when I'm not on the puter, he is...he tries to shut down the puter before anyone sees him though, LOL

[Paranoid]

Ford If you have any more questions about firefox feel free to ask , we will try to help.

[Mike]

FYI, when installing extensions and themes, always choose the option to install them into your profile directory. That way you usually won't have to reinstall them when you up update to a new version.

[Paranoid]

I believe nowdays most extensions are beginning to force you to install in the profiles anyway. The drawback about installing extensions in profiles as opposed to application folder is that if it's damaged, your whole profile is gone.

My no 1 important tip is to always backup your Profile espically before installing new extensions. That can save your butt a lot!

[ford101]

Okay I may have had my first hiccup, so to speak, or maybe it's nothing. The funny thing is, is that when I open mozilla/firefox browser, it won't open this site (http://www.spywareinfo.com/)

Problem Report
There was a communication problem.

Message ID TCP_ERROR

Problem Description The system was unable to communicate with the server.

Possible Problem Cause


* The Web server may be down.
* The Web server may be too busy.
* The Web server may be experiencing other problems, preventing it from
responding to clients.
* The communication path may be experiencing problems.

Possible Solution
Try connecting to this server later.

Yet when I use IE, it has no probs opening this site. Should I be concerned about this? (which Im not, Im enjoying mozilla/firefox), just hope its nothing I've done Every other site I have opened has been fine. I tried last nite as well with the same result.

(Whilst Im here, can anyone enlighten me as to why I have a warn meter by my user name?, have I done something wrong?)
Thanks in advance.

[ford101]

Okay, I dont think it was mozilla after all. So please disregard my last post. Apologies all round

[Rogue298]

FYI, when installing extensions and themes, always choose the option to install them into your profile directory. That way you usually won't have to reinstall them when you up update to a new version.

Thank you, Mike, that's good to know I'm curious though, when I installed 0.9 and started adding extensions, it didn't prompt me with the option of installing them into my profile directory...it did for 0.8 though. Does that mean it was automatically added to my profile or did I screw up somewhere?

[Mike]

Most likely. I think they're moving away from the option of installing for all users for all extensions.

[qrs136]

I just installed Firefox last night and am pleasantly surprised so far. I am the Keyboard Queen, so I was thrilled to see that many of Firefox's keyboard shortcuts are the same as IE's. Maybe this will help convince your hubby, Rogue298! The interfaces are verrrrry similar - he might not even have to know!

Now to see if FF reduces my malware attacks. Fingers crossed.

[Rogue298]

Maybe this will help convince your hubby, Rogue298! The interfaces are verrrrry similar - he might not even have to know!

LOL, I wish, but alas, nothing will ever convince him. I tried explaining that using the 2 browsers was almost identical, but he wouldn't hear of it *sigh*

[Rogue298]

Most likely. I think they're moving away from the option of installing for all users for all extensions.

ah, ok, thanks Mike

[morcheeba]

Also guys I was trying to find 0.8 but all i can seem to find is 0.9.  Is there somewhere to get 8 at still, or is it gone for good?

Hi,
I came across this link:
http://ftp.mozilla.o...x/releases/0.8/ .

[Paranoid]

Apparantly there's going to be a 0.91 version released soon to fix some of the glaring problems in the extension manager. So those who haven't upograded to 0.9 yet, might want to hold off for a few weeks.

[Rogue298]

argh, wish I heard this sooner

[ford101]

Hi all,
Well Ive been using mozilla/firefox for a while now, and I must say that I have to agree with everyone who said that it was easy, because it is.
The themes are great as well, I've had no probs with these, after following mike's advice. Im currently using noia 2.0 (extreme), which I think is groovy. Im kinda lookin forward to the upgrade that paranoid mentions. I think that like rogue I may now become a bit of a browser hog hehe, cause now I've just downloaded opera.
Thanks to you all for the great advice, Im glad I found this site, and will be passing on the link to all my friends. Keep up the great work guy's

[Paranoid]

ANother big stumbling block to adopting firefox is that on slow computers it takes ages to load up. On faster machines, there is some difference in loading up bewteen IE and firefox but not too bad but on slower machines it's very obvious.