For many years, Internet Explorer has maintained its title as king of the internet browsers - mainly because it comes with Windows and doesn't need any setting up.  However the alternative internet browsers are making a come back with new features and better security for browsing the internet.  One such browser is called Firefox.

Firefox is a free, open-source web browser for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X and is based on the Mozilla codebase. It is small, fast and easy to use, and offers many advantages over Internet Explorer, such as the built-in ability to block pop-up windows.  It also a Tabbed browser which means that you can view many different websites within the same application and simply switch between them.  The Tabbing doesn't obscure your icons in the task bar by filling the task bar up.

If you think that you might be lossing your Internet Explorer Google Toolbar, then don't panic as there is an official google plugin that does everything the Internet Explorer one does and more.

Firefox also has the ability to change skins to suit your individual tastes, there are hundreds of different skins that you can download and use.  Skins are just the tip of the iceburg with Firefox.  The Firefox community have also been busy programming extentions and plugins that offer extra features, like stripping out advertisements, or switching internet proxy settings at the click of a mouse.

Firefox is a lot more secure than Internet Explorer so you will not be fooled into downloading a nasty bit of software from acidently visiting the wrong website.  It doesn't use any ActiveX or VBscripting so your browsing experience is going to be as secure as possible.

The rendering of internet pages is also better than Internet Explorer, so pages will litterally fly onto the screen and with the addition of FasterFox, web pages download even quicker.  The rendering engine also has a superior printing facility that allows webpages to be scaled to fit an A4 sheet of paper - so when you print preview, What You See is What You Get.

Statistics have shown that the use of Firefox is on the increase, slowly eating away at the browser share that Internet Explorer currently holds.  The statistics that www.Schooltechnician.co.uk has clearly shows that users are already using Firefox, as you can see below.

Browsers that Visitors to www.schooltechnician.co.uk are using

I have been using Firefox for over 6 months now and recommend using it as an alternative web-browser for teachers who use the internet at school and on a home broadband connection.  Using 2 browsers allows the teachers to forget about changing proxy servers, and they use one for at school and the other for at home - simple.

You have got nothing to lose from downloading and installing Firefox.  The download is less than 5Mb and the installation routine will import all of your Internet Explorer settings so you can make the switch easily.

Firefox Screen Shot with Noia Extreme Theme installed.

The image above is my Firefox with the Noia Extreme theme enabled.

You can get Firefox by using the linked image below.  This is a special version that contains a pre-installed Google toolbar.