Computer newbies forum: Newbie's shouldn't jump to Firefox Browser

I am still trying to get all the spyware off my newbie friend's computer. The first thing I did after installing and running Ad-aware (I will also install and run Spybot S&D) was to install Firefox as her default browser. Any minor challenges newbies may encounter learning to use Firefox will be nothing compared to the difficulties they will face trying to close endless popup windows that are the result of spyware attacks that IE let in.

Everyone not using IE (icky poo) needs to know how it wants to intrude at every opportunity before using Firefox, Opera, Mozilla et al. The whole Windows won't work without IE thing.

I'm pretty handy with PCs (helped setup Texaco's PC help desk in the early 80's) and moved directly to Mozilla then FireFox when I upgraded to XP, and worked backwards. If Yahoo's mail client functioned fully w/ Firefox, I'd have no need to every run IE.

As Firefox gets more and more popular, the cracker community will start writing malware for it. Based on past experience, it's reasonalbe to expect that Mozilla will be more forthright than MicroHard... opps, I mean MicroSoft with problems and patches.

I've had all sorts of problems with windows and none with firefox . I was suspicious when I read dont mess with firefox till you get experiance . Thats a joke.

A pile of adware, and/or viruses a certainly the sign of a newbie at the keyboard for sure. But your advise on Firefox is quite misleading. The first thing any newb should be made aware of is the need for pop up blockers, adware/spyware blocking and removal and of course anti virus protection is a must. This is infact the case with every operating system and every browser. Linux and FIrefox are not exempt from this, although there are many who give out advise that implies as much, all OS's and browsers need protection, although those that are less popular or in more restricted use are not going to get targeted as often as XP or IE. Other OS's and some browsers are often designed in a way that makes conventional spyware and virus attacks in effective or less effective, but they still should have protection. The fact is, if IE has the proper security in place it is just as safe and for most people easier to use, as well as being a more effective browser for widespread surfing of the web.
I have tried every browser out there, always have tried them again when newer versions have come out for each one. Alot of them are pretty nice, and you will find plenty of people who will swear by each one of them. The fact is a properly secured IE has served me well for several years and I surf everywhere and anywhere on the net, I fileshare and often work on unecrypted wireless networks, and my system is clean and IE always works like a charm. Nuff said.

I think by now its safe to say this poster just did so to hear himself, and we all got fooled into responding.

Complete lack of information when the topic obviously required it, failure to respond with details despite many posts requesting them.

Wow, now he's got me posting again too! Do I ever feel dumb!!! :-D

I would be interested in a more detailed instruction of how to set the IE browser to eliminate these insidious 'pop-ups' and the other nasty things about it. Just saying that we don't know how to set it leaves me with the impression that this person feels somewhat 'superior' In their knowledge and plans on keeping it that way

I'm not a newbie nor a geek. Just your average user. I have done all I know how to do, including reformat and still get "page cannot be found" from IE on a lot of sites including ones I have just visited. I don't have that problem with firefox. If someone can help with the IE problem in non tech terms I'd appreciate it. Uninstalling and re-installing IE didn't help either. Dell is stumped. I'm running Windows XP, 56k dial up. Until someone can figure out how to fix my IE, I'm most grateful for firefox.

Interestingly enough I have the same problem. This started when I switched to a different ISP. Before that I'd used AOL and rarely had that issue unless their domain server was glitching. Which did happen sometimes. However now I've changed to a cheaper ISP and get this problem everytime I surf. Often the page will even load then default to the ISPs search page with the now dreaded "page cannot be found" error but would I like to hit one of these links. All of the links appear to be pages that buy adds on this ISP. Now I knew I'd see some more adds when I went for a 10 buck ISP but I'd expected it to be a bit more straight forward. When I used AOL I used IE or Netscape outside AOL and haven't changed anything other than the browser changes the ISP made when installing itself. BTW the ISP has a nice popup blocker. Works real well except for this stupid search thing. Which I've tried to turn off in IE prefs. No luck. Maybe I should try Netscape.... Hummmmm.....

Claiming just "some bugs" without being precize is not an argument.

I know some bugs with IE (for example, Work off-line menu dissapers in frequent situations), and I can show you 100% standards complaint page that not just fails to render with IE, but actually turns whole IE into gray box.

One good thing about Firefox is that it works side by side with IE. So if anyone has a problem as this user claims, he can switch back.

Bugs? Design quirks? Difficuties for a beginner? Huh? It took me a second, too, to realize that this was a Jerry Springer stunt for postings without any solid examples.

Better to advise newbs to use programs that innately require as few peripheral measures as possible...even if we need to look a little dumb in the process.

Just pitching in.

While security may seem to be the largest impetus for moving everyone to firefox, I doubt the move really makes a large difference to the overall security of one's system. Let's face it... if you were actually targeted by a hacker etc, no firewall or novel browser could prevent it.

I also notice alot of computer newbies, after hearing much about the greatness of firefox, switch to the browser and immediately assume they have become expert computer users.

If you have a hardware firewall such as a port configurable router, you can in fact make your machine completely hacker proof (bar your own stupidity when going online).

A hacker can only work with what he has, if he has no way of reaching your machine then he has no way of accessing it.

.. how misunderstood I was.

Certain ports are used for certain communications types, for example, 21 is ftp, 22 is SSH, 23 is Telnet, 25 is SMTP, 80 is HTTP etc. etc. etc... if you leave them open, you grant access. Most machines have to grant access of some kind, for example, you cannot disallow port 80 outbound access through your router if you ever want to browse the internet.

However, incoming ports through any router are "redirected", in many cases to a false and non-existant machine. Set up correctly, all anyone else sees is a blank wall, no door, no lock, nothing, unless they have specifically granted access. Learn about Open, Closed and Stealth ports and you'll see what I mean.

The only genuine security vulnerability lies in the router itself. If your router has an HTTP driven control panel, you could redirect all incoming port 80 access to the router, which would be outstandingly stupid but would allow you to compromise your own security. Technically your router could be hacked if there are bugs in the firmware code that allows it to do what it does, and this is similar to the buffer overflow type errors and others you see with IE and suchlike. Check the manufacturers website regularly and update as and when updates become available, chances are you'll be _safer_ than houses that way.

Seriously, you really don't know what you are talking about here.

IE is the same as Firefox et. al. Junk! Forums are the worst places to learn or get advice. The first few posts here have the earmarks of a prank which is: bad grammar. CNET promotes this tripe as if it were the last word. "Cecil in Shortbus Alaska wins with his email explaining why you should take this weeks poll about why you should never respond emails with polls... CNET must bow and scrape to all things high tech due to the fact it is their bread and butter. Read any tech review site and you will be loathe to find a bad review. Why is that you suppose? Read Amazon.com or other site that feature user critiques and it should become obvious that anyone with a keyboard can post anything! Just as I am doing now!
If you want to learn then my advice is to do everything you read in these forums. Then you will have to fix all the damage on your own. That is learning!
Clue number 2 is the fact that every site on the 'Net it seems someone is selling fix-it, block-it, anti-virus, firewall, reg cleaner, window wiper, fdisk, never give out your email address, try this marvelous browser software complete with ''help'' instructions written by an obvious mental midget free to try download shareware. Then after you download their crap the only help you can get is in a forum written by ''customers''. All this is assuming you can even get on the Internet because you have been frightened into buying so much software protection your PC is useless unless you enjoy pop-up ads. Hit CTRL ALT DEL and see all the junk that is running on your PC! Then wonder no more why your PC is slow. If you want to slow it down even more you can download a ''speed up your slow PC'' program complete with "toolbar"!
Where else but on the Internet can someone attempt to steal my credit card but it is not really ''stealing'', they call it ''phishing''? Sometimes it is ''spoofing''. This is dumb, people!
The first person to disagree with my post will be the very type of person whom I have warned you to beware.
What twit would rave about Firefox or any other browser anyway? I have even heard people rave about AOL, how revolting yet sad!
Now, I would like to sell a set of new tires. They come with the necessary ''patches''! I believe they are brad XP...
(At this point I am supposed to list each component of my fabulous super PC like on a real forum ...blah blah blah I'm so clever)