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Best web browsers for Windows XP, Vista and 7
A lof of friends asked me about the best web browsers for Windows. I remember that one of them asked me directly: "What is your favourite web browser ?" and I said : "I like Internet Explorer when it's working fine and it's not crashing and I also like Mozilla Firefox because it has a lot of add-ons that can be added but to be honest with you, I use Internet Explorer just because I am too lazy to install other web browsers". His answer was something like that : "Dude, everyone one knows that Mozilla Firefox is the best web browser for Windows !". Perhaps but we still need to analyze this when someone needs an answer and I will try to expose here all the good and bad things that comes with a web browser. I will try to avoid the history but I think that it's necessary to list here the most important aspects.
A simple definition for a web browser would be : "A web browser is a program installed on your computer that will help you to view in a resizable window the content from a page located on a server"
As I said, it's a simple definition and it could be improved but I was thinking at something that would be easy for everyone to understand.
What web browser should I use: If you will ask me, right now when I am writing this article I really think that there are 5 major web browsers that you can choose from. I am not going to say that : "This one is the best, it's better than the other one !". I am sure that each browser will work for everyone but there is only one that will suit your daily needs. Let's start to talk a little about them and see if we can identify the good and the bad.
Internet Explorer : This is the browser that I used for the first time in my life on a Microsoft Windows 95. At that time I couldn't use the browser since I didn't had an Internet Connection. A couple of years later I used Internet Explorer on a Windows 98 and for the first time I was able to browse on the Internet. I am not going to say that it worked excellent. Sometimes I experienced a lot of crashes and sometimes it worked perfectly. I really believe that was a different scenario for each computer and each website that I was visiting. I also continued to use it on Windows Me, 2000, XP, Vista and even on 7 and I remember that I was curious to see which version of Internet Explore I was using starting with version 5.0. Perhaps I use older versions but starting with this version I was checking all of them until the current version 8.0. And I am sure that version 9.0 and others will be released in the future.
The best part of Internet Explorer : If I was using a fresh Windows installation, Internet Explorer was there, already installed on my computer and ready to browse the Internet. It was already pre-configured and everyone was able to use it. It was simple, intuitive and in my opinion it was improved with each new version.
The worst part of Internet Explorer : Security was never a top priority or at least this is my personal opinion. I mean I remember that a friend of mine asked me to visit a link and then hundreds of windows appeared and my computer crashed. This was a joke but I noticed hundreds of security problems, I mean real problems.
Mozilla Firefox : It was a revelation for most of us. At the time that I used for the first time Mozilla Firefox I remember that everyone said that this is far away better than Internet Explorer. Everyone was using this web browser and one thing was true. The developers were trying to create each version with a better security. I used this browser and I also use it today because it allows me to configure everything. For example if I want a feature to be added all you need to do is to browse through thousands of add-ons. Some of them improves the security, other ones are for webmasters and a lot of them are for other daily activities. However I was always thinking that I should choose between this web browser and Internet Explorer. So I am going to say the truth here : "everyone had Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox on their desktop". I was never convinced that this is the best web browser for my computer but I always need it and I am going to explain better on my final conclusions.
The best part of Mozilla Firefox : It aimed to be better than Internet Explorer or should I say "more secure" and it was the first web browser that started to break the monopol of Internet Explorer. The general impression seems to be a good one when compared with Internet Explorer. The best part: it has thousands of add-ons that allows you to customize the entire browser and I think this is his best weapon.
The worst part of Mozilla Firefox : Almost everyone said that it's so fast, it's faster than any browser and it's so secure. Well, believe it or not I had versions on my computer that was loading harder than other browsers. And my browser was still hijacked by a new, smarter form of malware so security issues will always exist.
Opera : As you might expect, I can't talk to much about Opera like on Internet Explorer or Firefox and I would lie if I will say that I had the same level of experience. I tried Opera and I still use it to test the way that a website is being displayed. But I can say that it was released in 1994, worked on Windows, Linux or Mac as a trial. In 2000 it was a free browser with included advertisement until 2005. Even so, the developers are saying that it was faster than Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. What can I say, all versions released after 2005 were excellent. This browser does the same thing like any other one but it comes with included RSS reader, Bittorrent and email client. I should say that this was the first browser coming with those features or at least the first one that worked great.
The best part of Opera : It does have some cool features and it works great, it's fast, free and it's pretty secure. I think that this browser is at least at the same level of security with Mozilla Firefox.
The worst part of Opera : In the past was trialware and after this it camed with advertisement and this, probably affected the image of this browser. Also it is a browser with cool features that has a potential to attract advanced users and not those who are using the Internet for the first time and this could keep it on a lower level of popularity.
Google Chrome : I intentionally left this browser as the latest one. If we look we will notice that this is the newest browser in this list and it would be normal this way. Like everyone else, when Google, the great search engine decided to launch this browser I was curious about it. I realized that this browser had a better optimization for everything owned by Google such as YouTube. It isn't a bad thing but it will take a lot of time for this browser to compete directly with Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. It has the same features, it works great and I like it because it's small and more simple than others. I hope they intend to keep it this way and I will probably switch to Google Chrome soon.
The best part of Google Chrome : Since it's made by Google it will have a better security, it will offer a better experience when browsing the web and it will always have better optimization for all Google services.
The worst part of Google Chrome : It is a new browser that will take time to gain respect and popularity. Unfortunately like any other browsers it has some security issues.
Conclusion : Browsers have good things and bad parts but one thing unites them all. There is no such thing such as the "100 % secure web browser" and that's it, period. If this is not enough and you're thinking: "Really, what is the best web browsers for Windows XP/Vista/7 ?" then you should know that there is no such thing. Do you know what is the best antivirus or the best car ? Even if you're thinking that you're using the best web browser right now and even if that it's true, tommorow it could fall on the second place just because security is something relative. A simple browser, regardless of his name is not enough, you will need an antivirus, firewall or any other anti-malware tools that can help your browser if we talk about browsers security. According to a lot of trusted sources, right now, Internet Explorer is the most popular browser followed by Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Opera and this says a lot. If you need to visit a website then any web browser will do this job if your computer meets their system requirements. If you're thinking at the best web browsers for Windows XP, Vista and 7 then all of these browsers will work just fine. If you only need to browse the web, I guess Internet Explorer is enough. If you need to customize your browser with a lof of add-ons, Mozilla Firefox is the answer. If you want a browser with an included RSS reader and BitTorrent and email client, choose Opera. If you want to think that you're on a Mac and you think that Apple's software products are better than others then go with Safari. Finally, if you trust Google and you think that this is the coolest brand or trademark and they will always keep their standards than Google Chrome is the browser for you. If you're a webmaster or a website designer, then trust me, you will need all of them.