CNET Editors' review
Read CNET senior editor Rob Vamosi's extended review of Firefox 2, or watch a video tour of the new features.
Even though Internet Explorer dominates the Web browser market, you might wonder why if you spend some time with Mozilla Firefox. This light and nimble Web wonder brought tabbed browsing into the mainstream (IE7 recently jumped on the bandwagon) and offers countless ways to customize it through extensions and themes. Drag-and-drop tabs with individual close buttons help keep your content organized the way you like, and you can further streamline your browsing through the use of extensive hot keys. You'll find all of the regular options and features required for surfing the Web in the default setup, but the groundbreaking features come with the thousands of third-party extensions. Likewise, if you don't like the look of the default interface, there are hundreds of slick themes to use, though many weren't updated for version 2 at its release.
Firefox is the perfect browser for those involved with Web design and coding. A JavaScript debugger comes standard, and Firefox displays the page-source code in a new window, using indents and color-coded tags similar to an HTML editor. The built-in pop-up blocker works great for most sites, and new antiphishing protections and enhanced security for extensions are in the version 2 release. Anyone looking for a full-featured browser with seemingly endless ways to customize should download this powerhouse.
Watch the CNET video review of Mozilla Firefox:Publisher's Description
From Mozilla:
Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser that makes browsing more efficient than ever before. Firefox includes pop-up blocking; a tab-browsing; integrated Google searching; simplified privacy controls that let you cover your tracks more effectively; a streamlined browser window that shows you more of the page than any other browser; and a number of additional features that work with you to help you get the most out of your time online.
Version 2.0.0.11 corrects a compatibility issue with some websites and extensions discovered in Firefox 2.0.0.10.
What's new in this version: Version 2.0.0.11 corrects a compatibility issue with some websites and extensions discovered in Firefox 2.0.0.10.
More Popular Web Browsers downloads
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All versions:
4.3 starsout of 14,918 votes
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Current version:
4.3 starsout of 117 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Very nice browser"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
fast browsing
Cons
higher version does not allowed plugins that i have on the lower version
Summary
Veru easy interface
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"Firefox 2.0.0.11 Something's gone wrong?"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
Firefox has been my 1st choice browser since I discovered it about 2.5 years ago. The multitude of extensions & themes mean it can be customised to almost any degree and, apart from MS update, haven't needed to consider using anything else.
Cons
A recent update has corrupted it to the extent that it will only work in safe mode ie without any extensions. I don't possess the technical knowledge to give an analysis of why this is, but the Firefox support forums show many users suffering the same, or similar problems. I'm hoping to work through the solutions offered until the problem is solved as, having tried Opera & Netscape & been disappointed with MS attempts to play catch up, I can once again give Firefox a 5 star rating.
Hope I don't have to wait until the release of Firefox 3 before this happens.
Please Mozilla, sort his out.
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"the best browser"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
this a the best web browser
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"puts all other browserss to shame!"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
mozilla firefox puts the new ie7 and other browers to shame,im amazed at how much faster my cable connection runs and how pages load so much faster,mozillaalso has tons of really cool add-ons,good security,there is just so much to like about this browser and so many options to customize it for advanced users yet simple enough for novice users to use also.
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"Fast effective Browser."
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
A good alternative to IE7. I prefer Firefox.
Cons
It cannot be conneted to the Advanced Toolbar ( My Favourite ) so I have to use IE7 instead.
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"So far seems ok..."
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
Haven't had chance to use it that much but the add-ons are fun so far!
Cons
I have not used it much yet because I cannot get My Yahoo homepage to load right. No color, will not let me personalize the page. I have undone the Windows firewall since we hav eone on the router. Still no luck.
When I try to 'let Firefox in' the firewall there is nowhere that has a place to choose that! Help!
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"Was good when I was using dial-up"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
It worked great when I had dial-up,had no complaints.
Cons
Since I changed over to high speed.,It seem to have lost its punch.It even bogged down a couple of times.I went back to IE-7.No problems since.
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"The best browser on offer for Windows users"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
Add-ons, without add ons I find this browser decent but not amazing (but still better than Opera, IE6+7 and Safari, which I also use). With add-ons Firefox is the best browser by a factor of about 1.57 million! Though IE7 with IE7 Pro is starting to catch up.
Apart from add ons, I like the simple interface, the extra field for search engines (I have made a number plug ins of personal sites for this search box to enable easier searching - a big plus for me). I also think the pages look nicer than in IE when viewed in Firefox... though Safari looks nicer than them both (too bad about the rest of Safari ;) ).
It's easy enough for beginners to use and installation is relatively easy. Also like 'Safe Mode' because I often try out Add ons that end up breaking my browser, so Safe Mode enables me to get rid of the offending plugins quite easily.
Cons
Few problems but they don't come close to outweighing the pros:
-Memory hog, especially when using add ons
-Uninstall still leaves a lot of traces of it around
-Still many webpages that are not fully compatible with Firefox
-What comes out of my printer frequently doesn't look much like what is on the screen
-For computer novices, IE7 tweaked with IE7 Pro does a lot of the extra stuff that Firefox has been doing for years so less of an incentive to swap
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"Fast"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
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"good. but ..."
Version: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11
Pros
It is of course everything everybody says it is so there is no need to get into that.
Cons
Undoubtedly the slowest browser in starting. But, and that is more serious, it has become a very unstable programme and crashes very often. So much so that I am considering switching back to Opera (although that has its disadvantages to). It makes me suspect that FF is a victim of its own succes. Too much time spent on inventing new gadgets and forgetting the stability?
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