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Read CNET senior editor Rob Vamosi's extended review of Firefox 3.
No longer a fledgling upstart, Firefox 3 is full-featured, lightning fast, and an able Internet Explorer foe. Previous versions have seen Mozilla's approach to features such as tabbed browsing and extensions become extremely popular. Even though Firefox 3 lacks a killer feature, it offers significant improvements not to be missed.
Version 3 introduces a multitude of safety and usability features. The location bar drop-down menu now includes URLs from both your browsing history and your bookmarks. A new Add-Ons manager includes a built-in plug-in search engine, saving you the previous trip to the Mozilla Web site. Single-click the star icon on the right of the location bar to bookmark the current page, or double-click on it to simultaneously add and edit the bookmark entry. You can tag bookmarks, too. Other impressive new features include password confirmation before adding it to the saved passwords list, the ability to pause and resume downloads, and merged forward and backward history lists.
Firefox 3 now runs faster and, according to Mozilla, is less susceptible to hacks and other vulnerabilities. The browser now warns your system's antivirus program when you download a file, and anti-malware and anti-phishing utilities now throw up a warning page before allowing Firefox to load risky sites. The favicon reveals Web sites' ownership details and displays the security level of your connection to that site.
Developers will appreciate that Firefox 3's new graphics and text rendering code provide rendering improvements in CSS and SVG as well as improved display of fonts and complex scripts. Firefox 3--still open-source, as ever--is a browser that all users should consider making their default Web-surfing tool.
Mozilla Firefox - Surf the web and customize your browser - Download Video Previews:Publisher's Description
From Mozilla:
Mozilla Firefox is a fast, full-featured Web browser. Firefox includes pop-up blocking; tab-browsing; integrated Google search; simplified privacy controls; 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 3 includes a bevy of new features and changes, including a redesigned address-bar pull-down menu that includes bookmarks and history, a new add-on manager, the ability to pause and resume downloads, malware protection, a better password manager, and OS-specific themes.
What's new in this version: Version 3.0 includes a bevy of new features and changes, including a redesigned address-bar pull-down menu that includes bookmarks and history, a new add-on manager, the ability to pause and resume downloads, malware protection, a better password manager, and OS-specific themes.
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All versions:
4.3 starsout of 15,263 votes
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Current version:
3.9 starsout of 411 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Crashing all the time"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
nothing since i cant start it
Cons
it's crashing every time i try to start it and no word from creators at all. I get the feeling that they dont care at all
Summary
getting new PC soon so i'll try to download it there and if it's not working then bye bye firefox hello Chrome or explorer
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"new to it all!"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
I have found it alot more faster than Explorer
Cons
non yet but i hope it dont crash like the others said.I just started the PC thing &i would be disapointed and pissed off if my new PC got hurt because of someones mistakes...
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"good for web search"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
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"its the best"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
its the best
Cons
but ima stick with ff2 instead
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"The Best Browser Ever!Duh.."
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
The Best As We All Know It ..Just Use ..It Beats IE7,Avast,Opera,Safari And All Of em ...The Best Options are "add-ons & Plugins"....Oh Yeaaa My Firefox Looks Like Something You Never Used !!!
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"a good browser"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
quick and easy
Cons
NO "Back" button, but slowly getting used to shift & roll
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"Firefox"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Cons
having problems with crashing on vista and xp. wish i could get firefox 2 back!
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"Better than IE...most of the time. Still not the best"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
More secure than IE
Finally beginning to catch up on important featuresCons
Horrible compatability errors plague the add-on system
Still doesn't have all the features found in other browsersSummary
Well, to put it simply, Firefox is my last resort. It lacks the sheer power of Opera and the compatability and simplicity of IE. It falls somewhere in the middle, failing to accomplish either for me. I find it hilarious that Firefox is just beginning to pick up on some of the basic feature set of Opera; I spent a good 10 minutes finding add-ons that do things that Opera has out of the box, metaphorically speaking. So, in all honesty, I have little use for this program. However, there are uses for this: Firefox is best suited to those who don't care about good features and who only want to get away from IE, be it for security reasons or to be "cool" and use an alternative browser. At the moment, Firefox has a critical security hole in need of patching for at least a week. IE has 10 holes, though smaller. Opera, of course, has none.
So, in short, this program lacks any sort of specialization that gives it much practical use, when other browsers can easily outclass it. Use it if you are too afraid of a powerful browser, but not afraid enough to not move from IE. -
"Test by CNET staff"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
Test by CNET staff
Cons
Test by CNET staff
Summary
Test by CNET staff
Test reply by CNET staff
Updated on Jul 14, 2008 -
"Not user friendly to "regular" people"
Version: Mozilla Firefox 3
Pros
It's speed in searching the net.
Cons
I had to close it to open IE6 and read my email. Very annoying and some friends say I've been sending double emails. I hate it!
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