Internet Browser Wars

Anyone who has Internet access uses an Internet browser, and chances are good that the browser they’re using is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, as that is the most popular browser on the planet. However, Internet Explorer is not the only Internet browser, and it won’t be the last. Though the history of Internet browsers is fairly short, it is an ever-changing one.

Netscape Navigator

Netscape was the first well-known browser, and one that all browsers after it had to beat. Netscape was an Internet browser that launched in the early-to-mid 1990s, when it was finally bought out by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, of which there are now (almost) seven versions.

Internet Explorer

The main reason that Internet Explorer was able to beat Netscape Navigator was because it had, quite simply, built a better browser. It even had a program called ActiveX, which was intended to make it easy for users to add the most recent interactive multimedia and other features to sites. Everything was going along just fine – until hackers realized that the ActiveX program could be manipulated and misused to secretly put spyware on PCs. Internet Explorer’s ActiveX program had unintentionally opened a Pandora’s box of security issues, and it also opened the door for competing Internet browsers to try their hand at toppling the Internet Browser Giant.

Mozilla’s Firefox

Though not the first Internet browser to come along since Microsoft, Mozilla’s Firefox has definitely been the most successful. Firefox has a fast growing fan base thanks to an assortment of security features and other useful add-ons that Internet Explorer apparently never thought of. These include:

Pop-up blocker and Spyware Blocker:

Firefox includes a very useful pop-up blocker tool that works well. The browser also does not allow content to be downloaded onto computers without the user’s permission.

Tabs:

A terrific tabbed-browser setup allows users to open multiple Web pages all on the same Web browser page. One needs to simply “tab” through each page instead of opening and closing browser windows.

Extensions:

Firefox offers a host of useful add-on features that can be included in the browser such as one extension that automatically fills out online forms with the user’s personal information like names and addresses.  In the summer of 2005, Internet Explorer 7 is supposed to debut in Beta form, and it is rumored to have greatly improved security features. Will this be the end of Firefox? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure –as long as people need Internet access, the browser wars will continue.

Compare These 3 Main Browsers

Related Articles:

• Firefox vs. IE – The Newest Battle of the Browser Wars
• New Safari Browser
• Internet Explorer 7