Tested: Five Web browsers you've never heard of

I agree that firefox gets patched faster. maybe they should do some more testing before release?
I use firefox for somethings and i do like it.

 

EVERY browser developer should do more testing before they release, but, staying on top is the name of the game, which means getting the product out quickly in as usable a form as possible. They all release first and fix things later, Microsoft, Google, Opera, Firefox, all guilty. It's just the nature of the business.

 

I'm not sure if you're aware of the following?

For adblocking you can use a list, I usually use this one http://www.fanboy.co.nz/adblock/opera/ Just replace the urlfilter.ini

And for javascript just disable javascript for all websites and for the individual sites you want to allow just right-click while on the site and click Edit Site Preferences... then click the scripting tab and check Enable javascript
Javascript will only be allowed for the site(s) you just allowed.

 

Go read up on Mozilla's own security vulnerabilities page. The majority of bugs are discovered by outside researchers, not Mozilla fixing it in-house themselves. It's just that IE bugs get a lot more attention, because it cements and vindicates everyone's false impression that IE = insecure.

 

Okay, thanks for setting me straight on that. However, as far as the javascript is concerned, that's a few extra clicks I don't want to make Plus, I worry about the cross-site stuff and everything else Noscript protects from. How is Opera regarding those kinds of exploits?

The Fanboy list, I had heard of that and should have at least mentioned it in my criticism of Opera, however, am I correct in saying this list does not auto-update? I know it sounds lazy, but it is kind of a pain to manually update these kinds of lists.

 

Yeah, I understand these vulnerabilities are almost always found by outside parties, but it still seems to stand that Firefox vulnerability numbers are much less than that of IE, and they for sure patch faster than Microsoft does. As far as IE being this highly dangerous, poorly done browser, I no longer follow that crowd. IE is perfectly safe if you spend a few minutes configuring the Restricted Sites section and don't download every Active X control that pops up asking you to.

 

Yes it is a few extra clicks, not too bad if you just set up certain sites and rarely need to add more though it could get annoying if you often add sites.
I'm not sure about the XSS, Noscript most likely does offer better security, but I only allow javascript on certain sites as well as disable Iframes on all sites so I believe the risk is low.

And no the list doesn't auto update I don't like that either, so I usually just leave it and only update it rarely when I feel like it, not as nice as Adblock Plus of course but as long as it blocks the bulk of the ads I'm happy.

Also I noticed disabling iframes blocks some ads as well.

 

Actually, Firefox 3.5 has had more vulnerabilities in one month than IE8 has had since its release.

 

Firefox and IE are not part of the article. There's no point in jumping in every single thread about browsers and rehash every bit all over again.. and OS's..

 

Wow, talk about sensitive...

 

That hurts.. no really, i'm just tired of that.

 

He's got a point to an extent, they really weren't That being said Pedro, it still stands that the article is not really worth bothering with if security is not a part of the tests. That was my original point, I just managed to add a little extra in there. Eice, you've got a point about the new Firefox, turns out I seem to be wrong. I do hope this trend doesn't continue, but one never knows once something becomes extremely popular. Maybe they are being a little less careful now that many more have started using Firefox and now Mozilla feels the pressure.

 

And a sixth browser you never heard of:
http://qtweb.net/qtweb.php

Oh, and a seventh:
http://offbyone.com/offbyone/

And I'm with Pedro on that other thing.

 

dw426, it's not an in-depth review that's for sure, but it introduced me another candidate for browser 'when on batteries', Arora. Features = 0 but boy is it fast
I don't mind bringing other browsers into discussion for comparison, in fact it's desirable, just as long as we avoid changing the subject. Just my take on it.

dallas7, QtWeb is pretty nice indeed. I have the portable version, so it's that easy to try it.

 

That "trend", as you call it, has been happening since 2006, actually.

 

Off-By-One browser. Heard of it. The date on the webpage is 2006.
Now Qtweb looks interesting. Webkit rendering engine. Never heard of this one.

 

Completely understood Pedro, and I am usually against the off-topic hijacks myself Eice, I must be missing a lot. It sure seems like I've had to patch all my Firefox releases a LOT less than my IE. You know though (and this is my last off-topic comment, I promise), it sure seems to have gotten "heavier", and I STILL think it has memory issues.

 

That's what I run. Portables rock; Chrome, Opera, etc. etc. etc.
BTW, Arora is based on QTWeb, and quite poorly.

 

If you're keeping score, it's going to be pretty close, at least if you compare Secunia advisories/vulnerabilities. However, in so doing, I couldn't help but note that, with respect to Firefox 3.0 and 3.5, *none* remain unpatched at the present time. I don't believe the same can be said for IE7 or IE8.

 

Qtweb browser is interesting!
It's quick and seems stable.
Might just keep this one.

 

At the rate they keep popping up, it doesn't really matter. There's at least 5 critical exploits in the latest version of Firefox right now, if Mozilla's track record is anything to go by.

 

I took a plunge and installed this Arora after your praises here. It is fast alright, but I have never in my life seen a browser using 20-30% of processor cycles. And I do have a very powerful system, trust me.
I had to ditch it, speed isn't everything.

 

I just installed it here also in Win 7. It honestly doesn't seem that fast at all, nowhere near Chrome for example. And it crashed a half dozen times doing just simple things like dragging links in the bar into a folder on the bar, and so on. I removed it in 10 minutes... Needs a lot more work I think.

 

Here's yet another one if anyone is interested:

http://www.lunascape.tv/

 

psst