By Dave Moore, CISSP
07/31/2022
The “web browser:” the most misunderstood piece of software we use every day. Do you even know what a web browser is? It’s important that you do.
Browsers are programs that let you look at websites. You “browse” through websites, just like you would browse through different magazines at a magazine stand. That’s all a browser is; it is not the Internet, it is not your email, it is just a program on your computer that lets you look at websites on the Internet. Keep that in mind as you use your browser and we talk about these things.
There are numerous different browsers from different companies, with the top browsers being Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Apple Safari and Google Chrome.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, launched in 1995, dominated the Internet browser scene for many years, but is now obsolete, being replaced by Microsoft Edge. If you are still using Internet Explorer, it’s time to stop. Also called “Internet Exploder” by those who tired of its many flaws, Microsoft actually issued a press release in 2019 telling people to stop using Internet Explorer because it was no longer considered safe to use on the Internet as a browser.
You should heed that advice. Please, move on. Don’t be like Hiroo Onada, the Japanese soldier who, because he didn’t know the war had ended, hid in the jungles of the Philippines for 29 years, still fighting World War Two. Surrender now, ditch Internet Explorer and move on to something better.
Mozilla Firefox was released in 2004. There are versions of Firefox that work with pretty much any Internet browsing device you want to use. I use the Firefox browser on my iPhone.
Microsoft Edge is not a bad choice in browsers, because, like Firefox, you can configure it to provide good safety and privacy. It takes more effort than Firefox, but it’s doable.
I used to recommend the Opera browser, before it was sold to the Golden Brick Capital Private Equity Fund, based in China. With Chinese companies being controlled by the Communist Chinese government, I no longer consider Opera to be a trustworthy product. With better browsers available, it’s simply not worth the risk.
Apple’s Safari browser has been around since 2003. Versions of Safari come preinstalled by default on Apple products. It’s OK, but with better options available, why bother?
Google Chrome, a browser made by Google, was released in 2008, and has become widely used, in spite of its glaring safety and privacy issues. I find it odd and disturbing that the two least desirable browsers out there, Chrome and Safari, are the two most widely used. I can only attribute their success to slick, big-money marketing, because they sure didn’t acquire their market share by being the best products to use.
The browser I recommend most people use is Mozilla Firefox, made by a group called Mozilla. Mozilla is the maker, Firefox is the product. The reason why I recommend Firefox is because Firefox is easier to configure for Internet safety, and to have it erase your tracks when you are through with your browsing session. Other browsers, like Google Chrome, won’t do what Firefox does.
Remember that none of these browsers are perfect; they have all been hacked at some point, which means they all need updating. Browsers are just programs written by humans. They have complicated programming code, with the usual mistakes and errors that plague most all modern programs. As new flaws are discovered, they will need to be fixed by updating the browser.
I wrote a column in 2019 ranting about Google Chrome, and I was actually surprised that the Norman Transcript printed the headline I picked out: “Google Chrome makes people stupid.” Here’s hoping you’ll play it smart, and use the best browser you can.
Next week: special “security” browsers and add-ons.
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd, he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or internetsafetygroup.org