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I have problems with Firefox. What’s a good alternative?

Question:

Right now, I’ve got Firefox version 3.0.19 on my computer and I’ve got to
upgrade because I can’t do a lot on the computer for stuff like Facebook or
sometimes emails and so forth. Now my question is what can I get? I cannot
upgrade to the newest as it makes my computer freeze and the internet will
close on me. So what can I get that’s close to and isn’t an upgrade so it works
on my computer? And I do NOT want to have private browsing options on my
computer either!

In this excerpt from
Answercast #73
, I look at problems with a Firefox browser install and some
options for fixing it or moving to a different browser.

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Firefox browser problems

So I’m not really sure what your concern is about private browsing options.
That is an option that comes with the browser. All of the major browsers
actually have it right now. My suggestion is that you simply ignore it… don’t
use it if you don’t want to use it. It doesn’t really harm anything to have
that feature around and not use it.

Choosing a browser

So, the big three browsers (I currently believe) are all fairly equivalent
and fairly safe and secure.

Those three are Firefox, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (which you may
already have on your machine), and Google’s Chrome.

I happen to use Google Chrome as my primary browser – but to be honest, all
three of Firefox, Chrome, and IE are pretty much on a par. They all have their
pros and their cons. They all have their supporters and their detractors. But,
by and large, I take it to be more of a personal choice/personal taste kind
of a decision as to which one you want to use.

So in your case, I’d probably give IE a try first since it’s probably
already on your machine. If that doesn’t do it for you, then I would download
and install Google Chrome.

Updating Firefox

Now, let’s talk about Firefox for a minute because I’m concerned that you
can’t update it. I think that is something worth exploring and worth trying to
fix.

What I would recommend you do is to actually uninstall Firefox
completely – first. In other words, don’t try and upgrade it.

Get rid of it completely. In fact, go so far as to grab Revo Uninstaller and use it to
do a complete and thorough uninstall of Firefox. Then go to the Firefox website
and get the latest copy. Download and install it.

I would be shocked if, at that point, it just didn’t work. In which case,
you may not have to change browsers at all.

So, those are my three recommendations: see if you can’t fix Firefox,
consider using Internet Explorer, or consider downloading Google
Chrome.

(Transcript lightly edited for readability.)

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9 comments on “I have problems with Firefox. What’s a good alternative?”

  1. A good alternative to firefox would be Google Chrome. I have both the browsers, but notice that firefox hangs up often. Chrome on the other hand loads pretty quickly. Opera is also good if your internet connection is not fast enough.

    You can also download the older versions of firefox from http://www.filehippo.com if you don’t want to upgrade to the latest version.

    Reply
  2. I’ve used Firefox since it was called Firebird, with very few problems. But I now prefer Opera – it seems to be quicker. I too use Speed Dial a lot, and in contrast to Gil, I’m somewhat mouse averse and find it very keyboard friendly.
    And when I tried Chrome, it didn’t seem to offer anything.

    Reply
  3. Opera here too. Fast, safe and reliable. I would definitely recommend it over any version of IE. (the only time in years now that I have disagreed with Mr.Notenboom) I understand that IE is vastly improved but……. ahem. Onward, I totally agree that if you like F.F. and just want to fix it, then a reinstall will most likely help. Revo is always a recommendation.

    Reply
  4. I have the same problem on one of my computers: I’m running Firefox 3.6.28 and can’t update. But I know what my problem is: I’m running an old version of Mac OS–10.4–and later versions of Firefox won’t run. Could something similar be happening with this questioner?

    Reply

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