Move Over, Microsoft — There’s a New Browser About

Brother Mark here at the monastery has been having trouble with the computer he has been using. Every once and a while his web browser, Internet Explorer, gets “hijacked.”

When he tries to go to a site bookmarked under his Favorites list, he gets redirected to a site selling something. Often, the something is pornography. And the illicit solicitation disables the “Back” button on the browser.

When Brother Mark described the problem to me, I first suspected that this hijacking was coming from Spyware or Adware that had been installed, unbeknownst to him, on his computer — most likely via unwanted e-mail.

But, after running Ad-aware (available free from adaware.com), which is supposed to detect such pesky programs, we found that his computer was clean.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t on the computer; it just might be well concealed. Other anti-spyware programs might find it. For example, Microsoft now offers its free Windows AntiSpyware program at microsoft.com. (It’s available automatically through the Automatic Windows Updater on your computer.)

Still, I wanted to try a different approach: Why not use a different Internet browser? Perhaps it would be more tamper proof than Explorer.

So I downloaded the Mozilla Foundation’s new free browser, Firefox, from mozilla.org. I wasn’t alone. Since its release in Fall of 2004, more than 25 million people have downloaded Firefox.

Now, if you’re like me when it comes to Favorites, you have a lot of bookmarks stored in Explorer, not to mention other customized settings. You’re in luck if that’s the only concern keeping you from trying a switch to Firefox: It has an import wizard that will import your Explorer favorites, not to mention options, cookies and stored passwords. You can make the transfer while installing Firefox or later, by simply going to the File menu and selecting “import.”

Further, don’t expect a long learning curve before you can use Firefox with ease. The standard setup gives you the basic browsing buttons so that, with one click, you can back up a page, go forward, refresh, stop a page from loading or go to your homepage. And most of the other familiar buttons, such as the print command, can be dragged onto this button bar by going to View>Customize. And the menu items at the top are similar to Explorer’s.

Cookies Crumble

Another feature I believe users will appreciate is the availability of tabbed web pages. Let’s say you want to go back and forth between multiple sites. With Explorer, you had to open each one in a separate browser window. With Firefox, pages are loaded in “tabs” within the same browser window, making it a snap to switch back and forth among multiple web pages.

Under Firefox’s Options command, located under its Tools menu, you will find other useful features. Select Web Features and you will find a Block Popup Windows option. Check it off — you’ll be amazed at how effective Firefox is at keeping those annoying popups from interrupting your web sessions.

Under Options, if you select Privacy, you will find a command button for cookies. Here you can block all cookies, allow them but make exceptions, specify how long they will reside on your computer and restrict them to the originating website only. This last feature is useful because banner advertising can leave cookies on your computer, even if you don’t click on it. By checking this last option for cookies, only the website you are looking at can put a cookie on your computer.

If for some reason you can’t load something on a web page, Firefox will alert you to this and direct you where to get that plug-in. Firefox is still a target for hackers, also. So you still have to pay attention to it when it tells you an update is needed, which by default is set to automatic checking.

Even so, Steven Vaughan-Nichols, an editor of eWEEK.com and former employee of NASA and the Department of Defense, tells us: “Firefox is a lot more secure than Internet Explorer.”

Now, not everyone is crazy about Firefox. Todd Haugen comments to Maximum PC magazine, “I’m getting pretty sick and tired of all the Firefox this, Firefox that. Opera has been around for years and has improved greatly over the past few releases.”

Is this man crazy? What does opera have to do with browsers?

A lot. Another competitor to Explorer is the Opera browser, available for free at opera.com. You may want to give this browser a test drive also.

You should also know that Microsoft has taken notice of the dent Mozilla Firefox is making in its share of the browser market. (And Netscape is still a player, too.) Rather than wait for the next version of the Windows platform to release a new version of Explorer (Version 7), Bill Gates’ behemoth will release the new and improved Explorer this year — but only to Windows XP SP2 users.

As for me, I’m stuck on Mozilla Firefox. For now, anyway.

Brother John Raymond, co-founder of the Monks of Adoration, writes from Venice, Florida.

MONTHLY WEB PICKS

Since we’ll be in the Easter season until Pentecost on May 15, let’s look at some sites that will help you make the most of the Resurrection remembrance.

You will want to look at the Vatican site at vatican.va under the Focus section for Easter 2005 links.

Trinity Communications has an “Easter Workshop” page at catholicculture.org/lit/overviews/seasons/easter.cfm; it has information about Easter, along with devotions and hymns.

The Franciscans, along with St. Anthony Messenger Press, have a website called “From Easter to Pentecost” at americancatholic.org/Features/Easter that gives seasonal readings plus audio and video reflections. It’s updated daily for the 50 days of the Easter season.

You can read up on Thomas Aquinas’ theology of Christ’s Resurrection at newadvent.org/summa/405300.htm. This has some interesting considerations for in-depth reflection. And, while you are at it, look into “The Ascension of Christ” at newadvent.org/summa/405700.htm for further consideration.

In order to prepare for Pentecost, you might want to look into the “Prayers for Pentecost” put together by Liturgical Publications of St. Louis at catholic-forum.com/saints/index020.htm. Here you’ll find liturgical prayers, personal prayers, litanies and novenas.