e vs Browser War

Using Firefox 1.5's Live Bookmarks, users can bookmark a feed and then preview all its headlines at once. A headline goes to that story on the relevant site - a link that opens the feed itself shows Web-code gibberish. Firefox 2 makes the raw feed understandable, and offers a range of new subscription options. It is also possible to add a feed to a personal Bloglines, Google Reader, or My Yahoo page, or to a stand-alone RSS reader, though it may not work with all readers.

Safer browsing

Both browsers add antiphishing features meant to protect against malicious fake sites that attempt to trick users into divulging their log-ins or financial information. Firefox's default protection stops at comparing sites against a known blacklist of phishing sites, while IE 7 includes site analysis that will try to warn users about a suspicious site even if it's not yet on a blacklist, an approach similar to that implemented in the latest security suites. According to the MS, IE 7 will scan a page for phishing hallmarks in the URL or page content. The addresses of suspicious sites will get sent to Microsoft, where they're compared against a blacklist. If a site is on the list, IE will block the page. If it's a known good site, the page will be shown. If the site is unrecognised, users will get a warning. Microsoft says it protects user privacy and the URL queries it receives, but it does save the data.

Testing page content (as opposed to relying solely on a blacklist) is a good idea since phishing sites typically have very short life spans, or they shift Web addresses quickly as the crooks behind them race to nail a few victims before being blacklisted. By default, Firefox compares sites against a locally stored blacklist - meaning users won't have to send out lists of the URLs you visit - and displays a warning if it sees a match. However, users can instead choose to send the URLs you visit to Google, which will compare them against a more frequently updated list. Google doesn't associate the information it logs with other personal data, but the URL or other page information sent may itself include personal data that will be logged.

IE 7's new security features go beyond an antiphishing tool. For example, its "Delete Browsing History" option clears temporary files, cookies, history, form data, and passwords, either all at once or separately, something that's already available with Firefox 1.5. There's also a new "Fix Settings for Me" feature that warns users if security settings are reset to something Microsoft deems unsafe. Microsoft has also improved ActiveX handling, tightened the program's code, and changed the underlying architecture to reduce potential areas of attack for hackers. Overall, the new IE has many more security fixes than the revised Firefox. But such fixes were necessary to address IE 6's many holes, including some recent ones that allow driveby downloads that can fill a PC with malware if users visit a poisoned site.

Moreover, while Firefox has its share of security flaws, Mozilla has proven much faster at patching them.

Bountiful add-ons

Firefox users have long been able to select from a vast assortment of free extensions that add functionality - ranging from improved RSS reading to security enhancements to ad blocking - which increases that browser's appeal to many users.

IE 7 is taking aim at that advantage with a new add-on manager, as well as an accompanying Website (http://ieaddons.com) to promote and distribute the extras.

Microsoft doesn't quite hit the target, however. users can enable, disable, and delete add-ons in IE's manager, but it's not very user-friendly. Also, to see all possible extensions, users must go through four categories that themselves are far from intuitive: add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer, add-ons that have been used by IE, add-ons that run without requiring permission, and downloaded ActiveX controls (32-bit). Moreover, to update plug-ins, it is necessary to manually check for new versions and download each one.

By contrast, Firefox 2 builds on a good thing with a revamped manager that controls themes and extensions in one window. As before, each one has a description, and a Find Updates button quickly checks for updates for every add-on.

Mostly smooth upgrades

When installing the new IE, users will be prompted to check for updates and then run Microsoft's malicious-software removal tool, which scans for viruses. The first time IE 7 is launched, there is a new page asking users to choose a default search engine and whether to run the antiphishing guard. The new IE will save old bookmarks and some settings, including chosen privacy levels for handling cookies. Other items may be reset. In our informal test, IE 7 reset my custom security configurations for the Internet zone to the Medium High default setting; if your security is set to High, however, IE 7 will preserve it.

Microsoft also says that IE 7 won't try to change the default browser if the choice is not IE, and that it should use roughly the same system resources as version 6.

The Firefox 2 download is a much smaller 5MB, and also seems to use fewer resources than IE 7. In our informal tests immediately after installing and launching IE 7, the browser with three open tabs used 80MB of memory; under similar conditions and with the same three tabs, Firefox used 58MB. When installing Firefox, a pop-up prompts users to check for updates to existing themes and extensions that aren't yet compatible with the new version. Popular extensions typically update quickly; other add-ons and many themes can take weeks longer. Firefox preserved our bookmarks and most test settings from version 1.5, including the master password for saved log-ins and the chosen default font. The cookie setting didn't transfer because our particular choice (to allow sites to set cookies unless we had removed their cookies in the past) isn't the same in Firefox 2.

Let the wars rage

IE 7 includes other new features, such as quick page zooms and enhanced Web page programming support. Such tweaks, combined with the browser's major improvements, might slow or even halt the generally steady IE-user flight toward Firefox. But it's telling that the last time we compared the major browsers, back in January, we looked at beta versions of Firefox 1.5, IE 7, and Opera 9. Mozilla will effectively lap Microsoft by releasing both 1.5 and 2 in the time Microsoft took to complete IE 7. (Opera remains at version 9.)

Which one should users go for? For satisfied Firefox 1.5 users, moving to version 2 is a no-brainer, as they'll get new features and won't be thrown off by major interface changes. Confirmed IE users have a similarly easy choice: IE 7's features make it a much better browser than 6.x, and its security enhancements alone make it a must-have. Of the two rivals, Firefox remains the better application. Since IE users will have to adjust to a new layout and interface anyway, this might be a good time to give Firefox a try, then watch IE 8 play catch-up again in five years.