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The main way you access the Internet is through a browser—if you’re
looking at this page right now, you’re more than likely using a browser!
A browser is a program which accesses and displays files and other data available
on the Internet and other networks. Nearly 80 percent of all Internet users
rely on Microsoft Internet Explorer* as their browser. That percentage has
begun to change in recent years as the Firefox* browser has begun to increase
in use, to currently include about 15 percent of the market. The reason for
this shift in use has been in large part due to the
open source community. Firefox is open source software. That means it
is free to download, free to install, and free to use. Moreover, since the code
is open for developers to access and improve, Firefox has fewer security holes
and bugs than most of the other browsers.
Until recently, the Web browser was viewed as simply an interface to enable
users to access the Internet. Now, the browser is evolving to the point where
many of the newest interfaces are fully functional tools that can aid a user in
completing many of the tasks that used to be associated with software or
Web-based applications. At the vanguard of this evolution has been the
emergence of the Firefox browser.
Firefox is a feely downloaded browser which runs on any operating system. Its
strength is in its ability to allow you to shift your usage paradigm for
browsing the Web. That is, users can upgrade the browser using freely
downloadable extensions which allow you to have tools such as built-in
spellcheckers, integrated email, and even portable bookmarks.
The browser is no longer merely a window into the Internet, but an interactive
part of it. Newer browsers have much stronger security features which can block
unwanted pop-up advertisements and even prevent many so-called spyware programs
from infecting systems. With continued evolution, more and more of the tasks
you complete using an application installed on your computer will be completed
online, via a browser.
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