Speeding Up Browsing - IE v Firefox

[McClef]

I use Firefox running under Linux which is far faster than Windows to begin with.

Have not yet tried the Linux version of Chrome yet.

[Chas]

I use FireFox exclusively. For me the Add-Ons are the best feature. My favourite is the Photobucket add-on. Right click on any picture from anywhere, click 'upload to Photobucket' and it is done - that easy.

I agree with nagod, do not remove IE, but you can remove the link from your desktop.

Regards

Chas

[Lime]

Have you tried the other general things that are always suggested to speed up your computer:

1. scanning regularly for mal-wear using one of the many programs available (I use spybot and ad-aware).

2. Run Disk Cleanup (or other similar program)

2. un-install any programs you don't use.

3. de-fragging your harddrive every other blue moon may also help. You can use the windows offering but there are many other decent ones out there like defraggler

Like many others I find the mozilla offering better than i.e. and would say give one of them a go; for me they make the whole browsing experience much more slick and intuitive.

[Adrian]

Not a good idea to try and get rid of it....good old microsoft build it into their operating systems and their are dependancies and compatibility bits behind the scenes. Can use an alternative browser and set this as default as other members have suggested.

As the IE versions have progressed, security features such as the website checking stuff/anti phishing filters have been built into the IE package , these enhancements and how they are configured can affect performance.
The other issue with web browsing and performance is how your anti-virus security suite is integrated - if you buy what some vendors describe as the internet security version software rather than just straight anti virus, there is more going on behind the scenes when you access web pages-the internet security software have their own anti spam and anti phishing filters etc as well.
So after upgrading you find their is even more website and email checking going on.
Then there is the issue of basic PC housekeeping as already mentioned....

[Grizzly]

Wow, have just followed some sage advice on here and downloaded Google Chrome. my little netbook is running so much better now. Am going to try it on the big desktop pc later.
thanks for the great tip.

[davidg]

Wow, have just followed some sage advice on here and downloaded Google Chrome. my little netbook is running so much better now. Am going to try it on the big desktop pc later.
thanks for the great tip.

Just be aware that because most websites are designed for IE you sometimes get strange results in other browsers. It is maybe worth having a couple of other browsers, like Safari and Firefox, installed or even using IE selectively to overcome problems

[McFarkus]

Firefox is my #1 browser - easy to download and lots of excellent plug-ins. Chrome is my #2 browser. Like most Microsoft products, I use IE only when held at gunpoint.

[Grizzly]

Thanks again davidg more welcome words of wisdom. Funny how they never tell you these things in PC world when you have to shell out large sums of money to buy them in the first place.

[kc8ufv]

I'm somewhat partial to Konqueror, though I have found that either lynx or links tend to be the fastest browsers (depending on if you want frames support)