Tag Archives: Browsers

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Firefox Is Now A Download Option In Windows Store

If you spend a lot of time browsing the Windows Store you may have noticed something unexpected. You can now download Mozilla’s Firefox browser from that source.

Previously Mozilla was unable to upload its browser to the Windows Store because Microsoft’s policies required that all browsers on their platform had to use the engine provided by Windows.

Recently the company changed that policy and stripped out that requirement. That makes sense given that Microsoft rebuilt their own Edge browser using Chromium as a base. The Redmond Giant accepted Opera on the Windows Store back in September of this year (2021) and more recently added Firefox.

A Mozilla spokesman had this to say about the addition:

“Previously, if you were on Windows and wanted to use Firefox you had to download it from the internet and go through a clunky process from Microsoft. Now that Microsoft has changed its Store policies, choosing Firefox as your desktop browser is even more seamless – and it comes with all the latest Firefox features.”

More choice for users is always a good thing. The inclusion of Firefox on the Windows Store gives Windows users easy and convenient access to a non-Chromium-based browser. Firefox is a good alternative well worth experimenting with because Mozilla has built a number of intriguing features into their browser that its larger competitors haven’t emulated yet.

Kudos to Microsoft for expanding the selection of browsers in the Microsoft Store and to both Opera and Firefox for their additions there. With any luck we may see a few additional niche browsers included as well.

If you haven’t considered Opera or Firefox take a few minutes to download both and give them a test drive. It’s not a terribly time intensive process and you may be pleasantly surprised.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Internet Browser Firefox Will Soon Get SmartBlock Feature

There’s good news for anyone who uses the Firefox web browser. Beginning with the release of Firefox 87 which was released in March of this year (2021) Mozilla has introduced a new SmartBlock feature.

The new feature helps ensure that when users enable ‘Strict Mode’ for their Tracking Protection that it will not break websites when blocking tracking scripts.

The company had this to say about the feature:

“SmartBlock 2.0 combines a great web browsing experience with robust privacy protection, by ensuring that you can still use third-party Facebook login buttons to sign in to websites, while providing strong defenses against cross-site tracking.

Third-party Facebook scripts are blocked to prevent you from being tracked, but are now automatically loaded ‘just in time’ if you decide to ‘Log in with Facebook’ on any website.”

It may seem like a small change but it’s incredibly significant. Legions of users rely on the easy access and convenience that Facebook, Google and other login buttons provide. Until now those users had to choose between convenience and greater protection. Now there’s no need to choose. Users get the best of both worlds.

It gets better. Mozilla also announced that Total Cookie Protection will be enabled by default in private browsing windows beginning with Firefox 89. On top of that Mozilla will be rolling out an advanced Site Isolation security feature which is meant to provide greater protection against attacks launched from malicious websites.

In all Mozilla has been incredibly busy in recent months introducing nearly a hundred new features and changes to their Firefox browser.

If you find yourself increasingly dissatisfied with your current browser and are looking for a capable alternative with a number of attractive features Firefox is certainly worth giving a try. Download the latest version today.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Chromebooks Get First Optimized Browser Alternative

In the world of internet browsers, most people only think of the Big Three: Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. Occasionally, Firefox gets an honorable mention, but there are a whole raft of smaller browsers out there if you’re looking for an alternative to the majors.

Recently, the little Opera browser made a significant change, becoming the first smaller browser to optimize its performance for Chromebooks. If you’re a Chromebook user and looking for some other browser besides Chrome to surf the web with, Opera is an excellent alternative choice!

Chromebooks really took off during the pandemic, with more than 30 million units shipped in 2020. It’s a trend that seems to have caught on, because if projections are correct, then Google is on track to sell another 40 million units this year, which means they’re carving out an increasingly significant segment of the market.

To be clear, if you want to give Opera a try on your Chromebook, it’s not a perfect Chrome replacement as it cannot be set to the Chromebook’s default browser.

Opera does, however, offer a few unique features, including:

  • Five different color schemes to choose from, including both Light and Dark modes.
  • Night Mode, which reduces the contrast based on time of day to help preserve and protect your eyes, minimizing strain.
  • A Crypto Wallet – If you own one or more cryptocurrencies, you’ll love the convenience of having a built in cryptocurrency wallet, and the ability to manage your accounts via a convenient “Quick Launch” button.
  • An ad blocker, built in, which is a very nice touch
  • An integrated VPN for added browsing security
  • Messenger Mode – which gives you quick and easy access to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Instagram and Twitter, all in a convenient “Messengers” tab on the left side of the browser.
  • And Flow – which allows you to essentially chat with yourself, taking notes, saving links and storing images on the fly

In summary, it’s a very good alternative, and well worth checking out!

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Edge Will Redirect Users To HTTPS Secure Sites

If you’re a Microsoft Edge user, be aware. Beginning in July, with the release of Edge 92, the browser will automatically redirect users to a secure HTTPS connection any time they visit a website via the HTTP protocol.

Microsoft is not alone in this, and in fact, is coming a bit late to the party. Chrome 90, released earlier this month, already does the same thing, as does Firefox 83.

All of this is a result of, and a response to, a number of high profile man in the middle attacks last year. Those attacks saw hackers taking advantage of the fact that traffic via HTTP is insecure and can thus be intercepted. When those attacks occurred, browser vendors sprang into action and began devising plans to better protect users. The default to HTTPS was the solution that the major players in the browser market settled on. Since then, all the browser makers have been marching toward that goal.

This, of course, is part of a larger drama that has been playing out on the web since its earliest days. Hackers find a new exploit, and software vendors and security experts rush to patch it to prevent abuse. Then, the hackers move onto another, newly discovered weakness and the cycle continues.

Although the default to HTTPS is an unquestioned good, it’s just a matter of time before some new exploit makes its way into the headlines. Then, the cycle will repeat.

Even so, kudos to Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Apple and all the other browser vendors for fighting the good fight and working hard to keep their users secure. IT security professionals have plenty on their plates and no shortage of things to worry about, but it is nice anytime one of those concerns gets removed from the board altogether.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Number Of Microsoft Edge Browser Users Are Surpassing Firefox

At long last, Microsoft has a web browser that the market seems to like. Their new Chromium-based Edge browser has enjoyed rampant growth over the past twelve months, seeing its market share increase by 1300 percent for the year. It should be noted that one year ago, Chromium-based Edge had a market share of just 0.57 percent, and their rampant growth has seen that increase to 8.03 percent.

Google’s Chrome browser, which currently holds a 67.14 percent market share is by no means in immediate danger of losing its position as the dominant browser on the web.

Even so, it would be a mistake to discount the new Edge browser’s progress. It’s essentially the same as Google’s Chrome browser in that it uses the same engine and can make use of all of Chrome’s extensions. Plus it’s got a few native features that make it unique. So it really is a good browsing option, and its recent flurry of growth has seen it surpass Mozilla’s Firefox browser, which currently holds a market share of just 7.95 percent.

To give you a more complete picture of the browser market breakdown, here are the top five contenders:

  • Google Chrome: 67.14 percent
  • Apple’s Safari: 10.11 percent
  • Chromium Edge: 8.03 percent
  • Mozilla’s Firefox: 7.95 percent
  • Edge Legacy: 0.44 percent

With a constellation of other, smaller browsers (Brave, Opera, and a handful of others) each claiming a tiny slice of the market.

When Microsoft first released their latest version of Edge, it was believed that Google’s Chrome browser would take the biggest hit, but the reality is that Google’s market share barely budged, but Firefox seems to be slowly dying.

Later this year, Microsoft will begin forcibly retiring Legacy Edge, which should see it vanish from the list entirely, and it’s likely that most of those users will stick with the new Edge browser. At this point, it’s impossible to say what the future holds for the market long term, except to say that Google’s browser should retain its title of King of the Hill for the foreseeable future.

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