Firefox 3: How to Surf the Web

I’ve been using the open-source Firefox web browser since 2003, when a techie friend (thanks, Rocky!) emailed our church list to suggest it as a less virus-vulnerable alternative to the standard Microsoft mess.

That makes me an internet expert 😉 –and since I know everything there is to know, I thought I’d write you this handy guide:

Web Surfing 101:

1. Sign up for Download Day, 2008.
2. Receive email when Firefox 3 is officially released sometime this June.
3. Download your new web browser, automatically transferring all your settings and bookmarks from your old browser.
4. Help a bunch of volunteers working for love on a project started by a teenagerwho wanted to help out his mom take market-share away from a monopoly-loving corporate behemoth.
5. (While you’re at it, set a Guinness world record.)
6. Customize your Firefox browser with Add-On’s (also made for love by the Firefox community)
• Adblock Plus with automatically updating ad filters (Easylist + ABP Tracking Filter)
• Foxmarks
• Book Burro
• Morning Coffee
• Sage Too or NewsFox for RSS Feeds
• Colorful Tabs
• Glubble Family Edition (to keep the kiddies coralled on the Net)
• Duplicate Tab
• Stumble Upon
• Forecastfox
• Tiny Menu
• PicLens
• …or whatever else takes your fancy!

If you don’t find yourself inclined toward the Firefox religion, there are other ways to browse happy. (It’s even rumored that Internet Explorer 8 actually works. But I don’t think it blocks the schmutz.)