The online world is often a scene of bitter disagreement, but there is one thing on which all Web surfers agree: Browsing the web can be fun, but only when it’s fast.

You are probably familiar with the basic workings of the internet:

The speed at which you are able to receive a webpage depends largely on the type of internet connection you have and the server on which the content is located.

But one often-overlooked detail that can have a major impact on your Web experience is the browser you are using and how many add-ons you have (perhaps inadvertently) loaded into that browser. The result is that many people are surfing with a bloated browser.

You don’t have to use Internet Explorer.

Try using Mozilla FireFox. It is a free lightweight browser that will give you a very different surfing experience.

Firefox has rapidly become a serious challenger to Internet Explorer’s virtual monopoly and, as of July 2007, about fourteen and a half percent of all computer users were using FireFox.

Other alternative browsers include:

Safari
Developed by Apple Inc. and now available for PC. Claims to be the fastest browser available.

Opera Web Browser 
Another lightweight browser with solid performance that is gaining in popularity.

Netscape Web Browser 
The browser that lost the war with Microsoft. Netscape uses a similar engine to FireFox but is not as fast.
 

 

What can you do to make your browser faster?

Don’t use too many toolbars or add-ins. It seems that every other website now has their own toolbar that they are giving away. It doesn’t help that half of them are loaded with spyware.

Here’s a short list of legitimate toolbars that you may find useful:

Google Toolbar
Alexa Toolbar
Windows Live Toolbar

If you have broadband and you consistently find that browsing the web seems to take too long, you may want to check for spyware or viruses (you should do this regularly in any case!). Some viruses can hijack your computer’s internet connection and use most of your bandwidth for their own purposes while leaving you with just a fraction.
Just how fast is your browser?

If you want to test the speed of your Internet connection, try using the net-speed tool at PC Pitstop:

PC Pitstop Internet Connection Center  

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 9:59 am and is filed under Tutorials, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows 95, Performance & Optimization, Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.