Browser Wars: Chrome vs. IE9 vs. Firefox

Privacy and Security
The big news in browser privacy over the past few months has been about user tracking. Late last year, the FTC put out a statement saying that browser makers need to implement some mechanism that would allow users to opt out of sites tracking their browsing history. Some marketing sites plant their tendrils on many other sites, usually in the form of 1-pixel images that nobody sees. That's enough to tell the marketing site where you've been, though.

Microsoft was the first to come out with a Tracking Protection feature, and it's arguably the best solution. Whereas Firefox and Chrome depend on the marketers' respecting your wishes at the server side, Internet Explorer's feature blocks the tracking from taking place right in the browser. It uses lists provided by third-party privacy organizations like Truste and the BBB to prevent the tracking. Firefox sends sites a message saying you don't want to be tracked, and Google offers an extension that tells marketers the same.

In good-old-fashioned security, all the browsers do a good job of blocking malware and phishing attempts. Chrome is notable here for running all its code in a "sandbox," which meant bad code can't do any harm to the rest of your system. Internet Explorer 9 made some news recently for doing the best job of thwarting phishing attempts, but Chrome 12 recently bolstered the Google browser's protections against these sinister actions. IE9 adds the concept of "download reputation" to help you decide whether you should follow through with a questionable download.

Extras and Goodies
The tendency in browser design has been towards less, rather than more, as inspired by Chrome's arrival on the scene with its nearly empty window. Chrome has even trimmed down from its already trim beginning, with but a single actual menu item remaining on its window—the wrench icon, which drops down all your choices for page viewing, tools like history and bookmarks, and settings. All browsers now let you both search and enter Web addresses in the search bar, and drop down suggestions as you type, while Chrome and IE9 dispense with a search space altogether.

All browsers too, now offer extensions, something Firefox has long been famed for. Firefox's extension choices offer the most drastic browser customization's. In sheer number of customization's, Chrome can hold its own with Firefox, though: There are already over 11,000 entries in the Chrome Web Store, compared with Firefox's 6495. The hands-down winner, in terms of extra features, however, is Opera, a longtime innovator of browser features. Three unique offerings by Opera are Unite, Turbo, and a built-in mail client. Unite actually turns your browser into a Web server, letting you post photos or even host chat groups, while Turbo speeds up a slow Web connection using cached versions of pages on Opera's servers.

Apple's Safari, which many people may not realize is available for Windows as well as Mac OS X, has a couple of nifty tricks all its own. Safari Reader is a view you can use for news and other publication-type sites that shows just the text and article images, rather than all the ads and other page distractions. You can view pages from your browsing history using Apple's patented Cover Flow. Safari also offers a beautiful Top Sites gallery of your most-frequently visited sites when you open a new tab.

Speaking of tabs, all the modern browser do a great job of letting you view multiple sites, letting you tear them out into new windows and rearrange them as you like. But Firefox's Panorama feature takes tab organization to a new level. Also known as tab groups, these let those who tend to keep a ton of tabs open place them into separate named sub-windows. Firefox, however, is the lone holdout among browser in not giving you any help when you open a fresh tab, though—all the rest offer to let you open favorites or previously viewed sites. Opera gets special kudos for its characteristically innovative tab implementation: Not only can it combine multiple tabs into one, but it previews a site with a thumbnail view when you hover the mouse over a tab.

Google Chrome's top whiz-bang feature, like many aspects of the browser, is all about speed: Chrome Instant starts loading a page you've visited before even before you finish typing its address in the address bar. For many users, speed is the overriding concern when it comes to Web browsing, and this is just one more way that our Editors' Choice Web browser, Google Chrome, makes browsing the Web nearly as free-flowing and quick as thought. But since all of these browsers are just a free download away, there's no reason not to give another a try if it piques your interest from the descriptions above.

Google Chrome 12

Chrome Instant means your Web page is ready to read before you finish typing the address. On top of this parlor trick, Chrome's speed, minimalist design, and advanced support for HTML5 have deservedly been attracting more and more users to the browser. The latest version adds an improved settings interface, and even more speed and security.  

Firefox 5

Firefox 4 got Mozilla back into the game. This lean, fast, customizable browser can hold its own against any competitor. It's also ahead of Chrome in offering some graphics hardware acceleration, though few sites take advantage of that yet. Firefox's maker Mozilla has adopted Google's fast release cycle used for Chrome, so we'll see several new version numbers for Firefox this year, though they won't pack the punch of previous upgrades. 

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9)

Microsoft's latest browser is faster, trimmer, more compliant with HTML5—a major improvement over its predecessor. It also brings some unique capabilities like tab-pinning and hardware acceleration, but only Windows 7 and Vista users need apply. Its Tracking Protection and anti-phishing mechanism lead the pack.

Opera 11.5

Like the other current browsers Opera is fast, compliant with HTML5, and spare of interface. Long an innovator, recently it's added unique things like Unite, which turns the browser into a server, and Turbo, which speeds up the Web on slow connections through caching. Since it's far from being a market leader, you still run into the occasional site that says Opera isn't supported. 

Apple Safari 5.1

Safari is a fast, beautiful browser, but the Reader view and Reading List panel make it even more enticing. Leading support for HTML 5 features will also be important, but you can already get that in other browsers, too. Safari's strong bookmarking, RSS reader, and vivid new-tab page will also appeal to many.

Copyright © 2010 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.