Firefox 3.6

With all the recent news around Internet Explorer security problems especially since the China Google Hack, users have been moving towards the Mozilla Firefox web browser for a more secure browsing experience. Well, Firefox 3.6 takes the browser to the next level with a whole host of new features all wrapped into one speedy little number.

Firefox is probably one of the best alternatives to Internet Explorer (as well as Google Chrome). The latest version of Firefox introduces cutting edge features, support for a wide variety of Web standards including the new HTML 5 (YouTube video playback with Flash), and access to over 6000 free add-ons that allow users to customize their browser to their liking. Add-ons include the SEO Toolbar, Web Develop Toolbar, ReminderFox, Read It Later, Download Statusbar and many more.

Mozillas test conclude that Firefox 3.6 is more than 20 percent faster than the previous version of Firefox (3.5) and includes all-embracing under the hood work to improve performance for everyday Web tasks such as reading emails, uploading photos or videos, social networking on sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and many more. Firefox 3.6 also delivers new features like customizable browser themes which are called Personas, a ground-breaking Plugin updater, improved JavaScript performance with an updated JavaScript engine, and enhancements to familiar favourites like the Awesome Bar for a better, more personal Web experience.

So what is new in Firefox 3.6? The list of features included in 3.6 are shown below:

Instant Web Site ID
Check a sites legitimacy before you make an online purchase. Perfect for buying goods from online shops and unknown companies. Just click on a site favicon for an instant identity check and overview information. If you click again, the tool digs deeper to show how many times have you visited the site, checks whether your passwords saved, check for suspicious sites, and also avoid Web forgeries and make sure you can trust a site.

Private Browsing
In some cases its good to surf the web in complete privacy. When this feature is enabled, browsing the web will not leave a single browsing fingerprint behind for others to discover. Its easy to slip in and out of private browsing mode quickly, so it is easy to return back to the previous mode should you choose. This feature is particularly good if you want to do some online banking and switch back afterwards.

Forget This Site
If you have ever visited a site you wish you had not? Firefox 3.6 can remove every trace of that site from your computer with just a single click. Its easy to hide adult websites that you have visited.

Anti-Malware
Firefox protects you from malicious viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware from websites and downloads. If you are unlucky enough to accidentally access a malicious site, Firfox will warn you away from the site and tell you why it is not safe to use

Parental Controls
If you are using Windows 7 then Firefox can enforce the parental control settings you have previously entered. This helps to stop unwanted downloads and browsing of unsuitable content by younger users.

Clear Recent History
Clear all your browsing history or just your activity over the past few hours with a few quick clicks. Firefox gives you full control over what to delete, and then your info is securely deleted. Whether you are at your own computer or the one at your local internet cafe..

Customized Security Settings
Control the level of scrutiny you want Firefox to give a site and enter exceptions to the rule. You can really dig deep and customize settings for passwords, cookies, loading images and installing add-ons for a fully customizable Web experience.

Add-ons
Firefox now checks for a secure connection before installing or updating add-ons, 3rd party software, and Personas.

Anti-Virus Software
Firefox integrates gracefully with your Windows antivirus software. Downloading files using Firefox automatically causes your computers antivirus program to checks it to protect you against spyware and other malware, which could otherwise infect or attack your PC.

Pop-Up Blocker
Who hates pop-ups? Probably everyone, thats why Firefox allows you to banish pop-ups (and pop-under windows) from your surfing experience once and for all. Or, if you really want you can choose to view blocked pop-ups or create an allow list of trusted sites whose pop-ups you do not mind seeing.

Automated Update
Firefox is great at keeping up to date with the latest security fixes and patches automatically. Since Firefoix is an open community project, fixers are available very quickly making Firefox the safest way to surf the web. Either, install upgrades when you receive a notification or just choose to wait until you are ready to install them.

Anti-Phishing
Use online banking and shopping sites safely on the Internet. Firefox gets a real time update of web forgery sites 48 times per day, so if you try to visit a fraudulent site that is pretending to be a site you trust (for example your bank), a browser message as large as life will inform you.

Smaller Memory Footprint
Firefox is a big improvement on previous versions, it uses less of your computers memory while its running. This enables you to use multiple applications without draining the memory on your PC.

Memory Management
With a new management function in place, Firefox keeps memory usage safely managed. The XPCOM cycle collector continuously cleans up unused memory. In addition to this, hundreds of previously spotted memory leaks have been fixed in this version.

Faster Page Load
One of the most noticeable changes to FireFox is the redesigned page rendering and layout engine. Web pages now load almost instantly making browsing much faster.

Super Speed
Get ready for one of the fastest Javascript engines around! Firefox now includes the TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, which gives the browser radically better recital than ever before. Firefox has been fast in the past, but this is the fastest Firefox ever (more than three times as fast as Firefox 3 and 20% faster than Firefox 3.5), meaning Web applications like hotmail, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and Orkut feel snappier and more receptive.

Customize Firefox with Personas
Get access to thousands of easy to install themes (Personas), meaning you can change the look of your Firefox to practically anything with a single click. Choose anything from light designs to colourful patterns to content from partners like Harry Potter, Bob Marley or Lance Armstrongs LiveStrong Foundation.

Awesome Bar
Awesome bar is a quick way to get to the sites you want and fast. Even if you can not remember the exact URL, Awesome bar helps you out. Type in the search words into the location bar (Awesome Bar) and the autocomplete function shows you possible matching sites from your browsing history, as well as sites you have bookmarked and tagged.

Tags
Tags are an easy way to associate a name with a site you use. For example, you might tag Google as Search Engine or BBC Sport as Football Results. You can give a site as many tags as you wish, these are then used to help you organize and search for sites using the awesome bar.

These are just some of the new features of Firefox, others include:

One-Click Bookmarking
Smart Bookmark
Form Complete
RSS Feed Reader
Download Manager
Spell Checking
Full Zoom
Easy Organization
Reopen Closed Tabs and Windows
Save on Exit
Smooth Scrolling
Smart Keywords
Search Suggestions
Integrated Web Search
Hundreds of Search Engines
Improved Text Rendering
Downloadable Fonts

Newest Web Technologies
Brand new and enhanced functionalities enable Web site authors and developers to create advanced content and applications.

Support is now available for:
CSS2.1
CSS3
HTML5
SVG Filters
Ogg Vorbis
Ogg Theora
Native JSON
MathML
Animated Portable Network Graphics (APNG)
Cross-Site XMLHttpRequest


Firefox 3.6 has fantastic support for developers including:

Support for the latest HTML5 specification, including the File API for local file handling
Improved Font Support with Firefox 3.6 now supporting the new Web Open Font Format (WOFF)
Support for linear and radial CSS gradients which allow for a smoother transition between colours
Firefox 3.6 exposes the orientation of the laptop or device to Web pages

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