Getting started with Firefox - Overview of the main features. Key features of the Mozilla Firefox browser

Welcome to the browser Mozilla Firefox! In this article you will find all the information you need to get started. In addition, the article contains links to useful resources that will help you answer other questions.

New Tab Page: Put the content you need at your fingertips

By default, Firefox gives you access to your favorite content every time you open a new tab. Customize this page by hovering over sections and tiles, or clicking the gear icon for more options.

Find information using a single search/address bar

Whether you know the exact web address or are just looking, Firefox's address bar can handle it all. Firefox's unified search and location bar makes suggestions based on your existing bookmarks and tags, history, open tabs, and popular searches. Just start typing search query or web address and watch the magic work!

Page Actions Menu: Bookmark, Pin, Save or Share

Found a great web page? Save it or share it. The On-Page Actions menu in the address bar allows you to bookmark web pages, copy or send via e-mail links, take screenshots, and send them to your phone or your Pocket list so you can read them at your convenience.

Private browsing with Content blockingImproved tracking protection: Browse the Internet quickly and freely

Browse the Internet without storing any information on your computer about which sites and pages you visited. Firefox also blocks creepy tracking tools that track your online behavior.

Sync your Firefox

Set up Firefox Accounts so you can take your surfing information with you wherever you go. Click the menu button and select Login to Sync and follow the instructions to create your account. Then log in to the new one account on other devices and that's it!

Customize your home page?

Select the page that opens when Firefox starts or when you click the Home button.

Customize your menu or toolbar

We've built the most popular features into the toolbar, but Firefox is packed with features. Let's take a look at them!

Add features to Firefox with add-ons

Add-ons are similar to applications that you can install to make Firefox work the way you want it to.

At the bottom and top of the popular list

Welcome to Firefox! We"ll show you all the basics to get you up and running. When you"re ready to go beyond the basics, check out the other links for features you can explore later.

Table of Contents

New Tab page: great content at your fingertips

By default, Firefox gives you access to great content every time you open a new tab. Customize this page by hovering over the sections and thumbnails or click the gear icon for more options.

Search everything with the unified search/address bar

Whether you know the exact web address or you"re just searching, Firefox"s address bar handles it all. Firefox's unified search and address bar gives you suggestions based on your existing bookmarks and tags, history, open tabs, and popular searches. Just start typing in a search term or web address and watch the magic happen!

Page Actions menu: Bookmark, snap, save or share

Found a great web page? Save it or share it! The Page Actions menu in the address bar lets you bookmark web pages, copy or email links, take screenshots , and send pages to your phone or to your Pocket list so you can read them whenever and wherever you want.

Private Browsing with Content Blocking Enhanced Tracking Protection : Browse fast and free

Browse the Internet without saving any information on your computer about which sites and pages you’ve visited. Firefox will also block creepy trackers that follow your behavior across the Web.

Keep your Firefox in sync

Set up Firefox Accounts so you can take your browsing information with you wherever you go. Click the menu button , choose Sign in to Sync and follow the instructions to create your account. Then sign in to the newly-created account on your other devices and that"s it!

Home is just a click away

Choose the page that opens when you start Firefox or click the Home button.

Customize the menu or the toolbar

We"ve streamlined the toolbar with the most popular features but Firefox has even more features tucked away. Take a peek!

Add features to Firefox with add-ons

Add-ons are like apps that you can install to make Firefox work the way you want.

At the bottom of the list of recommended add-ons, there"s also a Find more add-ons button you can click. It will take you to addons.mozilla.org where you can search for specific add-ons.

Tip: Some add-ons place a button in the toolbar after installation. You can remove those or move them into the menu if you want – see

Mozilla Firefox is most popular in Western Europe and Southeast Asia. By the way, in our country the leader is Opera, and in the United States - Google Chrome and, oddly enough, very common Internet Explorer, known mainly for the fact that almost all users have serious complaints about the Microsoft product.

The history of the Mozilla Firefox browser is remarkable. At one time, the only competitor to Internet Explorer was the Netscape Navigator browser. It's a pretty decent browser and some users still use it as their default browser.

As a result of the marketing war, Netscape disappeared from the scene and the developers, out of spite, posted source codes into free access - in order to at least somehow take revenge on Microsoft for its offensive defeat.

The first free browser, Mozilla Firefox

Subsequently, the world's first free browser, Mozilla Firefox, was born from Netscape's source codes. And instantly won the love of users. And not only for its freeness, but also for its excellent quality. Essentially, the new free browser turned out to be much better than the one supplied with the operating system. Windows system Internet Explorer.

• More comfortable user interface.
• High performance. Many users still remember how I.E constantly slowed down and froze.
• Frequent updates and reliable protection from cyber attacks.
• Huge selection of extensions and add-ons.
• Convenient tab system and bookmark manager.

Add-on Store

In terms of the number of various add-ons, Mozilla Firefox is perhaps the most advanced. Perhaps Google Chrome actually has a larger list of extensions, but it’s unlikely that anyone will argue that Mozilla Firefox’s add-ons are much more functional.

The main difference between Mozilla Firefox add-ons is that most of them are created for practical purposes. By adding a certain set of extensions to the browser, you can change the functionality of the program beyond recognition in a few minutes.

1. Turn your browser into an e-commerce office.
2. Equip a web analyst and optimizer laboratory.
3. Assemble a set of tools for research and teaching.

1. Web browser.
2. Visual HTML editor.
3. Mail client.

In SeaMonkey, you can not only view websites, but also create them yourself and publish them directly from the program to the network. Very convenient for webmasters. Well, the built-in email client eliminates the need to overload your computer with additional programs.

The Great Browser War ended in 1998 and was completely lost by Netscape Navigator to Internet Explorer, but the history of NetscapeIt didn’t end there, it transformed into another global project known to us all under the name Mozilla Firefox!

Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular browsers, the silver medalist of user favorites, second only to the ubiquitous . The Fire Fox never managed to feel the spirit of superiority: from the beginning of its creation, this browser tried to overtake Internet Explorer in popularity, and when victory seemed to be very close, Google Chrome appeared on the market.

Like its main competitor, the main advantages of Firefox are functionality, cross-platform, security, flexibility in terms of settings, and a huge extension store, second only to the Google Chrome store. Firefox is considered the most stable browser, and in this regard it is many times better than Google's brainchild.

Firefox is 4 years older than its main competitor. And this year, 2014, the developer company Mozilla Corporation celebrates the tenth anniversary of its brainchild.

Firefox runs on its own Gecko engine. Like Google Chrome's parent, the Chromium browser, Mozilla Firefox is an open source browser. Any developer has the right to create his own based on Firefox source codes software. That’s why you can find so many Fire Fox clones on the Internet with their own thematic and functional features. For example:

64-bit Waterfox browser;

Pale Moon browser with pre-installed parental controls;

Multifunctional SeaMonkey combine, where in addition to the browser, the developer also offers a built-in RSS reader, email and IRC client;

Comodo IceDragon browser with built-in protection from antivirus software developer Comodo.

Let's take a closer look at the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Interface

The design of the Mozilla Firefox browser is simple and friendly to beginners. But it was not always so. The idea that there would be more benefit if the product’s appearance was adapted to suit the capabilities of beginners, and the advanced functionality was hidden in a convenient place where experienced users would definitely find it, did not immediately occur to the developers. And only after the creators of Firefox, against the backdrop of Google Chrome, realized their mistakes. Google Company I was among the first to understand the secret of how to make a software product popular. But, perhaps, the first was Steve Jobs, who demonstrated to the world that a functional product can be simple and understandable even for children, like the iPhone. And when Microsoft turned its Internet browser Explorer into a product of the “Take, Use and Don’t Bother” type, the developers from Mozilla didn’t have much of a choice. Either they are in trend, or they are in the chronicles of history.

So, Mozilla Firefox did not always have a simple and friendly interface. For a long time, the main window of this browser looked like a dump of various options, functions, buttons and other tinsel, which, of course, was of help to advanced web surfers, but beginners ran away from it like hell. This is what, for example, the fifth version of Mozilla Firefox looked like in 2011.

Now things are different for the guys from Mozilla Corporation. And the developers announce that everything is now simple and intuitive with Firefox in the welcome page immediately after installing the browser - so that newcomers do not run away.

Browser address bar and field search engine in Firefox it is combined into an omnibox or “smart bar”, like most other browsers. But the search field is also present nearby. This has its advantage - to change the search engine installed by default in the combined address and search bar, you need to dig into your browser settings. And in Firefox, you can change the search engine immediately in a line from the drop-down list from among the preset ones or additionally add another search engine.

For a new search engine to appear in the drop-down list, you need to install its extension from the Mozilla Firefox store.

The developers of Fire Fox proudly call the address bar “smart”. Naturally, they were not the first to come up with the idea of ​​naming something that they finally got around to implementing, and that their competitors had for a long time, and even give it a special name. However, the “smart” address bar remembers previously visited sites and, when entering the first characters of the address, will display a list of suggested sites from among those previously visited. Not new, but very convenient.

The Firefox menu is now implemented with one button that opens individual sections. The button is located in the upper right corner - just in case the browser will be used by those who are already accustomed to this implementation of the menu button in Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. Why invent a bicycle that was already invented?

Important browser functions are additionally listed below home page Firefox.

Don't be intimidated by the plain design of Mozilla Firefox. By clicking the button at the bottom of the "Add-ons" home page, you will be taken to the extension store for Firefox and can decorate the browser with various themes, changing them at least every day.

Completely free, in a matter of seconds, Firefox can “change clothes” into a fun skin.

Or take on a gloomy appearance for those who love depression.

Or you can simply set some nice fill as the browser theme.

To add a site you like to your Firefox bookmarks, just click the star button. And the selected site will immediately appear in the “Unfiled Bookmarks” section, from where later all bookmarks can be moved to other folders, sorted by topic.

The Firefox bookmark library allows, in addition to convenient sorting, to export your favorite sites to an HTML file, so that they can then be imported both in this browser and in any other that supports the bookmark import function. You can import bookmarks into Firefox from any other browser installed on the system in one click using the corresponding bookmark library option.

Customizable browser toolbar

Where Mozilla Firefox definitely beats the flexible and customizable Google Chrome is in even greater flexibility and customizability. Not only buttons are placed on the Fire Fox toolbar installed extensions, which implement additional functionality, but also buttons for almost all standard functions. The browser menu button opens a number of functions, including the “Edit” button.

Mozilla Firefox was the first browser to come to market completely free of charge. The history of the appearance of the “Fire Fox” is quite remarkable. There was a so-called browser war. This was back in the early days of the Internet, and web technology was in complete chaos. Each developer came up with their own encodings. Therefore, sites had to be created for specific browsers. Otherwise it was impossible to see anything on the screen.

In those distant times, there were, in fact, only two browsers - Internet Explorer and its main rival Netscape Navigator. Naturally, businessmen even then perfectly understood the future prospects of the market and were ready to do anything to seize the monopoly into their own hands.

As a result, Microsoft won the competition, and Netscape ceased to exist. However, in the end, the developers screwed up Microsoft. Frustrated by the failure, programmers made the source codes of the Navigator publicly available. In the future development of a new free browser, which was called Mozilla Firefox, began to be developed by volunteers from the international Mozilla community.

Mozilla Firefox is not just a browser

Since there are a lot of developers and everyone is trying to create a browser to suit their own needs and requirements, Mozilla Firefox is not one single web browser, but a huge cluster of various programs. The extensive list includes:

• Actually web browsers.
• Mail client.
• Visual HTML editor.

One of the features of the Mozilla Firefox browser is its extremely frequent updates. That’s why there are a lot of versions. However, not all users refuse to work in the old Mozilla Firefox, so all models remain in use. In addition, various alternative browsers are created using the Firefox software engine under different names. For example, beta test Aurora and the most stable browser of all time SeaMonkey. Which is not a browser at all, but a whole web office, three in one:

1. Viewer.
2. Email client.
3. Composer, also known as HTML editor.

In addition to the variety of browsers, Mozilla developers have prepared a huge number of applications and add-ons for users. There are widgets for literally every taste and for performing almost any additional tasks:

• Translators.
• Ad blockers.
• Applications for search engine promotion of websites and analytics.
• Useful business-grade tools for e-commerce. The list can be endless.

In terms of the number of various applications, Mozilla Firefox can only compete with Opera. But Opera is intended more for fans of online reading. And using Opera widgets for applied purposes is somehow not very convenient.

Interim conclusions

Thus, the Internet browser has the widest possible capabilities. Each person can choose the most suitable option from many versions of Firefox, and then customize it to perfection by adding applications. Since the choice is very large, there will not be enough time to test absolutely everything in Mozilla Firefox. Therefore, to narrow down your search, it is useful to consider the main trends and characteristics of applications developed by the Mozilla community.

A good place to start is to visit the Mozilla Firefox home page: https://www.mozilla.org/en/

The notorious Flat Metro, about which so many bad things were said, has reached Firefox. Mozilla's home page now has a trendy flat style, supposedly designed for mobile tablets and smartphones. And completely inconvenient for desktop computers or laptops that do not have touch controls.

Of course, on a large display, you can only miss 9 by 12 tiles with your fingers in a very high mood. But what's the point of exchanging good for dubious? The classic interface of the Windows application is quite intuitive. For most regular Mozilla Firefox users, the control system has long been developed to the point of complete automation. Like an experienced driver. Let's now, for the sake of fashion trends, start placing the pedals not under the steering wheel, but on the right. Where the passenger usually sits. This usability is very reminiscent of the experience of trying to create friendship between peoples by cramming all people indiscriminately into communal apartments.

So, the interface of new versions of Mozilla Firefox has also become completely flat. And at the same time somehow not very clear. You have to make unnecessary movements and extra clicks to get to the desired option. The developers of the famous mobile browser Dolphin tried to test this type of user interface not long ago. Instead of two clicks, you now need to do four. Or even all five. Such sensitive care for consumer experience. True, the Dolphin workers very quickly abandoned the innovation, probably due to numerous requests from workers.

Mozilla Firefox developers recommend retrograde Protestants to download previous version browser and continue to enjoy the classics. What's especially noteworthy is that Mozilla Firefox for tablets has a fairly standard appearance. There are tiles, of course, but they are quite appropriate on a small touch screen.

What is the main purpose of unification and standardization? In order not to waste time thinking, so that the control goes on autopilot. Today, many Internet users have several computers - at home, at work, a smartphone in their pocket, a tablet in the glove compartment of a car. The main idea of ​​Metro was for the user to have the same control console on all devices. Which has not yet been observed. Is there a new Browser War coming?

Key features of the Mozilla Firefox browser

1. Browse websites, including in incognito mode, without saving surfing history and deleting cookies.
2. Support new version hypertext language HTML5. Congratulations, dear users - you will no longer need to update flash-player every now and then. Videos on websites can be watched without additional auxiliary applications. True - only HTML5 sites.
3. Ability to save web pages for later offline viewing.
4. Web development tools.
5. Reading RSS feeds, subscribing to channels of your favorite sites.
6. Viewing mode without images to increase the speed of loading website pages and save Internet traffic.
7. Create bookmarks for frequently visited sites.
8. Multifunctional bookmark manager.
9. Download manager with built-in anti-virus scanning.
10. Flexible and extensive custom viewing settings, security modes, search engine selection.
11. Saving sessions for later opening in tabs the next time you start the browser.
12. Selecting text character encoding, both automatically and manually.
13. Saving detailed browsing history. You can always find a page in the list for more detailed information.
14. Ability to view the source HTML code of a web page.
15. Searching for the necessary information on the site, as in text editors.
16. Search for links on a page.
17. Send web pages to print, with the ability to add custom footers and scale text content.
18. Tabbed support, quick transition between tabs, movement forward and backward through viewed pages.
19. Customizing toolbars. By removing rarely used panels, you can expand the working area of ​​the screen.
20. Automatic saving of logins and passwords, completed forms.
21. Password manager. Although storing access passwords to financial institutions is not recommended for cybersecurity reasons.
22. Detailed Help in different languages, including Russian.

Note. All of these features and options may vary greatly depending on specific model Mozilla Firefox. For some, web development tools, such as code validation, are absolutely necessary in their daily work. Others will never even need fine settings user profile or security.

Some browsers based Firefox engine have very limited functionality and are intended for users with clear, narrow interests on the Internet. For example, saving traffic or increasing surfing speed. If the client makes money by viewing sites, you can turn off some of the content. Or if you are only interested text information. Although today's quality standards require extensive support for texts with photographs and pictures on the topic.

SeaMonkey Internet Office

It’s also interesting to take a closer look at Firefox’s cousin, SeaMonkey. Many users are surprised to learn that their favorite is not just a browser, but a suite program - browser, mail and visual editor for creating and editing websites. Yes, you can create your own web project directly from your browser and immediately publish it on one of the free hosting sites.

This HTML editor will be useful for novice webmasters. Any page of the site can be loaded into the builder and a detailed look at the entire kitchen and anatomy of development. By setting up email accounts in the built-in client, you can receive and send email messages without being distracted from visiting sites.

By the way, SeaMonkey has a built-in translator, which Mozilla Firefox does not have. In the latter, to translate foreign sites you need to download a special add-on.

Disadvantages of the Mozilla Firefox browser

• There is no convenient function for scaling and adjusting text to fit the screen size, as is available in the Opera browser. Therefore, on conventional displays you often have to use horizontal scrolling, which impairs reading comfort.
• Browser security is questionable. Despite frequent updates, some issues are not resolved. For example, Firefox does not block pop-up and floating advertising windows, some of which are very intrusive. You even have to disable the browser using the Windows Task Manager. An obvious flaw. However, this drawback is inherent, including Google Chrome. Only in Opera this does not happen. Well, also in Internet Explorer, which is famous for its paranoia. For this reason, from I.E. often impossible to download useful programs. And that’s why users switch to Mozilla Firefox, known for its greater loyalty to unlicensed software.

Who can I recommend using the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser?

With the help of extensions and add-ons, the browser quickly and easily turns into a powerful set of tools for solving various technical and commercial problems. Firefox browser For some reason, it is very popular among application developers for SEO analytics and search engine promotion.

By installing several SEO plugins, the user can instantly receive detailed information about the currently viewed page and the site as a whole. This includes the number of pages in Yandex or Google indexes, the number of incoming and outgoing links, and the presence of the site in directories (black or white). And much more useful information vital for search engine optimization.

A program from the so-called “Must have on your computer” list. A truly convenient and progressive viewer. Made with soul, as they say.

And the last question - where is it safe to download Mozilla Firefox? Latest version on the official site . And there are many previous ones on the portal MajorGeeks.com. It is not recommended to download in other places, otherwise you can easily grab something harmful to the health of your computer.

Do you love Mozilla Firefox? Tell us why in the comments!

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