Getting started with Firefox - An 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 has links to useful resources that will help you answer other questions.

New Tab page: the right content 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.

Search for information with a single search/address bar

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

Page Action Menu: Bookmark, Pin, Save or Share

Found a great web page? Save it or share it. The Page Actions menu in the address bar allows you to bookmark web pages, copy or send to 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: Surf the Internet quickly and freely

Browse the Internet without storing any information on your computer about which sites and pages you have visited. Firefox also blocks the dreaded snooping tools that monitor your online behavior.

Synchronize 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 Synchronization and follow the instructions to create your account. Then login to the new account on other devices and that's it!

Set up a homepage?

Select the page that will open when Firefox starts or when the Home button is clicked.

Customize your menu or toolbar

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

Add features to Firefox with add-ons

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

Top and bottom list of popular

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, Internet Explorer is very common, known mainly for the fact that almost all users have serious complaints about the Microsoft product.

The history of the appearance of the Mozilla Firefox browser is noteworthy. At one time, the only competitor to Internet Explorer was Netscape Navigator. Pretty decent browser and some of the users still keep it as the default browser.

As a result of the marketing war, Netscape left the stage and the developers posted out of harm's way source codes in free access - in order to somehow take revenge on Microsoft for the insulting defeat.

The first free browser Mozilla Firefox

In the future, from the source codes of Netscape, the world's first free browser, Mozilla Firefox, was born. And instantly won the love of users. And not only its free, but also excellent quality. In essence, the new free browser turned out to be much better than the one that comes 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 hung up.
• Frequent updates and reliable protection from cyber attacks.
• Huge selection of extensions and add-ons.
• Convenient tab system and bookmark manager.

Add-on Store

By the number of all kinds of 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 application 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 analytics and optimizer laboratory.
3. Assemble a set of research and teaching tools.

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

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

The Great Browser War ended in 1998 and was outright lost by Netscape Navigator to Internet Explorer, but Netscape's historyit did not end there, it was transformed into another global project known to all of us under the name Mozilla Firefox!

Mozilla Firefox is one of the most popular browsers, the silver medalist of user sympathies, second only to the ubiquitous one in terms of the number of audience. 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 the victory, it would seem, was already 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 the brainchild of Google.

Firefox is older than its main competitor by as much as 4 years. And in this, 2014, the developer company Mozilla Corporation celebrates the tenth anniversary of its offspring.

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

64-bit Waterfox browser;

Pale Moon browser with pre-installed parental controls;

The multifunctional SeaMonkey harvester, where, in addition to the browser, the developer also offers a built-in RSS reader, mail and IRC client;

Comodo IceDragon browser with built-in security features 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 will be more sense if the product is externally adapted to the capabilities of beginners, and advanced functionality is hidden in a convenient place where experienced users will definitely find it, did not immediately occur to the developers. And only after the creators of Firefox on the background of Google Chrome realized their mistakes. Google 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 as simple and understandable even to children as the iPhone. And when Microsoft turned its Internet browser Explorer into a product like "Take it, use it and don't bother", the developers from Mozilla didn't have much choice. Either they are in trend, or they are in the chronicles of history.

So, Mozilla Firefox has not always had 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 to help advanced web surfers, but beginners fled from it like hell from incense. This is what, for example, the fifth version of Mozilla Firefox looked like in 2011.

Now the guys from Mozilla Corporation are different. And the fact that Firefox is now everything is simple and intuitive, the developers report 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 line" like most other browsers. But the search field is additionally present and nearby. This is a plus - to change the default search engine in the combined address and search line, you need to delve into the browser settings. And in Firefox, you can change the search engine immediately in the line from the drop-down list from among the preset ones, or additionally add another search engine.

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

The Fire Fox developers proudly call the address bar “smart”. Naturally, they were not the first to come up with the idea to name what they finally got around to implementing, and what competitors had long had, and even give it a name-chip. However, the "smart" address bar remembers previously visited sites and when you enter the first characters of the address, it will display a list of suggested sites from among previously visited ones. Not new but very comfortable.

The Firefox menu is now implemented with a single button that expands individual sections. The button is located in the upper right corner - just in case, if the browser will be used by those who are already used to such an implementation of the menu button in Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. Why invent a bicycle that has already been invented?

Important browser functions are additionally placed at the bottom start page Firefox.

Do not be afraid of the nondescript design of Mozilla Firefox. By clicking the button at the bottom of the "Add-ons" home page, you will be taken to the Firefox extension store and can decorate the browser with various design themes, changing them at least every day.

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

Or take a gloomy look for lovers of depressive states.

And you can set just some nice fill as a browser theme.

To add the 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 the bookmarks can be moved to other folders, sorted by topic.

The Firefox bookmarks library allows, in addition to the possibility of convenient sorting, exporting 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 your system in one click using the corresponding bookmark library option.

Customizable browser toolbar

Where Mozilla Firefox certainly outperforms the flexible and customizable Google Chrome is in even more flexibility and customization. Not only buttons are placed on the Fire Fox toolbar installed extensions, which implement additional functionality, but also buttons for almost all regular functions. The browser menu button opens up a number of functions, including the Edit button.

Mozilla Firefox was the first browser to be put on the market for free. The history of the appearance of the "Fire Fox" is quite remarkable. There was a so-called war of browsers. This was back in the early days of the Internet, and there was absolute chaos in the field of web technologies. 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, even then businessmen 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 planted a fat pig Microsoft. Frustrated by the failure, the programmers made the Navigator source codes available for free. In the future, the development of a new free browser, which was called Mozilla Firefox, began to be engaged in voluntary employees of the international Mozilla community.

Mozilla Firefox is more than just a browser

Since there are a lot of developers and everyone is trying to create a browser for their own needs and needs, Mozilla Firefox is not a 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 an extremely frequent update. That's why there are so many versions. At the same time, not all users refuse to work in old Mozilla Firefox, so all models remain in operation. In addition, various alternative browsers under other names are created on the Firefox software engine. For example, the 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. Linker, aka 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 sites and analytics.
• Useful business-class e-commerce tools. You can list indefinitely.

By the number of all kinds of applications with Mozilla Firefox, only Opera can compete. But Opera is intended more for lovers of online reading. And using Opera widgets for applied purposes is somehow not very convenient.

Intermediate conclusions

Thus, the Internet browser has the widest possibilities. Each person can choose from many versions of Firefox the most suitable option, and then adjust to the ideal condition by adding applications. Since the choice is very large, there will not be enough time to test absolutely all Mozilla Firefox. Therefore, in order to narrow down the search sector, it is useful to consider the main directions and characteristics of applications developed by the Mozilla community.

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

The notorious Flat Subway, about which so many bad things were said, made its way to Firefox. The Mozilla homepage is now in a trendy flat style, ostensibly adapted for mobile tablets and smartphones. And quite inconvenient for desktop computers or laptops that do not have touch controls.

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

So, the interface of the new versions of Mozilla Firefox has also become completely flat. And at the same time somehow not very clear. You have to make unnecessary gestures, additional clicks to get to the desired option. This type of user interface was recently tested by the developers of the well-known mobile browser Dolphin. Instead of two clicks, it became necessary to do four. And then all five. Such is the sensitive concern for consumer experience. True, the Dolphins very quickly abandoned the innovation, probably at the numerous requests of the workers.

Mozilla Firefox Developers Recommend Retrograde Protestants Download previous version browser and continue to enjoy the classics. What's particularly notable is that Mozilla Firefox for tablets has a fairly standard look and feel. There are tiles, of course, but on a small touch screen they are quite appropriate.

What is the main goal of unification and standardization? In order not to waste time thinking, so that management 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 ​​the Metro was that the user had the same control console on all devices. Which has not yet been observed. Is a new Browser War coming?

Key Features of the Mozilla Firefox Browser

1. Browsing sites, including in incognito mode, without saving surfing history and deleting cookies.
2. Support new version hypertext language HTML5. Congratulations, dear users - you no longer need to keep updating flash-player. Video on sites can be watched without additional auxiliary applications. True - only HTML5 sites.
3. Ability to save web pages for later offline viewing.
4. Tools for web development.
5. Reading RSS feeds, subscribing to the channels of the sites you like.
6. View mode without pictures, to increase the speed of loading pages of sites and save Internet traffic.
7. Create bookmarks for frequently visited sites.
8. Multifunctional bookmark manager.
9. Download manager with built-in anti-virus check.
10. Flexible and extensive user settings for viewing, security modes, choice of search engine.
11. Saving sessions for later tearing off in tabs the next time you start the browser.
12. Selection of text character encoding, both in automatic and manual mode.
13. Saving a 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. Search for the necessary information on the site, as in text editors.
16. Search for links on the page.
17. Sending web pages to print, with the ability to add custom headers and footers and scaling text content.
18. Support for tabs, fast transition between tabs, moving forward and backward through the pages you have viewed.
19. Toolbar customization. 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 passwords for accessing 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 the specific model Mozilla Firefox. For some, web development tools, such as code validation, are absolutely essential in their daily work. Another will never even need fine tuning user profile or security.

Some browsers based on the Firefox engine have severely limited functionality and are designed for users with clear, narrow interests on the Web. For example, saving traffic or increased surfing speed. If the client earns by viewing sites, you can disable 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

Separately, it is 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 - a browser, mail and visual editor for creating and editing websites. Yes, you can cook up your own web project right from the browser and immediately publish it on one of the free hostings.

This HTML editor will be useful for novice webmasters. Any page of the site can be loaded into the builder and examine in detail the entire kitchen and the anatomy of development. By setting up mail accounts in the built-in client, it will be possible to receive and send email messages without being distracted from visiting sites.

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

Cons of the Mozilla Firefox browser

• There is no convenient function of scaling and fitting text to the screen size, as it is in the Opera browser. Therefore, on conventional displays, you often have to use horizontal scrolling, which worsens the reading comfort.
• The browser security service is questionable. Despite frequent updates some issues are not resolved. For example, Firefox does not block pop-up and pop-up ads, some of which are very intrusive. You even have to turn off the browser using the Windows Task Manager. Obvious flaw. However, this drawback is inherent, including Google Chrome. Only in Opera this does not occur. 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 are switching to Mozilla Firefox, known for its greater loyalty to unlicensed software.

Who can be recommended to use the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser

With the help of extensions and add-ons, the browser easily and quickly turns into a powerful set of tools for solving various technical and commercial problems. Firefox browser for some reason, developers of applications for SEO analytics and search engine promotion fell in love with it.

By installing several SEO plugins, the user can instantly receive detailed information about the currently viewed page and the site as a whole. This is the number of pages in the Yandex or Google indexes, the number of incoming and outgoing links, 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. Really 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 MajorGeeks.com portal. In other places it is not recommended to download, otherwise you can easily grab something harmful to the health of your computer.

Love Mozilla Firefox? Tell us why in the comments!

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