Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox

The Mozilla Firefox web browser has been updated for Windows 10, which introduced a different way of assigning default programs that requires a few more clicks and greater familiarity with the operating system's interface. You also get a more streamlined installation process, some visual tweaks, and a more secure add-on development process.

Pros

Add-on certification: Mozilla is attempting to make its add-ons safer by introducing certification. Developers must now adhere to a set of standards if they want to continue offering their add-ons. This standardization should reduce malicious hacks (not that there were many to begin with).

Search box utility: To the right of the address bar is a box that takes search queries. The advantage over Chrome is that you can search sites like IMDb, Amazon, and Wikipedia directly, without having to load them (or Google.com) first. This is helpful if you have a spotty connection or low data caps, or if you don't want Google logging your searches.

Smooth options navigation: Chrome bunches its settings onto one page, with small fonts and an inconsistent mix of buttons, links, and checkboxes. By contrast, Firefox's settings are cleanly categorized and subcategorized with tabs and a left-hand pane. When you want more explanation for what a setting does, just click the questi0n mark box in the lower right of the option page.

Enhanced password security: Unlike Chrome, passwords you save in Firefox are encrypted, and you can protect them with a master password. This function does not transmit your passwords into a cloud storage system, unless you want to use Firefox Sync, which is optional and can operate alongside Firefox's local password storage.

Smoother scrolling: Whether you're scrolling with a mouse wheel, the arrow keys, or the Page Up/Page Down keys, Firefox moves the webpage up and down with a gliding action that makes it easier to track how you're moving on the page. It's not as slick as the scroll in Internet Explorer 11 or Microsoft Edge, but it's better than Chrome's jumpy technique.

Cons

Australis could still use a few tweaks: The Australis redesign in April 2014 changed every aspect of Firefox's interface, and not all of it for the better. There's still no way to resize buttons, the icons in the upper right are monochromatic and thus more difficult to distinguish, and the original main menu button had a more compact menu. Thankfully, you can get most of the old functionality back with the free Classic Theme Restorer add-on.

Underwhelming add-on discovery: Comparing Mozilla's add-on website to Google's, Google delivers more relevant search results and more visual aids showing how the add-on looks and what it does.

Bottom Line

Firefox for Windows 10 isn't a whole lot different from the version that we reviewed in April 2014, but it's still an excellent browser that performs well against the competition, even exceeding it in a few areas.

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