Free Web Browser Reviews

There are many free web browser programs available for immediate download and installation on your computer. These include Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Linux and tons of specialty browser programs as well. Think you're stuck with Internet Explorer and all it's well documented security holes, just because it came with your computer? Well, the truth is you're not. There are great free alternatives to I.E. out there that are so safe and secure, you may not even need your spyware and adware program anymore. Here we review and list the best of these free web browser programs. Plus, even more options like free text & specialty browsers and utilities and add-ons.

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Firefox by Mozilla
Firefox is absolutely the safest, most reliable and feature rich free web browser available today.

Why is Firefox so safe? Well for one, it doesn't suffer from any of the security holes that plague Internet Explorer. This allows you to surf the Internet in a virtual air tight, non threatening environment. Just imagine surfing any website without having to worry about malicious program attacks like viruses, spyware and adware and you quickly realize what a great program Firefox is.

The safety features in Firefox would be enough reason alone for most people to use it as their default browser application. However, (hold onto your seat), there are even more cool goodies incorporated into this program. One of the coolest in our opinion is Firefox's "Tab" feature that allows you to open multiple web pages with-in the same main window. Tabs allow you to not only view multiple pages but also switch back and forth between them by clicking the Tabs. If there is a bigger time saver out there for surfing junkies, please tell us about it.

Firefox also has a built in secure password manager that uses an optional master password feature. Simply type in your master password once during a browsing session and Firefox will fill in all your user names and passwords for you. There are many more cool features in Firefox like the availably to import all your important I.E. settings (bookmarks, history etc.). In fact, there are so many, we could be here all day listing them. But don't just take our word for it, download Firefox and discover them for yourself.
Download Firefox. For Win: 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and Vista | Mac OS X | Linux | File size: 4.79 MB. Editors note: You do not have to uninstall Internet Explorer to use Firefox as they play very well together. Also, there is a free extension available for Firefox that will allow you to open a secure I.E. window inside the program. See the Mozilla Website for complete details.

Free Square1 Web Browser
Probably the simplest web browser in the world. Perfect for the technophobe that just doesn't want all those menus and buttons, excellent for children too, or if you just want a quick and simple emergency browser. Get back to Square1...it's 100% safe freeware. No ads...no spyware.
Download Square1 Web Browser. For Win: 98, ME, NT, 2000 XP and Vista | File size: 1.47 MB.

Opera
Opera is a very well designed, feature rich free web browser program that bills itself as “The fastest browser on Earth!”.

Opera is more secure than MS I.E., but far less so than Firefox so users should be aware to keep their spyware - adware removal tools running and up to date.

The program is jam packed with cool features for both Internet surfers and Web page developers. It offers tab browsing which opens all web pages in dockable windows inside a single instance of the application. Opera also integrates other helpful tools like search toolbars, keyword highlighting and lookup, page zoom - which allows you to zoom in on the entire web document you are viewing and more. Web developers will appreciate Opera's menu shortcuts to turn off web pages, style sheets and images so they can see a raw version of a page design.

There are a few drawbacks with Opera's free version. One of these is it's crowded interface due to it being ad supported. Another is Opera's decision to add loads of un-needed menu items that will surely confuse newbies and that others will never use. A more reasonable approach would have been to allow these menu items to be added after installation as an option.

The bottom line here is that Opera is a very powerful web browser that has many pluses compared to "you know who" that shipped with your computer. We recommend it for Web developers to test pages on because it does have a small niche following. However, in our opinion, for standard web surfing junkies, Firefox with it's superior safety features is the better option.
Download Opera. For Win: 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and Vista | Mac | Linux | Solaris | Os2 | File size: 16 MB.

Netscape 8.1
There was a time when almost everyone online was using one version or another of the Netscape browser. Life was good at Netscape, and revenue was even better. That was over eight years ago and times have sure changed. Netscape's newest version is now based on the Mozilla (Firefox) suite. It incorporates a slew of features like tabbed browsing, a mail program, an IRC client and a HTML editor. Our question is, when you already have the best Web browser on the market offering their product for free, why would you want to use a knock off? Anyway, we've listed it, you decide.
Download Netscape. For Win: 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP and Vista | Mac OS X | Linux | File size: 18 MB.

Internet Explorer 7
Once the hottest browser on the market when it day viewed as I.E. 5, Internet Explorer quickly turned into, (sorry to be so blunt) a piece of crap. There were more security holes in I.E. 5 and 6 than MS could (or cared to) keep up with. While the security flaws were a boon to antivirus and spyware removal software makers, they were a virtual nightmare for average users. Since the day view of I.E. 6, and it's infamous problems, other, more secure and intuitive web browsing options began to crop up and take hold.

That leads us to the following - As of this writing, Microsoft has released a new version of Internet Explorer (I.E. 7) The new version incorporates new security features, tabbed browsing, intergraded search toolbars and more. Hmm, sounds just like another product we've reviewed at the top of this page.

We won't spend a lot of time on Internet Explorer 7, accept to say this, we recommend the following: Scrap I.E. and get a Web browser product that lets you surf the Internet the way it was intended to be surfed... without compromising your safety and security, and that already has a solid track record of doing just that for over two years now.
Download Internet Explorer 7. For Win: XP SP2, Server 2003 and Vista | File size: between 11 and 75 MB.

Free Specialty Web Browsers

Site Inspector - Browser for Webmasters
Site Inspector is a Web browser that combines the two most frequently used browser engines (Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Gecko) into one program. Its advanced web page analysis features make it the perfect companion for webmasters and web developers. With Site Inspector’s very own browser, the Analyzing Browser, users can switch between the two browser engines with just one mouse click, e.g., to compare the rendering of a page in both browsers. The sophisticated web page analysis functions - which also integrate into Internet Explorer and Firefox - make analyzing and debugging web sites easy.
Download Site Inspector. For Win: 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP and Vista | For browsers: Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, Firefox 1.0.x or above. | File size: 12 MB

Lynx Text Browser
Lynx is a fully-featured World Wide Web (WWW) client for users running cursor-addressable, character-cell display devices. It is a great Web developer tool because you can view your Website as a search bot would... in text only mode.
Download Lynx Text Browser. For Unix | VMS | Win: 95, 98, NT, DOS386+ (will not run on DOS 3.1, 3.11, or OS/2 EMX. Mac and Win XP versions and workarounds may be available. Please see site for details. Editors note: Lynx can be a little daunting for a non-power user to install. We recommend you visit the sites help pages before you try and install/use Lynx.

Free Web Browser Add-ons

Free Zwinky Toolbar
Here's a way to create your ultimate online personality. Install the Free Zwinky Toolbar. A Zwinky is a customizable online character that can be used to chat with other Zwinky users, or as an avatar on message boards, blogs and profile pages. You can personalize your Zwinky avatar with your own clothing, accessories, hairstyles, backgrounds and more. It works with most IM, Email & Blog applications - as well as social sites like My Space, Facebook, Xanga and MSN Spaces. Zwinky features include: Fully customizable - choose from 100's of clothing options, trend setting hairstyles, cool backgrounds, pets and more. Publish your Zwinky avatars to share with your friends and use them on websites, blogs, email and your IM. Access your own Zwinky character from the toolbar in your browser, or right from your desktop. Its Fun, its easy - its free! U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand only.

Free Download Manager
If you're into downloading lots of content from the internet, this has to be a key component in your everyday surfing arsenal. Download managers exist for two reasons, to simplify and co-ordinate multiple downloads into one easy to manage workplace. Free Download Manager does an admirable job doing just that. The program integrates seamlessly with all major browsers (Internet Explorer, Opera and Firefox). It has a rich feature set that includes simultaneous multi-part downloads, easy restarting and recovery, a powerful scheduler, downloading from mirrors and just about everything else you need in a download utility. The program is 100% clean freeware with no embedded adware/spyware and no annoying nag screens. If you do lots of downloading, we highly recommend this very useful browser add-on.
Download Free Download Manager. For Win: 9x, ME, 2000, 2003, XP, and Vista | File size: 5.3 MB.

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