Underdog Firefox blazes a trail while Internet Explorer just browses

Worried about catching viruses, spyware, or other malicious software while surfing the internet?

If you're among the 9 in 10 people using Microsoft's Internet Explorer, you might be thinking of trying one of the alternative web browsers that experts say are less prone to security flaws, and offer newer features.

Firefox, a free web browser developed by a far-flung group of software programmers, has been chipping away at Internet Explorer's dominant position since its debut last year.

Although Firefox offers some features not found in IE, such as the ability to display several web pages within a single window, many users say they are switching because of IE's security holes and malicious software targeting such flaws.

"The big thing for me was spyware," said Adam Philipp, a Seattle lawyer who switched to Firefox in order to avoid the infiltration of programs that generate unwanted pop-up ads and secretly record a computer user's activities.

"I was looking for an alternative," said Philipp, "When I found Firefox, it was faster, more functional and more secure."

The increase in the number of Firefox users comes despite Microsoft's three-year-long effort to boost the security and reliability of its products under an initiative called "Trustworthy Computing".

Microsoft has started to deliver automated software updates for IE as well as for the Windows XP operating system. Last year, the company released a major interim update to Windows XP that included security improvements for its browser, including a pop-up ad blocker.

But critics say such moves by Microsoft were too little, too late, leading to the rapid rise in the popularity of Firefox and other browsers.

According to web statistics tracking firm WebSideStory, IE held a 90.3 per cent share of US browser usage in the middle of January, compared with a 95.5 per cent share in mid-2004. Nearly 5 per cent of web surfers now use the Firefox browser.

In addition to having fewer security risks, proponents of Firefox say that its other innovations are attracting users with a rich variety of plug-ins to enhance the browser's functionality.

But don't expect a repeat of the frenzied browser wars of the late 1990s. Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, an independent research company, said that Firefox's growth will probably be limited because big companies will stick to Internet Explorer.

"Corporations like to standardise," Rosoff said, "It's extra work to roll out an extra browser."

For technophiles looking for alternatives, there are also other browsers available. Norway's Opera Software makes a competing browser and there are also browsers based on IE, such as Maxthon.

Apple Computer has its own browser, called Safari, for its Macintosh computers.

Microsoft has said it will focus on enhancing IE's security features and on a major upgrade for the next release of Windows, code-named Longhorn, due out next year.

Competition between Microsoft and Firefox isn't anything new, when you consider that the rivalry actually goes back a few years.

Firefox is based on the Mozilla browser, which itself is based on much of the underlying software code from Netscape, the web browser that was instrumental in the internet's growth in the 1990s.

Instead of a company, however, a network of programmers called the Mozilla Foundation develops Firefox, to create an alternative to Microsoft's dominant browser platform.

Netscape was overtaken by Microsoft's IE in the late 1990s, which sparked the US Justice Department's landmark antitrust case against Microsoft.

Critics of IE argue that Microsoft essentially stopped making innovations to the browser after it gained its overwhelming share of the browser market.

Meanwhile, Mozilla's backers have gone on the offensive and took out a full page advertisement in the New York Times last year promoting the upstart browser.

And it also appears to be benefiting thanks to another popular marketing channel - word of mouth.

"Any time I hear somebody complaining about their web experience [on Internet Explorer], it will almost certainly trigger an invitation from me to try out Firefox," said Philipp.

Trying the alternative doesn't cost anything. Firefox can be downloaded free.

WINDOW BROWSING

* Microsoft still dominates the market with more than 90 per cent share.

* The firm's Internet Explorer is losing ground to alternatives.

* Firefox is winning users with superior security and features.

- REUTERS