The much touted Firefox browser is often reviewed less as technical product and more of a toy.  As such the actual inherent problems and abilities have often been over looked.  For instance I was suggested to me that I start using Firefox on my client’s computers in order to prevent malware.  I took the suggestion seriously and look into Firefox’s security more closely to evaluate whether security would be improved by using the acclaimed browser.  As it turned out nothing could be farther from the truth.  Firefox one of the highest rates of security based problems better only than Apples Safari browser, and worse by a long shot than IE8, Opera, and Chrome. 

                The attraction for us to Firefox has more to do with specific features that can be plugged in.  For me specifically I use a service called Amazon S3 which allows me to upload file to the internet.  Firefox allows a plug-in called S3-Fox to interact with the service right from the browser window.  It just so happens that there is not a better stand alone tool to do the same job, which is why I use Firefox.  This is to only reason I use Firefox and I spent a lot of time on the web.  I don’t think very highly of the browser other than the fact it is open source and think other should also avoid it.  I have heard others explain that it is lighter weight than other browsers, but test show that on any modern system the fractions we are talking about are negligible.  Is getting a virus or having your identity stolen worth a fraction of one second?  Not to me.

                Interface wise Firefox is decent, however anymore most of the browsers have roughly the same layout, and similar features.  Firefox though is decently customizable though if looks is what you are after.   I find that Mozilla Firefox primarily fills a browser hole that consists of developers who have very specific needs.  If you do not fall somewhere in that category than you will not find any benefit in using Firefox.