Switching from Internet Explorer to Mozilla Firefox
We are providing these instructions due to the recent disclosure of severe security exploits in Internet Explorer and the recommendation to switch to an alternative browser, such as Firefox, by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), a division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Getting Mozilla Firefox
- To download Firefox, go to getfirefox.com and select "Download Firefox"
- When asked to 'Open the file' or 'Save it to your computer', select 'Open' to begin installation. If you save it to your computer, save the file to your desktop and double-click the Firefox Setup .exe file to start the install.
You can also purchase the Firefox CD and reference books from the Mozilla Store.
Switching is Easy
Firefox imports your existing settings from Internet Explorer. An import wizard will run when you first install Firefox (and is also available later through ), and it imports your Favorites, options, cookies, stored passwords, and a variety of other data. This saves you time customizing Firefox to fit your needs.
Browser Plug-ins, Add-ons, and Toolbars
Many of the plug-ins, add-ons, and toolbars that you may have installed for Internet Explorer are also available for Mozilla Firefox, including:
- Macromedia Flash Player
- Apple QuickTime
- Real Networks RealPlayer
- Windows Media Player
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Sun Microsystems Java Plug-in
- Google Toolbar
- Yahoo! Toolbar
- A9 Toolbar
- Ask Toolbar
- Skype Toolbar
There are also over 1,000 extensions that are available for Mozilla Firefox to extend the functionality of Firefox.
Firefox and Internet Explorer Terminology Differences
| Internet Explorer | Firefox |
|---|---|
| Internet Options | Options |
| Temporary Internet Files | Cache |
| Favorites | Bookmarks |
| Address Bar | Location Bar |
| Refresh | Reload |
| Links Bar | Bookmarks Toolbar |
| Explorer Bar | Sidebar |
| Copy Shortcut | Copy Link Location |
| Save Target As | Save Link As |
Keyboard Shortcuts
You will notice that Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox share many of the same shortcut keys. For a full list of shortcut keys, see the List of Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts.