How-To: Speed Up, Customize, and Secure Firefox, Chrome, IE8, and Opera
Posted 04/23/09 at 11:30:00 AM by Josh Kampschmidt
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The web browser is probably the most essential application on your PC; there is no better practical way of staying connected to news, your friends, and most importantly, the lulz. But whether you’re using Internet Explorer or newly minted Chrome, each of today's popular web browsers has different strengths and weaknesses. Mozilla Firefox is feature-heavy and relatively fast, but can get terribly unwieldy when crammed with juicy add-ons. The newest version of the once dominant Internet Explorer is a quantum leap above previous buggy versions, but remains slow. And while both Opera and Google Chrome are blazingly fast, they currently lack customization.
No matter which browser you use, you want it to fit your personal needs and tastes. With this guide, we will show you the essential initial tweaks everyone should make to “awesomize” their browser. Whether it’s accelerating browser page-load performance, boosting security, or just improving the look of the interface, we teach you the tweaks that we think should be implemented the first time you start up a browser after installation.
We cover comprehensive step-by-step instructions for Internet Explorer 8, Mozilla Firefox 3, Opera 9, and Google Chrome, starting off with general web optimization tips. So jump into the guide and start tweaking your web browser!
General Optimization Tips
Use OpenDNS
OpenDNS is a replacement DNS server for your computer or router. Generally, this DNS server is faster and more stable than the one provided by your ISP. Since it allows for faster web browsing, this is a good tweak to perform on your computer.
Depending on the operating system you are using, OpenDNS may have a different setup. For the purpose of this guide, we are going to assume that you are using Windows Vista. However, you can find the other setup guides located here.
Click on the Start button, select Control Panel and click on View Network Status and Tasks.
Click on the View Status button next to your Local Area Network and click Properties. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties. Click on Use the following DNS server addresses and type in the following:
Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.220.220
Click Ok and close the connection properties window. To see if you are using OpenDNS correctly, click here. If you see a welcome message, then you are using OpenDNS and no further configuration is necessary.
For more information on how to tweak your DNS settings, refer to our full DNS guide here.
CCleaner
CCleaner is a simple, lightweight program that deletes temporary files, history, and other unused files from your computer. In addition to the file cleaners, it also has a registry cleaner.
Download CCleaner from here. Download the latest version. CCleaner will try to add a Yahoo! Toolbar and make several other changes to your system. If you don’t want it to do this, uncheck the options in the wizard. We recommend that you create a desktop shortcut for ease of access, though.
When you open CCleaner, the main window will display several options. We are going to clean the temporary files from all the browsers and Windows, so we don’t need any of the other options.
Click on the Analyze button to start scanning for temporary files. You will need to close your browser to delete them, so do so now. After the program is done analyzing, click on Run Cleaner to delete the files. CCleaner will alert you it is going to delete the files, click OK to proceed and delete the files from your computer.
Optimize Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 is the newest version of Microsoft's built-in browser and similar to previous iterations of IE it still has speed issues. Microsoft has improved the browser, but it still slightly lags behind Mozilla Firefox in terms of speed. Here's how to improve it.
1. Increase Internet Explorer 8's Connection Limit
By default, Internet Explorer 8 establishes six simultaneous connections to a web page. Each of these connections downloads a certain part of the website, whether it be the main page itself or some of the pictures. Six connections may be enough for smaller websites that don’t use much Flash, but for more complex pages like the ones on Facebook, Internet Explorer will be slow at rendering the page.
You can increase the connection limit by merging a registry file into your computer’s registry.
Download the registry file from here and save it to your Desktop. Double-click on the file and click on Yes to merge it to the registry.
After the merge, you will receive a message stating the merge was successful, if you don’t, try merging the file again.
firfox theme
Submitted by speeddemon21 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 11:15pm
Stry8993 can find help here http://home.comcast.net/~username54321/starfield/mods.html#options_picture_13
Submitted by Why A Duck on Fri, 05/01/2009 - 7:30am
When I first installed IE8, it would take 5-10 seconds to start, and then 5-10 additional seconds for each new tab. Page rendering was hella fast, but the startup delay made me mad.
Finally figured it out after much Googling. If you have let SpyBot (or similar) "immunize" IE, it adds 10,000+ sites to IE's restricted site list. IE7 was cool with that, but IE8 ... not so much. After I undid SpyBots immunization and then redid it with everything but IE's domain and resitricted domain boxes checked, IE8 worked like a champ.
I don't like having to undo SpyBot's protection, but hopefully IE's built-in SmartScreen filter (or WOT) will mitigate this risk.
Need to add, disabling the
Submitted by Bless on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 2:43pm
Need to add, disabling the auto complete and the feed seemed to make my newly installed IE works faster,
has anyone tried and felt the same thing?
I dont want to mess around further than this since anything beyond this point is irreversible, definitely dont wanna spent another 6 hours sitting on my chair to format, install and download all the windows update, flash player & java update for my vista, huh...
Submitted by Bless on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 2:25pm
I tried the IE8 tweak exactly just as decribed, and the result is quite dissapointing in my opinion.
I dont know maybe it's just me but it seemed that IE8 after the tweak is slower than IE7. I had to reformat my windows and reinstall it all over again. :(
Submitted by UpsideDownPants on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 5:01pm
WOW. I don't think you did it right.
WOT ratings
Submitted by Deborah on Fri, 04/24/2009 - 1:00am
Thank you, Josh, for recommending WOT to the readers of Maximum PC. I just wanted to clarify the statement about user ratings.
Our system is based on the assumption that not all users are equally reliable. New users are not very reliable, but over time their reliability increases and their ratings have more weight. Because of this, a previously unrated site will not be influenced by a single new user’s rating. And ratings may change over time and in some cases move to unrated again. This is because the confidence in the ratings falls below the visible threshold. You can see more on our blog about these two things at http://www.mywot.com/blog/anonymity-vs-democracy and http://www.mywot.com/blog/confidence
Safe surfing,
Deborah
Web of Trust
www.mywot.com
Submitted by ericlaw on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 4:54pm
Reader beware: This article is full of terrible advice for IE users and it's not clear that the author did any real research.
1> IE8 uses 6 connections by default, not two. This has been true for over a year, and is documented on the IE team blog. Increasing the limit beyond 6 can result in SLOWER performance.
2> SmartScreen is significantly more effective than competitive anti-phishing/anti-malware solutions, and the claim that it "slows down browsing" is unfounded; URL reputation checks happen in a different thread and in parallel; they are non-blocking.
The idea that WOT is safe "because" it requires two votes is simply absurd.
3> Claiming that RSS support slows down browsing is also incorrect; RSS feeds aren't checked by the browser, they're checked by the Windows Feeds platform on a schedule. The browser does not block on synchronization.
4> Re-registering actxprxy.dll on Vista does nothing at best and is harmful at worst.
5> Disabling autocomplete is a great way to make your browser annoying and slow you down on the web. Anyone with physical or admin access to your computer can abuse you in other ways.
1. The two connection limit
Submitted by hackman2007 on Sun, 04/26/2009 - 5:19pm
1. The two connection limit was a typo. Thanks for catching that.
2. It does slow down browsing, at least it did on my connection. WOT takes more than two users to rate a site as safe.
3. Turning off feed checking sped up my browser. Not all of the tweaks mentioned are going to have the same desired affect.
4. The tweak is not harmful. It just re-register's a dll. It doesn't delete or modify anything. As mentioned, it may not speed up your computer. The tests were done a Windows Vista and Windows 7 computer.
5. Autocomplete stores information about you in plain text format. That seems unsafe to me. To each their own I guess.
Submitted by smashingpumpin on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 3:00pm
I just downloaded the NASA night launch theme and expected Google's main page to be black just like the one in the picture. What am i doing wrong? I like dark themes coz it seems to delay the dimming effect of my dying CRT.
_______________________________________________
he's pwning with a trackpad? oh really? oh reheheheeally?
No Script has been most of
Submitted by brainwins on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 12:32pm
No Script has been most of the time a big pain in the ass for me. It cripples most of the pages.
It´s probably a good idea for those "dangerous" pages one visits every once in a while. But for everyday browsing is just overkill.
Submitted by Editorial_Response on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 2:49pm
Everyone with Firefox should install NoScript. It will keep your system safe from everything except a directed/targeted attack by a hacker. This is a no brainer.
Another added benefit to NoScript is that it blocks the Digg Bar! That rocks! You can keep the Digg Bar from getting in the way of everyday surfing and you will continue to see the actual URL when you surf. Otherwise you do no tknow where you are headed and what site has just been loaded in your browser.
Submitted by Kulmanari on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 2:39pm
Just click on the NoScript icon in FF and set it to allow every webpage that you navigate to and you have deemed to be safe/legit and you'll never be bothered by it while it sits in the background keeping you safe. There are several websites I visit where NoScript is allowing the page to work just fine, but it has disabled code from places like "google-analytics.com" and "doubleclick.net" which are mostly for information gathering/advertisements and even though Ad-Block Plus keeps you from seeing them, the code would still be running without NoScript.
Submitted by amacieli on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 7:37am
I actually don't find IE8 that much slower than FF3, to the point where there is no real advantage of FF3, except maybe for firebug. Chrome just "aw snaps" every 2 seconds, so I uninstalled that with prejudice (although it is quite fast when it deigns to work), and I'm still playing around with Opera (which seems pretty good, though not compatible with some sites (or vice versa)).
Submitted by dethdeks on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:59am
i find that speed dial isn't as great as fast dial, i find with Firefox 3.x that speed dial seems to cause issues, id suggest using fast dial instead, it looks exactly the same but runs faster and is more customizable
link to fast dial
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5721
Submitted by toohightocomply on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 12:38am
Lets keep in mind how many more bugs are in Firefox compared to IE. Plus, Microsoft is a bigger company and can delegate more resources to finding problems than Mozilla can. Mozilla even has on their website a claim about how much better Firefox is, by using a study from 2006!!! Come on. Stop the Fanboyism and stop following orders without significant thought.
Submitted by roninnder on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 1:25am
I find the pure self defeating irony in your post too powerful to take in in a single reading. Take your IE8 love elsewhere MS fanboy troll. This website's patrons are firefox users exactly because we do discriminate in choice of software, substandard though ubiquitous browsers need not apply.
@Stry8993
Submitted by Bobinator2000 on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 12:07am
It's the NASA Night Launch Theme: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4908
Submitted by KNFrH2O on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:27pm
"The newest version of the once dominant Internet Explorer is a quantum leap above previous buggy versions, but remains slow."
People seem to forget that "quantum" doesn't mean huge. :D In this case, though, it still fits! Internet Explorer is horrible (in my opinion).
WHOA WHAT FIREFOX THEME IS THAT?!
Submitted by Stry8993 on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 10:08pm
Please link or say, looks shnazzy.
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