How slow is your Firefox?

All of my add-ons help me in the way I work using firefox, many of them I use in relation to the forums also, speeding up how much I can do. Many are also security based so for absolutely essential, I have carefully selected my add-ons, no fripperies or bells and whistles style add-ons.

Hi DavidR,

The following extensions works now in SRWare’s Iron also. That is nice, very nice: http://www.mark8t.com/2009/09/22/adblock-extension-for-google-chrome/

polonus

I was never enamoured with Chrome and not really concerned with any possible google privacy issues, so I never tried SRWare’s Iron.

I’m still in the ‘If it isn’t broken don’t fix it’ camp and I’m comfortable with firefox, so virtually all my add-ons would have to work not just a handful.

That is why my trial with an early version of Chrome was so short, fast but without function, as I said never tried SRWare Iron, couldn’t see the point when it was based on Chrome without the privacy issue…

Firefox 3.5.3 AdblockPlus,KeyScrambler.
59,404 K with four open tabs.
5-8 seconds to open with forced Sandboxie.

Something that is really surprising is how much overhead certain Themes can add
to memory use.
For years,because of failing eyesight,I used “Aeon Big”.
I was shocked how much memory I was able to save just by using the
default theme,and increasing the icon size.

Dear Forum,

Thank you all for the responses. They are all very much appreciated.

Best regards,

Avastfan1

Avastfan1, it’s nice of you to post comments like this but it may help the others with the same issue if you post how your issues turned out.

In 1984, the organization which gathers information through a device set in each home was a totalitarian government. Nowadays, it’s a private company which is rapidly increasing its power. Oddly, while I’m bit worried about relying on Google too much, I’m also interested in how things would turn out since Google is doing what nobody has done before.

Chrome or Iron, these are still no comparison to the abandance of the addons of Firefox. Combined with the stablity issue, I think there is time for them to become the defalut browser of my choice.

Hi Rumpel,

Thanks for the post and a very valid point indeed.

The startup speed for Firefox was never an issue for me. It takes around 7 seconds on my computer. I can live with that time. My main concern was the large amount of ‘mem usage’ Firefox was using. In addition, the random significant decrease in speed whilst browsing the web.

I downloaded and ran Speedyfox which slightly improved startup time. I also ran Firefox in safe mode which resulted in a significant drop in mem usage. It ran at around 30 to 40k. So I am unsure whether:

  1. It is my extensions or themes which are causing this
  2. If so, whether it is safe to surf in safe mode with extensions like NoScript disabled

These are my results so far. I am still thinking about what to do :slight_smile:

Hope this helps others and please keep the suggestions and comments coming in!

Best regards,

Avastfan1

Really,Avastfan1,try to check your memory use with the default theme.

No-Script is a very fine add-on,but I really prefer to use “toggle Java Script”,
which is one of the “buttons” of the add-on “toolbar Buttons”

I know that Java Scripts are not the only thing No-Script" protects against,
and I know you can get the same functionality from Firefox by going to tools+options+Content+disable/enable Java Script,but to me this is much easier,and it is Java Script that allows most of the fake anti-Virus scans to Hi-Jack a browser session.

In the long run,since no two people use a machine the same way,it is down
to trail and error to find what works best/lightest/most secure for you.

best wishes,
normishmael

No. Contrary to what the name “Safe Mode” may suggest, it is not guaranteed safe to browse with safe mode…it’s simply for trouble-shooting. You can read the rest here.

Considering the result of your safe mode session and Speedyfox, how about try disabling all the themes and extensions and turning them on one by one, starting from security enhancement addons? If you don’t have as many addons as DavidR or Alan Baxter, it won’t take so much time.

Agreed.

Thanks for the tip.

There was no noticeable difference after first starting with no extensions and then enabling them each individually.

I don’t use any theme, only the default theme.

I did notice that the more tabs you have open, and the more things you do inside Firefox, the higher the memory usage.

In conclusion, we will have to wait for Firefox 3.6 (or later) and hope this is improved.

Avastfan1

PS: That’s what I love about this board! The level of debate, the friendly advice and the collegial atmosphere! Keep up the sterling work lads!