An alternative browser is what we all should consider now. I think the risk of IE does outweighs the selection and setup of a new browser.
I will be doing an impromptu review of the more popular selections soon.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/07/02/alternative.browsers.ap/index.html
Using it for like one year and half… i mean alternative browser not IE 
I’m telling this all the time now,that Opera/Mozilla are the most secure browsers (Opera a bit more imo).
ReJzor does Opera have tabbed browsing? That is a feature i can’t live without!
isnt opera ad-supported? I see it runs on all platforms I use so thats good
Mac,
Opera is somewhat ad supported. The upper right corner usually displays some kind of ad. It allows running multiple windows without starting new instances…kind of a tab browsing.
Opera (without getting into my summary of browser review which I will post in a minute or two) is one of the best picks I will make.
Techie
Opera 7.51 has a very thin ad banner (in pre 7.5x there was a huge one) in its program that is barely visible. You really have to look hard to see it. If you register it,it will go away.
I use Opera instead of IRC client,email client,download manager,address book and finaly browser.
And when you need to migrate to other PC or new Windows installation,you just pack the main Opera folder and you have all email and settings in there. YOu just extract it to the same location and you’re ready to go. No need for downloading everything again (addons,skins,importing bookmarks and mail and so on). Thats why i prefer Opera over Mozilla. Plus a very fast page loading hehe 
Techie, do you know if is the same feature of FlashGet 1.6 (a download manager).
Its history was more or less this: freeware > adware > adware/shareware > shareware > freeware with ad support (like you comment).
Opera never blocked ads for me, it just opened them in another tabbed browser. Was there a setting I was missing?
I have been an IE holdout for a long time only because I like the integration of IE and other Win/MS utilites, features and programs. Unfortunately, we now see a need to seek out other third party programs that will work just as efficiently with each other…in other words Browsers, Email clients, filters, firewalls and anti-virus software. My comments are only derived from my own use and evaluation of these programs. To each there own.
Independent Browsers:
Mozilla which has been in development for some 5 years. Fast, stable and reliable. Mozilla is fast loading, comes with many features like intergrated email, chat etc.
Firefox (Mozilla clone…formerly Firebird Phoenix) is still in its’ infancy being developed by a sub-team of the original Mozilla.
It acts faster than Mozilla but does not have all the bells and whistles (At least not yet!) Very stable.
Will automatically transfer IE settings, bookmarks/favorites etc. Multi-tab browsing.
Opera is one of the best feature packed browsers around. However, I still do not like ad supported software. Although the window is small and Opera does not use pop-anything ads…it still is distracting in the upper right corner. Overall, Opera is one of my top picks for functionality, stability, and design.
IE Overlays:
Since an overlay works on the IE engine, and that is why we are looking for a substitute, then the listed browsers are not evaluated:
Avant
MyIE 2
Sllim Browser
Green Browser
ITrix
Sleepers:
Okay, What the heck is a “sleeper”? A sleeper is a program or utlility that goes unoticed but is of great value:
Wysigot Light Wysigot is an offline/online browser that saves and monitors Internet and network (LAN) documents and optionally alerts you if any of them have changed. It provides several tools for capturing, updating and comparing the stored data as well as a basic search function.
Off by One Off By One Browser is an independent web browser that runs completely self-contained and does not require any other browser - it does not use the IE browsing engine. It can even run directly from a floppy, CD, ZIP etc. without installation
Netscape and AOL are basically front ends, not true browsers, so I did not treat them here in any form.
I could go on to name and evaluate 2 dozen more browsers but they are not popular and little info is available on their integration with Microsoft and Windows utilities.
TECHIE’S PICK
All things considered, I would try Firefox first with Mozilla and Opera falling in behind. Why? Firefox is still going strong and building off the mistakes, errors and bugs of its’ predecessors. I just like “growing” things. In some testing, I found Firefox a bit faster than Mozilla original.
Mozilla however is still one of the top performers overall.
Opera is a really nice browser, but as I mentioned, I just don’t like ad supported stuff, but if it were not for the ad box, then this would be my # 1 pick.
So…which one am I using now…Firefox.
Rej,
Yes, Opera has reduced the size of the ad box but my eyes are pretty good and I still know its’ there. ;D
See my comments on Opera in my previous post
Staind,
Yes, it does have blocking. F12
Technical,
Flashget…Free to try; $29.95 to buy Sorry.
Here is the Opera 7.51 at its glory using Native Windows Skin with MacOS X Panther theme No banner
Otherwise Firefox is a very nice browser i agree. I used it til v0.9.1 when they changed the cache storage method (extensionless files). I also don’t like the way how it stores its info and extensions (in 5 folders all over the PC). Not good for migration when formating disk…
@Techie
Yes Opera indeed has a Popup blocker. Just press F12 when using Opera and you’ll get Quick Settings. Popup blocking is at the top of that menu
For ad banner blocking i use hosts file method (use Spybot 1.3 for this task,then you can manually add any advertisement domains by yourself in the host file using Notepad).
It works just fine and blocks other trackers and cookies as well since it works on global level,not just browser.
Rej.
Thanks for the info. I though Opera had blocking. That was my initial feeling but then couln’t remember.
I guess the selection of a browser depends on what feature/s the user wants “incorporated” into the program without going to third party stuff.
Me…Well I am a puzzle maker. ;D I like having different things working together. 
Hehe i had 3 browser on my machine not long ago.
Opera,Firefox and MyIE2. Now i have only Opera since i use it for browsing,email and irc. No need for extra stuff
Ok I like the Origonal Mozilla.
1 Tab browsing
2 Integrated Email and newsgroups, IRC chat client.HTML editor (Composer) and more
3 Very Stable
4 No Ads
5 Multi Platform (I use Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux and It works on all 3)
6 Ad-Blocker
7 Junk mail Filter (which is good as spamkiller does not work with it)
Right now i (again) switched to Firefox and Thunderbird. Mozilla Suite is cool,but i hate the fact that it has no Extension/Theme manager. Removing nonworking extensions is a real pain in the butt. Firefox has this fixed nicely in current release.
Few tips for Firefox:
Disable referer logging (enhances privacy):
In URL field type about:config enter network.http.sendrefererheader into Filter field and change the value of only entry there.
0 - Remove all referers (recommended)
1 - Remove referer only for images
2 - Referer enabled
Enable Pipelining (browsing speed boost):
In URL field type about:config enter network.http.pipelining into Filter field and change the value of first entry there.
For network.http.pipelining:
True - Enables pipelining
False - Disables pipelining
For network.http.pipelining.maxrequests:
4 is default,higher means better performance,but only on extremely fast lines (8Mbit DSL or T1/T3). Setting too high might reflect in worse speed.
I recommend that you leave number 4.
Also note that not all webpages support pipelining.
Hi RejZor,
Where are these preferences set? I can’t see anything in the standard Firefox options.
I have also downloaded the Crome Edit extension, nothing in the user files there either, user.js empty, prefs.js, contents of options?
What extension or file are you editing to add these tips?
David
It say exactly what to do. No extensions needed.
DavidR,
You can always use the Configuration Mania extension at http://texturizer.net/firefox/extensions/#configmania.
From the creator of the extension -
Configuration Mania allows you easily to configure various hidden preferences and to force uninstall the extensions and the no-longer-required chromes which have no uninstaller.