So Opera is a ■■■■-well-resource-utilizing browser 
I haven’t monitored Opera’s RAM usage extensively, but I’ve never caught it using such high amounts. But back when I had a computer with 64 MB I was desperate for a browser that was economic on RAM (my hard disc eventually broke down and I blame virtual memory usage, although not only when browsing --64 MB was way insufficient but I couldn’t find compatible RAM chips). When I started using Opera I noticed a great decrease in hard disc usage and a great increase in speed (partially due to the former).
Anyway what Giraffe says makes a lot of sense. “There’s no point in having unused RAM”, a lot of people don’t understand that, and use RAM manager software that actually harm performance, only because they think that having unused RAM is good for them. ??? If the currently active program needs RAM, Windows will free the one used by other programs moving them to virtual memory. But if the currently active program doesn’t need more RAM that the one available, there’s no point in forcing the others to virtual memory since that will make them slow to respond. Anyway this is off topic… 
Hi guys, well I’m new to this forum but not new to Comodo.
First want to say Comodo thats for giving us great service, updates & fabulous free firewall software.
Second I would like to know (I’m not really a computer genius) but what would be a good safe browser to use? Currently I am using Firefox 2.0.0.12 with add-on no script. Should I be safe? Or there are other web browsers out there I should use such as Internet Explorer 7 with protection mode, or Opera (what I heard Opera has zero vulnerabilities).
I been hearing a lot from other people that Opera & Internet Explorer 7 (On Vista though) is safer than Firefox? Would that be truth? I do quite a lot of internet banking. I just formated my computer, so it’s a fresh clean baby. Only surf the net from trusted sites only that I know of.
So anyone care to give me some tips, advice or even a recommendation to which web browser I use? Thanks.
- Joey
Install them all ;D
IE is needed to surf Microsoft site only.
Firefox is more secure than Ie has a lot of extensions and nearly all site supports it.
Opera is my favorite. its security is great and has many features than plain Firefox but it could have minor issues with few sites. (usually Opera it’s not at fault)
You can also fallback to firefox if you find one of such sites.
Firefox has countless extensions, some of them address very specific needs. Each extension increase FF loading time and memory usage.
Some of those extensions add very singular features
DataAnalytics is a Firefox extension that enables importation, manipulation, analysis and graphing of data. Often websites lock their information in static tables. Have you ever wanted to sort or manipulate a product list sorted by name by price? Did you ever copy a data table to Excel just to calculate some missing information, obtain statistics or to make a graph? If so chances are that you will find this extension very useful.Now with Google Spreadsheet support!
I can tell you that it’s absolutely not true. There’s no perfect software.
IE isn’t needed for anything. You can download updates manually from Microsoft with any browser. Then you don’t want any other business with Microsoft.
Anyways, Firefox with NoScript is, in my option, the safest way to browse the Internet 
Cheers,
Ragwing
More accurately, it currently has zero unpatched vulnerabilities according to Secunia, the world dominant security team. This basically means Opera does indeed have very few reported (known) vulnerabilities, but fortunately the Opera devs seem to be swift at patching them.
Example on the latest Opera 9.x version history: About Secunia Research | Flexera
That was just one of the factors that attracted me to using Opera.
Well there was a new update on Firefox to 20012 don’t know if that would make any difference from the past.
Opera may be secured for time being but the UI is just not my thing. I too use to firefox.
Firefox has a lot going for it and has many useful addons.For example I use it to download vids from youtube.However for day to day browsing I use Opera,it’s very fast,light on resources and above all secure.Also if the default look of it doesn’t appeal to you there are many alternative skins available for download. :-TU
Maybe too many skins ;D. And within each there are 12 possible color schemes (:HUG)
well, in fact, at the moment, FF seems to be the most secure browser (secunia, of course, will tell you otherwise)
add to this not only the noscript extension (which is very fine indeed) but also the prefbar (moz.dev)
to be able to disable referrer mode at any time (just an example)
Cheers
The REBOL
and, oh, I almost forgot:
add the adblock plus extension (and be sure to add some fine lists)
Yeah I feel more secure with no script on.
But at the same time I am just curious about Opera security than Firefox.
I keep getting second thoughts, but end up being with Firefox…
I would like to know more for the Opera users, if able to share their experience with this web browser.
I barely used Opera so I couldn’t tell any difference. (B)
It’s open to debate which browser is more secure,FF or Opera.No doubt that both are very secure when configured correctly.Personally I find Opera faster and lighter on resources for day to day surfing,but FF has many positives too,so why choose? they’re both free! :BNC
You have a point there Andy. Anyway I’ll stick with Firefox…it’s been my daily browser for many years.
Much I feel safe with the no script addon which is very good extension for Firefox.
Also regards to IE7, the addon…IE7Pro would that be any good? I heard people talk about it which is a good feature for Internet Explorer 7 & more secured…
Any ideas? (:NRD)
I never use IE7 personally but from a quick look IE7pro does seem to be ok,anything that improves it’s security has to be a good thing (:LGH)
IE7 is NEVER needed.
Firefox is quite secure and has proven itself to me. People will say Opera is more secure, but since Opera can do IE emulation, that leads me to believe there are some vulns similar to IE.
???
By the way, I’ve heard that the upcoming version 3 of Firefox is said to have some increased security. It’s available for BETA-testing at the moment.
Also, all browsers do, and will have vulnerabilities, so choose the one you like the most! With CFP 3 (or another HIPS with firewall) you should be safe with any of them
Cheers,
Ragwing
Actually Opera has better standard support. IE and FF sometimes just enforce their quirks. The results is that IE and FF have the best compatibility 88)
Opera is able to fake the User agent and report itself as FF or IE. This feature was added because some sites check if IE or FF is used in order to work
so is Opera don’t fake its identity those sites will not work.
IE and FF have most support from 3rd party products. That is Opera integration is often forgotten or handled as a working in progess :-\
Opera render engine has the most scalability it has been ported on many platforms. The result I guess was speed increase and polishing.
IMHO the best way to stay safe is to do all of your web surfing inside a sandbox. Sandboxie is a good example of this type of virtualisation software: it is free and supports all three browsers mentioned. It doesn’t work on 64 bit Vista though.
If you sandbox the browser, your PC simply won’t get infected in the first place as any malware you may encounter will be contained within the sandbox. The choice of browser then comes down to personal preference as to which one you like best. As for me, I prefer either Firefox or Opera to IE7.
The only thing I would say if you decide to give sandboxing a try is to make sure that you always empty the sandbox before visiting any banking or shopping sites then empty the sandbox again afterwards before resuming general web surfing.
Another possibility is to run your browser with reduced rights. Not quite as secure as sandboxing, but a good alternative if the idea of virtualisation doesn’t appeal to you.
Whichever browser you decide to use, running it within a sandbox or with reduced rights will increase your security.
Sandboxing is a good solution to prevent permanent damage. Using it the way you describe seems good enough.
A secure browser should always be used. Other than this I guess another thing is to not rely on cookies or browser password vaults for money related sites (at least).