What's the Best Internet Browser to Surf the Web?

Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, Safari... We rate the Big 5 of the Internet browser brigade to help you decide which should be your window to the cyber-world.

By John Maringmei

CONNECTIONS
Google
Microsoft
Apple
PAGE 4

Feature Set
There are not many extra features in Safari that other browsers don't have. The usual set includes tabbed browsing a smart enough bookmark manager, and history management. We didn't find the search engine integration very impressive with only two search services provided. Adding more search service providers was not that easy. But it did have a good password/ form manager that was easy to use. There was also no support for add-ons. All-in-all it didn't fare too well in comparison with the others in terms of features and here too Safari was at the bottom.

Fast Track
The only area where Safari gave the other browsers a run for their money was in the Speed and Performance section. In the browser startup time test, Safari was close behind Chrome, even beating it in the warm start test. And in the CSS test, it beat the other browsers hands down clocking only 47ms. Content-heavy sites brought out Safari's ugly side as browsing became quite sluggish Compatibility is not an issue with Safari as it passed the aCID2 test and got a reasonable 75 in aCID3. the browser did use quite a bit of system memory though.

Safe Passage
The security options in Safari are very limited and we couldn't find some essential security features like anti-phishing, malware protection, and automatic updates. But surprisingly, it has a private browsing option similar to IE8's In Private and Chrome's Incognito feature. There is not much to talk about here except that it at least has support for encryption and content blocking. In this section also, Safari came last.

Net Worth
It's evident why Safari came last in our comparison. We really feel that to be in contention, it needs a complete revamp.


Loading...
Applications MarketSpace
Practical Approaches for Securing Web Applications
Enterprises understand the importance of securing web applications to protect critical corporate and customer data. What many don't understand, is how to implement a robust process for integrating security and risk management throughout the web application software development lifecycle. Learn more »
An Executive's Guide to Web Application Security
Since so many Web sites contain vulnerabilities, hackers can leverage a relatively simple exploit to gain access to a wealth of sensitive information, such as credit card data, social security numbers and health records. It's more important than ever to examine your Web application security, assess your vulnerability and take action to protect your business. Learn more »
Web Application Vulnerabilities
Security managers may work for midsize or large organizations; they may operate from anywhere on the globe. But inevitably, they share a common goal: to better manage the risks associated with their business infrastructure. Increasingly, Web application security plays a significant role in achieving that goal. Learn more »
Using ERP To Gain Competitive Advantage in a Tough Economy
For midsize enterprises, now is the perfect time to invest in a significant IT expansion - despite the economic climate. Learn more »
Why BI is Ripe For Businesses of Any Size
Oracle's range of offerings to mid-size and emerging companies reflects its vision that BI and EPM solutions can be embraced by companies of all sizes. Learn more »
Oracle Accelerate
Ovum has been following Oracle's Accelerate program over the last couple of years because they thought it is a smart strategy for penetrating the upper mid-market. Learn more »
The New Age of ERP
Not only can small and mid-sized companies reap the renowned ERP benefits of greater agility, increased business visibility and measurable ROI. Learn more »
 
SPONSORED LINKS
 

CRM Built for IT: The Executive Guide to Selecting CRM that Meets IT Needs

ROI of Application Delivery Controllers

White Paper: 4 Customer Service Myths

White Paper: Improve Agility with Operational Responsiveness

Removing the Barriers to IT Governance: How On-Demand Software Changes the Game

Cloud Computing--Latest Buzzword or a Glimpse of the Future?

A Balanced Approach to an Application Development Platform

Adobe® LiveCycle®solutions for intuitive user experience

10 Ways Excel Drives More Value from Your SAP Investment

What's New in SOA Suite 11g?

Unleash the Power of Java with Oracle JRockit Real Time

SOA Best Practices and Design Patterns

Application Grid: Ideal Platform for IT Consolidation

Ready to virtualize tier one applications? Check your virtualization maturity.

Learn how to provide complete Business Service Management.

Increase ROI of Your Application Portfolio

Return on Information: Google Enterprise Search pays you back. Get the facts.

VMware. The source for Business Infrastructure Virtualization.

ShoreTel tells businesses to untangle from competitors' complexity and turn to its brilliantly simple UC solution

See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Streamline IT Costs. Boost Performance with WAN Optimization.

Build your 1st app FREE with Force.com

TDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.

eZine: A Roadmap to Reducing IT Complexity

Reduce risk, gain agility. See how Progress can help your business.

What's Next for Enterprise Resource Planning?

Gartner Magic Quadrant, Application Delivery Controllers 2009

White Paper: Managed Security for a Not-So-Secure World

SharePoint - Unchecked growth of content is unsustainable.

Focus Under Pressure: Why IT Governance Becomes Mission-Critical in a Down Economy

Should Your Email Live In The Cloud? A Comparative Cost Analysis

Adobe® LiveCycle® solutions for business process automation

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change: The Open Solution

Increase UPS efficiency without sacrificing protection.

Unlocking the Mainframe: Modernizing Legacy System to SOA

State of the Data Integration Market

Enhance Customer Loyalty through Higher Responsiveness

Achieving Business Agility with Application Grid

Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn

Four steps to populate your CMDB.

"Enterprise-Proven" is the Prerequisite for Enterprise SaaS Portal Solutions

AT&T Synaptic Storage as a Service. Expand on demand

Trend Micro ranked #1 against real-world malware. Read more.

Webinar: Jump-start your in-house e-discovery with Ringtail QuickCull from FTI Technology

Top Five CIO Challenges

Read the RSA report: Security for Business Innovation

64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.

A Clear View Toward Virtualization

Virtualization Technology as a Business Solution

The rules of infrastructure management just changed.

 
 
RESOURCE CENTER