Couldn't find if this has already been posted...so anyway...

Why do people choose FireFox over IE?

I don't want a big debate, as its pointless, just wanna hear why people go with FF instead of IE.

And dont say "cause its not M$" thats a BS answer

I personally use both, as I use both to test website compatibility etc.

But I do use IE for personal and general browsing, just because I always have, and I find FF heavier (takes longer to load, more hard drive activity). Also, IE is there, more of a "Industry standard". Also, IE 7 is gonna rock with all its cool new features, and still doesnt take longer to load than IE6!

With security, both have security flaws, so that dont bother me to an extent.

there are many reasons i use firefox.

the #1 reason is probably the extensions. e.g. Download Statusbar, NoScript, and a few others.

I also use the portable version of firefox from PortableApps.com because I like how it organizes the program and profile (bookmarks, cookies, passwords, extensions, etc). It makes backups easy, and it lets me configure multiple profiles easily.

I like the bookmarks toolbar, the search toolbar, the find feature, and ease of customization.

I also like being able to go into another OS (linux/mac) and having a familiar (same) browser.

I trust the Mozilla foundation more than Microsoft. Firefox is also updated more often.

and Opera is a very fast and nice browser, but I like firefox more. On a fast and well mantained computer the speed differences between IE/Firefox/Opera are insignificant.

I use portable Firefox, because its clean, and i dont need to backup anything in case of a ghost or something.

On a fast and well mantained computer the speed differences between IE/Firefox/Opera are insignificant.

1-5 seconds makes a world of difference to some people out there. Hehe.

I think Digerati hit the nail on the head here. Customization and security are the two main points why people use Firefox.

On the topic of security however, I read a statistic that something like 90% of malware installations are due to user error (or stupidity... depending on which way you look at it). If the malware install is written to target IE, but still requires the user to do something, then it's not a very good argument against the security of IE.

Good point, my friend.