Mozilla Tips

Obviously, one factor that plays into your browsing speed is your Internet connection. Choose a reliable provider like Hughes net to provide a solid and speed backbone to your internet endeavors. For those using Mozilla Firefox, though, there are also a few things you can do to speed up the browser itself. These tips come from Rick Broida at PCWorld, another great resource for staying up to date on the computer world.

• Get rid of your old Java. Just as you don’t want to let coffee sit around on your desk, there’s no reason to keep around old versions of your Java Console. Each time you update Java a new version is downloaded, but the old version is not deleted. You can get rid of these by right-clicking on the Firefox icon and choosing “Run as administrator.” Go to the Add-ons list and delete all but the most recent.
• Set Firefox to instantly switch to new Tabs. In the Tools menu, click Options, then Tabs. Enable the option that says “When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately.” This will save a few seconds each time you open up a new tab, but those few seconds can quickly add up.
• Clear your Downloads list. If your Downloads list gets too long, you may experience freezing whenever downloading a new file. To combat this, just hit the Clear List button to empty it (you can open the list by pressing Ctrl-J).

A number of other reviewers claim that editing your about.config file can speed up the browser as well. For one example, see Mick Gill’s tutorial at MWD, “How to Speed Up Mozilla Firefox and More.” This option is recommended for the more computer-savvy users out there, but the tutorialis pretty straight-forward.