Computer questions answered: question from Carla about using Mozilla Firefox

A computer question from Carla about using Mozilla Firefox

I got another email recently from a subscriber named Carla who asks a very good question:

" Hi Worth, My computer in a Compaq. And just recently I downloaded the Microsoft 2007 to update for the computer course I'm taking online. What I was wondering was, would it be safe to download the Mozilla Firefox onto my computer you talked about in one of your emails. I wanted to ask before doing it. Don't want to mess up more than I usually do. "

Hi Carla, I'd be glad to answer that for you.

First off, I assume you're saying you installed Microsoft Office 2007?

Understand, I'm not criticizing at all, just helping to explain computer terms that a lot of people understandably mix up, so we're all on the same page and understand each other.

To clarify, as I explained in my last email, "download" means to deliver something to your computer like delivering something you ordered from a catalog by mail or FedEx, while "install" means to set it up for use just like you have to set up a TV before you can use it by plugging in the cables, etc.

Also, Microsoft is the name of the company that makes Windows and Microsoft Office -- Office is the suite of programs including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which are used by millions of Windows and Mac users across the world.

Again, it's OK if you misunderstood or misused these terms before; it's a common mix-up and since so many people use the wrong terms, you end up learning the wrong info by example. But that's what I'm here to help with.

Also, as a side note, Office can be very expensive, and there is actually a free alternative called OpenOffice for Windows, or NeoOffice for Mac. These programs offer all the same basic features as the programs in Office, but literally cost nothing, and yet still allow you to share Word documents, Excel documents, etc. with others.

I cover how to download and install it on my Simple Secrets of Word CD that comes with my Ultimate Beginners Bundle of CDs that's available to Gold Club members at a huge discount (in fact, the entire Ulitimate Beginners Bundle only costs about as much as a single visit from a good consultant, but covers more in the dozens of quick, easy lessons than you'd be able to cover in 10 visits from a consultant). You can even order them with the discount while you're still in the free trial period for the Easy Computer Lessons Gold Club.

But to answer your question, now that we're on the same page with the computer terminology, it should be perfectly safe to download and then install Mozilla Firefox onto your computer. It's set up to be pretty straightforward to install, and using it instead of Internet Explorer can help you *avoid* potential problems because of the increased security.

Again, if you feel more comfortable with the idea of seeing it done and being walked through it step-by-step, any current Gold Club members or people who sign up in the next few days will get video lessons with all of the steps on one of the 2 CDs I'll be sending out around the end of the month as part of the regular monthly shipment.

Here's the thing about Mozilla Firefox, or any "web browser" (a program that lets you view web pages).

Web browsers are like cars -- they are vehicles to take you places on the Internet. And just like cars, nothing prevents you from having two of them in the garage so you can drive either one at any time.

Now understand, as I've mentioned, "driving" Internet Explorer is a lot less safe than Mozilla Firefox, generally speaking. But occasionally you might run into a minority of sites that just won't work with Firefox.

This is not because of anything deficient in Firefox, it's actually a lot more to do with lazy web designers who are used to designing their sites for Internet Explorer, or in some cases Microsoft has bribed or otherwise convinced a company to exclusively work with Internet Explorer.

This sort of behavior has gotten Microsoft in hot water more than once, but they have deep pockets so they don't ever stop trying to create a monopoly for themselves. Not very nice on their part, since the little people like you and me end up caught in the middle.

Fortunately this is rare, but in these cases if you have a known legitimate site that only works with Internet Explorer, it will still be "in the garage" so you can just use that to visit that one site, then go back to Firefox for everything else, and be a lot safer in the process.

Hope that helps and makes sense.

until next time, stay safe and enjoy,

Worth Godwin


P.S. If you have computer questions, feel free to subscribe to my free newsletter using the form below, and reply to any of my newsletter emails and I may answer the question in a future newsletter email. I also have a monthly live computer Q&A call-in where you can ask computer questions online, which I announce to my newsletter.

P.P.S. As I mentioned in my last email, I'll be recording video lessons for Windows and Mac that show step-by-step how to download and install the new version of Firefox, as well as an overview of using it on this month's Gold Club video lesson CD, and the lessons will also be available on the password-protected Gold Club members-only area of my website.

If you'd like to join in and empower yourself with more knowledge about the computer and how to make it easier, more fun, and more safe & secure, you can take advantage of my free trial membership to the computer lessons Gold Club right now and gain instant access to a large library of my video and audio computer lessons.