OnYourMark, LLC Blog

This month‘s Pro is John Miller, Web Administrator at OnYourMark, LLC. John explains Mozilla, the popular Open Source project introducing innovative new software.

The Mozilla Foundation is one of the largest distributors of open source software, providing millions of users not just with free products, but also with the right to use and modify those products as they see fit. Launched in 1998 by Netscape, Mozilla has been built up by volunteer and commercial programmers into a large, active development team. Because Mozilla’s projects are open source, everyone is welcome to join the network of users who help design, test, and support them. From the beginning, the focus of Mozilla has been to create secure, user friendly software with an eye on Internet standards and developing community.

Most computer users do not put much thought into the web browsers and e-mail clients that they use on a daily basis. Home users tend stick with the applications installed on their computers by default and at work choices are usually limited to what the company provides. Unfortunately, web browsers and e-mail clients are often the entry point for viruses, worms, and other malware. The products released by the Mozilla Foundation can reduce a user’s vulnerability to such attacks, while providing advanced features.

Firefox is Mozilla’s web browser, intended to be secure, light weight, and powerful for end users. On its face, the Firefox browser behaves in much the same way as the other major browsers out there, though there are a few features that my jump out at a first time user. Included next to the address bar, where users can type in the URL of a website, there is a search bar. By default, it searches using Google, but it can be customized to search nearly any site that has its own search function.

Firefox also features a simple, yet powerful, method of window management, tabs. Within one Firefox window, a user is able to have several pages open at a time, each accessible by its own tab. In addition to these outwardly visible features, Firefox differentiates itself from the rest of the pack in what you don’t see. With a built-in pop up blocker and protection against many vulnerabilities that allow malware to infect your computer, Firefox makes surfing the Web more fun and much safer.

Mozilla also offers an e-mail client, Thunderbird. Much like Firefox, Thunderbird brings new and useful features to e-mail while increasing the security of users. Threaded views are one very useful function of Thunderbird. Using threads, a user is able to sort messages by the conversations they are associated with. This provides an easy way to look back and track what has been discussed in previous messages. Thunderbird also offers a RSS reader, which delivers headlines from you favorite sites directly to your inbox.

Much of the security in Thunderbird comes from how it handles incoming mail. Remote images, which can be used by spammers to track received e-mail, are not loaded unless the user specifically authorizes them. Most importantly, Thunderbird will not allow an e-mail to run a script, small embedded bit of programming, which is the most common way for e-mail viruses to spread. With intelligent spam filtering, Thunderbird is able to clean up your mailbox before you even check it.

Both Firefox and Thunderbird offer the ability to add on additional functionality by using Extensions. Extensions are small programs that can modify, remove, or add to specific features of these applications. Some useful Firefox Extensions include the ability to navigate in Firefox by drawing with the mouse or save a session, including all open windows and tabs, so you can return exactly where you left off later.

Thunderbird Extensions include new anti-fraud measures and language translation tools. By keeping these additional features separate from the main programs, Firefox and Thunderbird remain lightweight and easy to use. Users are not bombarded with options for features they will not use, but have the ability to include features that will make their daily tasks easier.

Along with all the positive aspects of the Mozilla products, there are some disadvantages. Thunderbird does not support some of the advanced calendaring and contact management functions that large businesses require in an e-mail client. While this is a deal breaker for some in a corporate environment, for small business and home users it is usually not an issue.

Firefox runs into problems with pages that were only designed to be displayed on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Thankfully, developers have realized that creating your website for only one browser is a poor design choice. As correct usage of established Web standards increases, the number of sites that Firefox has a problem displaying will decrease. Already, most major sites display perfectly fine in Firefox; it is mostly amateur or feature specific sites that require Internet Explorer.

While Firefox and Thunderbird are considered very secure, all software has bugs and security flaws. The difference between the Mozilla products and their proprietary counterparts is in how these problems are handled. Mozilla does not have a commercial interest in keeping users from finding out about such flaws or down playing the effects. The value of their software is completely dependent on its usefulness and the reputation they have developed for producing quality applications.

Bug patches and security updates are released quickly, providing users with the most secure software possible. Mozilla, like many other open source developers, have a very open dialog with the user community about the bugs and security issues in their software. They offer a special Bugzilla website where users can report bugs and see what kind of fixes are in development.

With Firefox and Thunderbird, Mozilla provides full-featured, secure applications, ready for home and office use. Home users will find protection from the malware and viruses that cause their computers to slow down, crash, and can even be used to for identity theft. Small business will also benefit from the protection given by Mozilla, especially those who depend on their computers but do not have a full-time technical staff to monitor them. In larger offices, the Mozilla applications provide powerful tools that can be used across various systems, giving users a consistent and intuitive interface. Even those who do not use Mozilla software will benefit from the competition created by the innovative features and abilities.

Links Mentioned in this Article:

- www.mozilla.org
- www.mozilla.org/products/firefox
- www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird

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