FireFox 3 Beta 4: First impressions

Just a few days after Microsoft 'excitedly' announced the launch of Internet Explorer 8, Mozilla continues to release a fourth version of FireFox 3, confirming its efforts to improve the most popular open source web browser.

This fourth beta has several noticeable improvements, such as the improved download management mechanism. Now you can search by keyword between the list of downloaded files. The built-in virus scan function has also been upgraded with antivirus software installed - the scan results will now be displayed directly by the web browser.

In addition to a few minor edits that give a slightly more 'modern' look to the main interface, the biggest improvements of FireFox in this version are the site zoom-in (zoom) function: you can Zoom in and out of the entire web page as you like instead of just the size of the text as before. Mozilla developer also affirmed that it "completely cured" the browser 's RAM. FireFox now has the ability to 'reuse' free RAM and defragment RAM higher. The trial also confirms this - FireFox 3 beta 4 seems to load pages faster and doesn't slow down after a few hours of continuous use like previous versions.

FireFox 3 Beta 4: First impressions Picture 1 Bookmark bookmarking system and web browsing interface that received big changes from previous versions are 'taken care of' a bit more. The forward-back button entered as a beta from the beta 3 now has a pretty 3D look in the direction of the "Internet Explorer" rival. The Home button is moved from the address bar to the bottom of the Bookmark toolbar below, 'free up' less space for the Navigation toolbar. Instead of the home icon of the 'Home' key is the star icon to the right of the address bar, helping to quickly bookmark the site being viewed. If the site has been bookmarked, the star will have a bright yellow color. It is also worth mentioning that the 'quick search' function is now included directly in the web address list.

As promised, the latest test version of FireFox 3 focuses on improving security mechanisms. Click the icon labeled Favicon on the left side of the address bar, you will be told who the site is visiting 'authenticated' by, whether it is trusted or not. This function is in fact not very effective because not many sites use SLL authentication system, but it is also a criterion to consider when using online financial services. If unsatisfied, the search for 'More information' function will provide more details: how many times you have visited this website, used cookies of the site, has a password, etc. You can also pop up blocking limit, display photos or not for each site you want.

Instead of having to install third-party software like Google, FireFox now has the ability to warn if users 'miss' a site that spreads viruses, and even use antivirus software to scan for themselves. The file is being downloaded to the computer. Unused long-term add-on components will also be automatically removed to enhance security.

With what has been shown through 4 test versions, surely FireFox 3 will cause "fever" when officially launched. Through some initial tests, FireFox 3 beta 4 is quite stable, and you can try it out 'here'.