Just because Internet Explorer came with your computer doesn't mean it's the best Web browser for your needs. There are plenty of other browser alternatives. Here are the top choices for best free Web browser:
1) Firefox clocks in at #1 in my book. The Mozilla team has done a great job of creating a browser that loads pages quickly and adheres reasonably well to Web standards. The real reason I put Firefox at the top of the list is extendability. In addition to essential features like encrypted password storage, Firefox has outstanding support from a massive user community that adds features to Firefox on a regular basis by way of add-ons called Extensions. These extensions are free and add a variety of features. You pick and choose which extensions you need, so they don't unnecessarily bloat your browser with extra code.
2) Maxthon runs a close second to Firefox. Maxthon uses the rendering engine for IE, so pages displayed in Maxthon will look just like they do in IE. Maxthon includes better tabbed browsing than what's offered in IE7, it integrates things like ad blocking automatically, and in general it's the best "upgrade" you could make to IE. Maxthon also specializes in proxy support, so if you want to browse anonymously or live in a country where the Internet gets blocked, Maxthon helps you accomplish this better than any other browser.
3) Opera is another great alternative to IE and Firefox. Opera is optimized for speed, consistently winning awards for being the fastest at loading pages. It bundles many of the features you can get for Firefox through extensions, which creates a rich feature set at the expense of slightly bloated software. The desktop version is free, the company makes money selling versions for cell phones.
