Firefox 3: new version of the popular Web browser sets the speed standard.(REVIEWS: SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)

SO HERE IT IS: the eagerly awaited release of Firefox 3. Was it worth the wait? If you want advanced security options, plenty of ease-of-use improvements, and a very quick browser that doesn't take a yawning bite out of your memory, then we believe this browser is one of the best around.

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Firefox 3 incorporates a host of new security features, beginning with malware protection that blocks attempts to visit sites known by Google for installing such programs. You can then ignore the warning you receive, choose to leave the site (which brings you back to your home page), or read a simple but effective report on why that specific page was considered unsafe. Web forgery (phishing) protection has been redesigned, too: Instead of getting a warning when you arrive at a page, you now receive a strong warning before you get there and the same three options as with malware sites. You can also click on the location bar's "site favicon" to learn--details such as who owns that particular site, what kind of verification it possesses, how often you've visited it before today, whether it's storing cookies on your computer, if you've created any passwords for it, and so forth. There are links to view both the cookies and the passwords.

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We also like the fact that Firefox 3 respects system-wide parental control protocols in Windows Vista, including disabling file downloads, and that the browser will automatically disable older versions of new add-ons and plug-ins you install.

Ease of use is another area of notable improvement over Firefox 2. Downloads can be resumed if interrupted, either by restarting the browser or recreating a network connection. You can zoom a page in and out by using the View menu, shortcuts, or a mouse/trackball wheel, but there's an option under the View menu that keeps all images the same size and lets you only zoom text. Close that site and reopen it later, and Firefox 3 remembers the zoom level you previously set: a very nice idea. Equally good is the bookmark star in the location bar--which lets you add, edit, or remove a bookmark with just two clicks--and the Places Organizer, which offers the ...