Even though there are many great browsers to choose from, many individuals are still in the dark when it comes down to choosing a browser that would suit their needs best. So here I’ll point out some of the pros and cons about the five most popular browsers currently being used, and maybe this will open you up to the possibility of using or trying out something other than the usual you’re stuck on.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
The most stable and developer supported internet browser, Internet Explorer 7 introduces many great features and upgrades for Microsoft Internet Explorer users, borrowing several great features from its competitors over at Firefox and Opera. IE7 has undergone a major overhaul from its previous version IE6, making it faster, slicker, and more secure than ever before. The IE7 browser features tabbed browsing which makes it easier for those of you that love having ten or more windows opened at the same time, enhanced security management including ActiveX opt-out which is definitely a big plus, the ability for RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, integrated searching capabilities, a one-click Favorites button, and web pages that can be automatically re-sized for printing. Something I also consider a huge improvement is the wide selection of Add-ons that have been made available on Microsoft’s Marketplace website for this browser.

Apart from all these great features, the browser still lacks the ability for the user-interface to be customizable and does not offer themes or template designs thus far. Another thing to keep in mind is that this browser has the highest percentage of users, which is a positive thing but nevertheless it has also become a negative thing due to the reason that most hackers focus on exploiting this browser than all others. Solely as part of getting to the major percentage of users online, so in a way you could say that it’s the “Downtown” of browsers, it’s so popular and so trafficked that it’s become a dangers place after dark.

Mozilla Firefox 2
Firefox has become quite famous over the last couple of years and it keeps picking up traction. This is mostly due to its better security features and open-source nature that allows it to rapidly grow. The browser comes recommended by almost everyone I know and is by far the king of features due to the massive third-party add-ons and the vast selection of themes which users & developers create for it. It’s truly the best alternative web browser in the market. Some of the great features that has made this browser so viral has been its lean size, the lack of ActiveX security holes, and its extremely convenient features. The browser features tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader, an intuitive download manager, a password manager, automatic updates & add-on installer, integrated and customizable searching capabilities, and tweakable themes which are quite easy to install and switch out. Firefox is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, making it a very flexible cross-platform browser. What really makes this browser stand out from the rest is the much added value and functionality which is offered through its vast selection of add-ons found on the Firefox Add-ons website.

Although its rapid growth and viral presence is quite impressive, you will still find a couple of cons, like that some web pages you visit will not display correctly or that it uses a lot of CPU to run if you are in the habit of having 10 or more windows opened at the same time. Although it may crash on you, it saves your session so the next time it restarts you can continue browsing the pages you were on.

Apple Safari
The Safari bowser is best known for its blazing performance on the Mac, but now it is also available for use on any platform. Safari loads pages up to 2 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2 (depending on system configurations of course). Apart from the speed, Safari’s font rendering component is made to output fonts as it truly should, putting more emphasis on the design of a font which is something any web designer can appreciate. The Safari web browser has an incredibly simple and minimalist display, keeping anything and everything you do clean and without all the clutter. Safari’s performance has by far surpassed all expectations that Apple has had for it, that they even included a smaller version of the browser into all their new iPhones, one of their most popular and hottest products.

Safari is indeed an excellent and quite stable web browser for the Mac operating system, but for other platforms such as Windows, the browser is still in beta (early stages of development) and has several glitches when displaying websites correctly. I’ve even had the browser crash on me a couple of times on the Windows Vista OS, so I would say that it is still not yet fully suitable for other OS platforms. This is due in part to th fact that Safari was just recently launched to accommodate other operating systems, therefore Safari’s programming may still need much to grow and stabilize to correctly take on these additional operating systems. Nonetheless, Safari is hands down the best web browser for Mac computers.

Opera 9
The Opera 9 web browser is the most rugged and best cross-platform browser out there. Opera 9 is able to run on Windows, Linux, Solaris, BSD and Mac OS X, with top notch security features which don’t depend on the operating system that it’s running on. In fact, Opera 9 runs on more operating systems than any other browser, making it one of a kind. It also has fewer difficulties displaying web pages than either IE7, Firefox, and Safari. In addition, the Opera 9 web browser is so adaptable that there is a mobile version of it, which is popularly used in many cell phones and PDAs out in the market. Opera 9 also features widgets that work alongside it, supporting additional online activities.

Although Opera 9 is the best cross-platform browser, it has a small following when compared with other browsers, meaning it is somewhat limited when it comes to Add-ons and other great extras. In my opinion, the Opera 9 browser is still geared too much towards commercial usage rather than individual, even though they’ve just made the Opera 9 available to downloaded free of charge.

Flock
Flock is by far the best social web browser of its kind, because it’s not just a powerful web browser but it’s also a great publishing and social tool for any user. Flock is the latest open-source web browser heavily based off Firefox’s earlier coding, making it as strong or stronger than the popular Firefox browser. The Flock browser is made for and focuses upon web 2.0 savvy users and of course their friends. It comes with integrated social features such as bookmark syncing with Del.icio.us, integrated blogging, a smart RSS reader, flickr support, tagging, organizing, and much more. I personally enjoy all the great extras it provides alongside all the powerful Add-ons it supports. Although the number of users are slim compared to the rest, it still is a rich application for what it’s worth.

Flock isn’t particularly for everyone, some features are for more savvy web users, but that’s probably the case with most browsers nowadays. The browser is also quite useless for users that aren’t all about being social, so if you don’t blog, have a Flickr or Del.icio.us account, and so on, then this browser isn’t right for you. In addition, the Flock browser does have a small learning curve for first time users, so you must be willing to get used to new ways of doing things.