First, thank you to Dora Smith, Bob Gillis and N.East for their helpful comments. My only connection with the internet is broadband which obviously both IE and Firefox use. To explain I have an interest in art and frequently download sizeable files of copies of pictures, I noticed the time difference in Firefox but to confirm the difference before writing for your advice I first downloaded a given page for a picture via Firefox and then immediately afterwards did precisely the same via IE and the difference was significant, like minutes. I have repeated the check several times and have ensured that the settings for both IE and Firefox are the same. In particular reference to Dora's comments, I have IE version 7, and I believe that XP service pack 3 has done nothing but slow my machine down. I have concluded Firefox has some additional security which takes its time - if I could delete that I would be happier. I also believe that many of the software suppliers appear to imagine they "own" your computer and are very profligate with the space requirements they impose. Thanks to you all Caribou ----- Original Message ----- From: "bob gillis" <robertgillis@verizon.net> To: <gen-comp-tips@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2008 1:41 PM Subject: Re: [GEN-COMP-TIPS] Outlook Express+Firefox > > > CARIBOU wrote: >> I run Windows XP, use an efficient anti virus programme and have a >> firewalI. I use OE as my default browser and like most listers I get >> spam, reading advice here and in magazines I decided to give Firefox >> a trial. I downloaded Firefox but kept OE as my default and used >> Firefox occasionally. I understand that it is quite acceptable to have >> both programmes on the same computer but it soon became very obvious that >> downloading sites from Google took much longer through Firefox than >> through OE. Why is this? > > In addition to what Nat said, are you on broadband but also have an > internal modem? Are you sure that your settings are correct so that > when you use Firefox it is using your broadband connection? > > bob gillis > >