I often get asked by my customers which internet browser should I use.
I have run a series of tests relating to security, usability, compatibility and speed and the table below shows the results:-
1st |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
||
Google Chrome |
Microsoft Edge (* see note 1) |
Firefox |
Opera |
Internet Explorer |
|
Version tested |
79.0.3945.130 |
79.0.309.71 |
72.0.2 |
66.0.3515.44 |
11.592.18362.0 |
Bank supported browsers
(Banks checked = Barclays, Natwest, RBS, Lloyds, TSB, Halifax, Santander, Sainsburys, Tesco, Nationwide and HSBC) |
All banks checked support this browser |
All banks checked worked fine with this browser but none of them have officially confirmed support (* see note 2) |
All banks checked support this browser |
Santander, Sainsburys, Nationwide, HSBC and Tesco don’t support this browser |
All banks checked support this browser |
Adobe Flash Player support - used on various websites for interactive content and videos |
YES - Built In but Disabled by Default (* see note 3) |
YES - Built In but Disabled by Default (* see note 3) |
YES (* see note 3) |
YES (* see note 3) |
YES (* see note 3) |
Java support - used on various websites for interactive content, games, 3D images and much more |
NO * (* see note 4) |
NO * (* see note 4) |
YES |
YES |
YES |
PDF support - used on websites to allow you to view PDF content online |
YES - Built In |
YES - Built In |
YES |
YES |
YES |
Block phishing links - these are links often sent in emails pretending to be your bank or other companies you deal with, trying to obtain your personal details by making you think it is the real website |
2/2 blocked |
2/2 blocked |
1/2 blocked |
1/2 blocked |
0/2 blocked |
Blocking download of dangerous files – tried to download a file containing a virus - to see if it allows you to download it or warns you that it may be unsafe and blocks it |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES |
YES, but it was actually blocked by Windows 10 rather than IE! |
AVG - compatibility with security features they offer |
YES |
YES |
YES |
NO |
YES, but plans to drop support this year |
Norton - compatibility with security features they offer |
YES |
YES |
YES |
NO |
NOT CLEAR, ambiguous information on website |
HTML5 - compatibility with the latest standards used for creating websites - tests run from http://html5test.com/ |
481 / 555 = 87% |
481 / 555 = 87% |
473 / 555 = 85% |
481 / 555 = 87% |
312 / 555 = 56%
|
Security Tests - run over 400 tests to checks that your web browser correctly implements a wide variety of security standards and features. - tests run from |
98% |
98% |
98% |
98% |
71% |
Speed Test - runs various tests to ascertain the speed of the browser - tests run from |
900.18 |
941.23
|
606.83 |
578.15 |
TEST FAILS COMPLETELY |
Note 1: This is the new version of Microsoft Edge that was released on 15/01/20, it is based on the same underlying technology that Google Chrome uses.
Note 2: As this version of Microsoft Edge is very new at the time of testing none of the banks checked had updated their websites to confirm compatibility, but for all I tested it worked fine and as they all support Google Chrome which is built using the same Chromium code there is no reason why they wouldn't work and be supported.
Note 3: All tested browsers currently support Adobe Flash Player but Adobe will be retiring this technology in December 2020, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have already disabled it as default as it is not very widely used nowadays anyway, and like Java below is being replaced more and more on websites by modern technologies such as HTML5.
Note 4: Java is not supported by Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, but this is not necessarily a failure or a bad thing as Java is considered unsafe and is not being used very much at all now as most websites are replacing it with modern technologies such as HTML5.
