# Freaking Firefox **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880 "2012-01-09T01:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/1 "2012-01-09T01:53:44Z")
Firefox just upgraded itself into something that doesn’t want to work well on my laptop - MacBook, OS 10.5.8. Is there anyway to get an older version back? I looked on Google but didn’t have much luck. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/2 "2012-01-09T01:57:05Z")
You can download [old versions of Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all-older.html), but it’s probably not a good idea because support for them won’t last much longer. Firefox is an ancient, bloated, incompatible monster now. Try [Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/) instead. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/3 "2012-01-09T02:03:04Z")
you can go back to the old version and feel safe for as long as security updates are made for it. also email Firefox or go to forum and let them know your experience, they need feedback to fix it or make it better. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/4 "2012-01-09T02:07:19Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > You can download [old versions of Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all-older.html), but it’s probably not a good idea because support for them won’t last much longer. > > Firefox is an ancient, bloated, incompatible monster now. Try [Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/) instead. Ah, whine, really? Grumble grumble _moving bookmarks_ grumble _learning new stuff_ grumble. > [@johnpost](#): > > you can go back to the old version and feel safe for as long as security updates are made for it. If I’m on Mac, how much do I need to worry about security updates? > [@](#): > > also email Firefox or go to forum and let them know your experience, they need feedback to fix it or make it better. Its hanging and running slow - is that specific enough to by useful to them? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/5 "2012-01-09T04:41:26Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Ah, whine, really? Grumble grumble _moving bookmarks_ grumble _learning new stuff_ grumble. Just try it. Chrome can import bookmarks and some other things from Firefox. If you don’t like it, you can always delete it and move back to Firefox. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/6 "2012-01-09T04:42:21Z")
The whole security thing is highly overblown. Use what you want to use. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/7 "2012-01-09T04:49:20Z")
I wouldn’t say it’s overblown, having fixed more infected computers than I care to count, but it’s certainly safer on a Mac – for now. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/8 "2012-01-09T04:58:36Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Firefox is an ancient, bloated, incompatible monster now. Try [Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/) instead. Now, that’s just bias. Nothing wrong with anything FF7 or newer. Benchmarkwise, it compares favorably with everything else. Not too big a memory footprint, either. One of the unfortunate things about wider spread acceptance is that a lot of people have the old versions or have a bunch of bad legacy addons or such. It’s probably not better than the latest version of Chrome, but Firefox is no worse, either. I can’t wait for the inevitable complaints about Chrome 2 or 3 years down the road, either. Seems to happen with every browser. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/9 "2012-01-09T05:17:07Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I wouldn’t say it’s overblown, having fixed more infected computers than I care to count, but it’s certainly safer on a Mac – for now. What I really should have said is that Firefox 9 just isn’t a big enough leap for you to use it if it is causing problems. That said, before nuking it, you might as well try [making a new profile](http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Profiles). Chances are that the bug is in the upgrade and not in the program itself, seeing as there aren’t wide reports of problems. Of course, this means you’ll have to copy back all your old bookmarks and plugins, so it may not be worth it. Finally, I want to clarify one thing: Firefox was never intended to be a lean browser. It’s big claim to fame was its features and its customizablity. Chrome, on the other hand, has always put its focus on speed, to the detriment of both of the above. In other words, a switch to Chrome may be right for you, but don’t assume it is. It sure wasn’t for me. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freaking-firefox/608880/10 "2012-01-09T06:01:17Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Now, that’s just bias. Nothing wrong with anything FF7 or newer. Benchmarkwise, it compares favorably with everything else. Not too big a memory footprint, either. > > One of the unfortunate things about wider spread acceptance is that a lot of people have the old versions or have a bunch of bad legacy addons or such. > > It’s probably not better than the latest version of Chrome, but Firefox is no worse, either. > > I can’t wait for the inevitable complaints about Chrome 2 or 3 years down the road, either. Seems to happen with every browser. There’s some truth to both of our statements. Probably not worth debating because I doubt there’s much to be added that a million other flamewars haven’t already covered 🙂