Make Web Browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox Crash Less

When web browsers crash, it is very annoying since you might lose unsaved blog posts, forum posts, e-mail replies, or game saves if you do not have auto-save for your blog, e-mail, and other apps.

I found that by doing a few simple tasks, my web browsers are a lot more reliable, and crash less often then if I do not do simple tasks to maintain my browsers and computer.

Make sure you are using the latest version of your web browser by running the update wizard or Windows Update if you are using IE. For Firefox, go to the Help menu, and pick the “Check for updates” option, and For Google Chrome go to the Wrench shortcut on the top right then pick the “About Google Chrome” option to check to see if you have the newest version.

Also, make sure your operating system is updated by running Windows update, or Ubuntu Linux update if you use Ubuntu Linux to update your OS.

1. Disable or uninstall all un-needed add-ons, plug-ins, tool bars, and themes which you do not need.

If you use Google Gmail, you can switch to the “basic HTML” version of Gmail which does not use javascript or any other scripts, so your web browser is less likely to crash because of a JavaScript error. You can turn on Basic HTML mode for Gmail  by going to the bottom of your gmail account page and clicking on the “Basic HTML” link at the bottom of the page. Although, Buzz, Google Talk, chat does not work in the Basic HTML version, and the basic version looks less attractive and more basic then the standard version.

In most Web Browsers, you can also disable JavaScript for all websites in the Web Browsers settings, but some websites won’t work or will look bad without JavaScript enabled since JavaScript is use on many modern websites, but also can be a cause for many browser crashes because of JS errors.

In Internet Explorer, you go to the tools menu on the top of IE menu, and pick the manage add-ons option where you can launch the add-ons where you can disable add-ons you do not need.

For FireFox, you go to the Tools menu, then pick the add-on option which will launch the add-ons programs where you can disable add-ons, plug-ins, themes, and extensions. You can just click the disable or uninstall button. While you are in the add-ons window for Firefox, click the “Find Updated” button to update your add-ons if any need updating since new updates include bug fixes, and improvements for your add-ons and plug-ins.

noscript is a great add-on for blocking flash, javascrpt, java, and plug-ins on websites which are the cause for many web browser crashes and security vunlnerabilities in FireFox, but using Noscript is kind of annoying since you have to manually allow websites to use javascript, flash, java, and plug-ins on a website. But, NoScript will make your Firefox experience faster, safer, and more reliable.

In Google Chrome, go to the wrench icon, Tools sub menu, and extensions where you can enable and disable extensions.

Note: Before installing plug-ins, toolbars, and other add-ons read reviews to see if other people are experiencing problems with it or if it is safe before choosing yo install it or not.

2. Restart your web browser.

3. If your browser still feel slow, try running a disk cleanup for Internet Explorer or Firefox. For internet Explorer, you can just run the default disk clean up program for Windows to get rid of IE’s temporary files. For Firefox, you go to Tools menu, and pick the “Clear recent history” option to start Firefox’s built-in temporary internet file cleaner. It is safe to clear everything although you may need to log-in to your E-mail again, and lose your history, so make sure to bookmark important websites which you visited in the past, and know your usernames and passwords for websites since when you run disk clean up for internet explorer and Firefox, you’ll be logged out of all of the websites which you were previously logged into.

For Google Chrome, go to the wrench icon on the top right, pick the tools submenu, and pick clear browsing data to launch the Chrome disk clean up wizard.

I personally use CCleaner when I need to empty my system and internet temporary files since it is easier to use and can also delete Adobe Flash Player temp files, and Java temp files with one click of the mouse.

4. Update to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player and Java since a lot of websites uses Java, and Adobe Flash to display games, animations, and videos. The latest version of Flash and Java might run better on your computer.

You can download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player from get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and Java from Java.com

Read my article on How to fix Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer, FireFox and other Windows Web browsers tips if you are having problems installing Adobe Flash Player on your PC.

5. If you run Windows, scan your computer for Virus, and malware.

Microsoft Security Essentiala which you can download at microsoft.com/security_essentials/ is a good free antivirus for Windows.

The paid version of Malwarebytes is great for blocking, stopping and removing virus, trojans, spyware from infecting your computer with its real-time shield, automatic scheduled malware scanner, and automatic updates.Virus, malware, and spyware can sometimes infect your computer and web browser with bad programs which can make your computer feel slow, or your browser not open, or crash a lot, so it is best to protect your computer from viruses.

6. If you use Windows XP to 7, TuneUp Utilities’ 2011 is a easy to use program to optimize your Windows, Web browsers, and internet settings for maximum speed and reliability while using your computer on the internet. You can use it to do disk clean ups, defrag your hard drive, and check your computer for errors.

I also find my web browser is more stable when I closed tabs, and windows for my browser which I do not need anymore. Plus, having fewer tabs open, make auto-crash-recovery a lot faster since there are fewer tabs to recover from.

Closing programs like word processors, instant messengers, and media player will make your web browser feel more fast since your PC has more free system resources to run your web browser.

Sometimes when your browser crash, it will ask you if you want to send an error report, you can press the send button, so the maker of the browser can improve the web browser in future updates.

Try restarting your computer if you notice your web browser is always crashing since restarting your computer can fix your web browser and other program from crashing sometimes.

If you notice your web browser is crashing a lot during the last few days since you installed some add-on on your web browser or program on Windows, try uninstalling them to see if your browser crash less.

Also, try doing a system restore to an earlier date if you are using Windows XP and newer.

You can also try reinstalling Windows, or your operating system if these tips don’t work since sometimes Windows get so broken that only a clean install of Windows can fix your problems with crashes.

I also find Ubuntu Linux to be one of the most stable operating systems when it comes to browsing the web since I hardly experience any crashes and freezes when I use Firefox or Google Chrome Web Browsers in Ubuntu.

Also, check if your computer is not over heating, have bad memory, or a faulty power supply since hardware related problems for computers can cause a web browser to crash.

Please leave a comment if you have any tips on making your web browser more reliable and crash less.