Why I Love the Maxthon Web Browser

I have never been a big fan of Internet Explorer. Don't get me wrong, I love many of the features of the popular browser, including the tabs, plug-ins, and URL aliases. What I don't like is the unreliability. It is extremely frustrating to be in the middle of an important document or program and then see "Microsoft Internet Explorer Has Encountered A Problem And Needs to Close".

If that unwelcome error message was a rarity, then I wouldn't have a big issue with it. But when I used IE, it would occur daily, often multiple times a day. Sure, you can consult Microsoft's web site and read up on potential reasons why this happens and try to employ their recommended measures to prevent the problem.

I'm not terribly patient, however, so I decided to test the browser waters and see what else was out there. Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome are among the biggest names out there, and each one has its strong points. After considering several options I decided to try a lesser-known browser called Maxthon.

Maxthon is not widely known in the U.S., but is the second most popular browser in China(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxthon). I am using the current version, which is Maxthon 2.5.11, and it performs flawlessly. It is similar to IE in many ways, but is super stable. I have never had a browser-based shutdown while on the internet, and I have been running Maxthon daily several hours a day for about the last seven months.

Reliability isn't the only welcome feature of Maxthon. The browser is similar to IE in many ways, so there is very little learning curve for IE users looking to switch. Maxthon has tabs, customizable skins, security updates, and most of the popular features of IE. One feature that I really like is the pop-up blocker, which is more effective than the one IE uses.

If you are familiar with those annoying ads that move across the screen or swell to enormous size, blocking out almost the entire web page you are trying to view, you will definitely appreciate the Maxthon pop-up blocker. All those annoying ads are gone.

Maxthon is free and can be downloaded at its official site,

http://maxthon.com/. Another option is to get it from download.com, which is where I got it from. If you are looking for a full-featured browser that is fast, reliable, and compatible with IE, Maxthon is an excellent choice.