Google has produced an excellent browser that is friendly enough to handle average browsing activities without complicating the tasks, but at the same time it's powerful enough to meet the needs of more-advanced users.

Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta 2 is much improved over the first developer's beta of IE8 and includes many new features, such as improved tab handling and better search. Consumers who want to see a preview of the future of IE and enterprises that need to plan for the next version of the browser would do well to download it. Keep in mind that IE8 is beta, and therefore may be buggy. In addition, if you install it, it will replace IE7 rather than run alongside it, so you won't be able to run IE7 and IE8, although IE8's compatibility mode does a good job of working with sites built for IE7. At this point, it's too early to compare Internet Explorer 8 to Firefox 3, because there still may be design changes. But when it does ship, it'll certainly be a worthy competitor. Its tab handling is superior in some ways, and the Accelerators and WebSlices are worthy additions. When a more complete beta arrives, it will be easier to do a real head-to-head comparison.

BuySafe might have made sense when e-commerce was young, but in 2008 it seems somewhat anachronistic.

If you want one of the fastest, safest, convenience-loaded browsers available, go for Opera. For speed and improved security alone, Opera 9.5 is a worthy upgrade.

Firefox 3 sets new standards for the Web browser. From security and usability through performance, every aspect of Firefox has seen improvements and immediately useful feature additions. Expect Firefox's market share to not only continue to grow, but grow even faster from this point on.

It's this simple: when Firefox 3.0 goes into final release, you'll want it. It's a significant improvement over Firefox 2.0, adding a host of features any Web surfer will want. You may even want to test it today. Even though Mozilla says that this version is only for Web developers, we found it surprisingly stable and bug-free (we tested the version for Vista).

Promising first beta for what's billed as a more standards-compliant version of Microsoft's Web browser. Just don't forget to switch off Google Toolbar for this first public preview.

The final version of Firefox should provide even more improvements to memory leaks and other areas of performance and, as a sleek, customisable browser this is still a very good application. Previous versions of Opera and Internet Explorer have done more in terms of interface design and security features, but Firefox is catching up.

This one-stop Web browser offers easy blogging and integration with Web services, but not all of its features are configurable.

At first glance, Safari 3.0 seems a solid upgrade. There may not be any earth-shattering new features, but what is new feels well thought-out and improves on Safari's already strong performance.

It's undoubtedly going to be a popular service, although there's some way to go before Webaroo can offer the whole of the internet on your hard drive. This program has a lot of promise, and credit must be given for sheer innovation. But is it going to be the next big thing? Only time will tell.

Good reporting and recording functionality ensures that Spector Pro 5.0 has some appeal.