How To Set Mozilla Firefox as Your Default Browser

Mozilla Firefox is the most widely used free and open source Internet browser in the world. It competes well with the commercialized Internet Explorer of Microsoft. The advantage of Mozilla Firefox over other Web browsers are its features, it security, its being an open-source, and being a free alternative. There is no reason not to try this Web browser and a reason is not needed, too, if you want to set Mozilla as the default browser.

Download, Install, and Open the Latest Mozilla Firefox

* Simply open the Mozilla Firefox if your computer already has this Web browser. Download a free copy of Mozilla Firefox first. Downloading time will depend on how fast your Internet connection is and how speedy the computer is.
* You’ll get a compressed folder of files after the download. Decompress the folder and look for the “setup.exe” or similar executable file. This will take you to on-screen instructions, which you have to follow to install the Web browser. The application will ask you to restart the computer after that. Do so. And then, open the Mozilla Firefox.

Set Mozilla Firefox as the Default Browser

* More advanced Web browsers today are displaying a banner that tells the user to make them the default browser. Mozilla Firefox is also the same. If it’s not set as the default browser, you’ll see a banner asking you if you want it to be the default browser. Click on the “OK” button and it will automatically be the default browser. If not, there are still many ways to set Mozilla Firefox as the default Web browser like the ones below.
* Go to “Tools” from the main menu. A drop-down menu will show up. From there, select the “Options” to open the Options window. On this window, click on the “Main” tab and from its bottom is the “System Defaults” portion. Check the box that precedes the statement “Always check to see if Firefox is the default browser on start-up. By default, this box is checked. But to be sure, click on the “Check Now” button next to that statement. A window will pop-up, asking you if you want to make Mozilla Firefox as the default browser. This will happen only if it is not. Click on “Yes” to make it the default Web browser. Another window will show-up after that. This will confirm that Mozilla Firefox is already set as the default browser.
* As an alternative, you can go to Control Panel’s “Add or Remove Programs” Click on its “Set Program Access and Defaults.” You can see there an option for the Web browser. Simply check the Mozilla Firefox. Close the program and restart th4e computer. You want to start a new program especially if you want it to run smoothly and properly.


You can now check if the Mozilla Firefox is already the default browser. Look for a document with hyperlinks inside. Click on the hyperlinks—the default browser will open up the link. It should have launched the Mozilla Firefox. If not, then it’s not yet the default Web browser. Repeat the steps above in case you still want to try and make Firefox the default web browser.