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It seems that some more technically orientated sites are reporting Firefox usage as high as 30%.

Google have made a massive effort to promote Firefox as an alternative browser to Internet Explorer and it seems the results are really starting to show. It probably needs to be borne in mind that certain sites will obviously have a bias towards the more technically minded who are far more likely to be using Firefox. The wider figures tend to show usage at about 10% but even this is a shows a big departure from the accepted wisdom a few years ago of the complete dominance of Internet Explorer in the browser market.

What is the reason for this shift?

Well, there is certainly an anti-Microsoft bias in some sectors of the Internet community but that does not paint the full picture. Security is a massive problem on the Net and there have been many security issues surrounding the Microsoft browser. In truth, Microsoft have been very quick to plug most of these holes but it is still left a lot of Internet users with a bad taste in their mouths.

Another big advantage that Firefox has been able to utilize is the fact that the vast majority of the malicious scripts and programs designed to attack from the Internet are written specifically with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in mind.

When you combine this apparent easy ride the Firefox has gotten from the hackers with the bad publicity surrounding some of the security faults in Internet explorer, you finish up with ideal market conditions for the Mozilla browser to make a serious dent in Microsoft’s market share.

Will Firefox eventually follow Google’s path to come from nowhere and become the dominant player in its market? It’s hard to tell just of the moment but it’s certainly something that’s worth keeping an eye on.