Editing Netscape Browser (section)

== Criticism ==
The Netscape Browser has been criticized for various reasons. Perhaps the most severe is the claim that, in contradiction to its claimed emphasis on security, its use of both the [[Trident (layout engine)|Trident]] and [[Gecko (layout engine)|Gecko]] rendering engines means it unavoidably inherits all the vulnerabilities of both engines, making it potentially less secure than either Firefox or IE on their own.{{ref|DualEngineVulnerability}}

=== Renderer modality problems ===
The switching between rendering engines may also confuse users, since the web browsing experience is very different depending on which is used. A standards based website will generally render better in Gecko thanks to its better standards support, but Netscape Browser renders whitelisted pages using Trident instead. ''"As the switching is transparent to the user, users are left wondering why their experience changes randomly across different websites"''.{{ref|BlakeRossNS8Part2}}

=== User interface issues ===
The optional theme "Fusion" has also been criticized because it does not conform to the Microsoft [[human interface guidelines]] (HIG), either "Luna" or "classic" style, although the default theme, "Winscape", looks more like a traditional Windows application. There is also a claim that the usability of the browser is reduced by not obeying standard Windows manipulations.{{ref|BlakeRossNS8Part1}} Similarly, the excessive nesting of [[tab (GUI)|tab]]s has been cited as a sign of generally poor interface design.{{ref|MozillaZineTabNesting}} The installation program of Netscape 8.12 prompts the user into which theme would be preferred, with the traditional "Winscape" being checked by default.

=== Helper programs removed ===
Some users have argued the formerly included [[email client]] and [[HTML editor]] were more valuable as part of the browser package than new features such as a live weather report and news ticker, especially since these applications were tradition in earlier versions. Firefox, upon which Netscape Browser is based, does not include an email client or HTML editor either, but an [[Firebug (Firefox extension)|HTML editor]] extension can be downloaded from the Extension and Themes section of the Firefox website [https://web.archive.org/web/20170424182937/https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/], and email support is provided by [[Mozilla Thunderbird]]. Older Netscape releases were based upon the [[Mozilla Suite]], which did include this functionality.

=== Collection of personal information ===
Another criticism is that the browser collects user browsing behavior by default [http://my.opera.com/larskl/journal/43]. By default, the option "Allow Netscape to gather anonymous browser usage statistics" is enabled. The option is found in the "Advanced Settings" during installation. As many casual users may skip the dialogs during installation, this feature could be turned on in many installations of Netscape Browser. Some{{Who|date=January 2010}} argue this feature should be called [[spyware]], however this term usually applies only to software that attempts to send private information to companies often later selling this to advertisers, whereas the information collected is actually anonymous.{{Citation needed|date=June 2007}}

=== Password issues ===
A related possible criticism is that in the browser's password manager menu, saved passwords can be viewed in plain text.  Thus, if a user has access to another's account, they could retrieve all their usernames and passwords in plain text with little effort.  Further, this option cannot be turned off or removed without editing the software. This problem doesn't happen in version 8.1.3.

=== XML rendering issue (fixed) ===
A few days after Netscape 8.0.1 was released, Microsoft reported the browser disables the [[XML]] rendering engine in Internet Explorer by causing IE to render XML pages as a blank page.{{ref|BreakIEXMLRendering}} Netscape fixed the issue in version 8.0.2.