Maxthon for Windows

Quick introduction

Maxthon Classic is an alternative web browser built on the Internet Explorer engine that offers a highly configurable browsing environment. If you’re curious about moving away from the two dominant browsers, this one is worth a look — especially if you enjoy deep customization.

Interface and personalization

The interface is deliberately packed with controls: toolbars, menus, and configuration panels abound, giving you many more visible options than a typical browser. Nearly every element can be resized, rearranged, or removed, and there are multiple themes and language packs to change the look and feel.

How settings are presented

Rather than opening settings in separate dialog windows, Maxthon tends to load configuration screens as browser tabs. That makes them easy to scan and edit — a useful design choice given the sheer number of preferences available. Core items (like File, View, and Tools) live in the main menu bar, while additional toggles and indicators appear in the status area. If the UI starts to feel cluttered, most components can be turned off to simplify the layout.

Notable capabilities

Beyond the usual options for tab behavior, display and character encoding, Maxthon includes a broad set of extra tools:

• built-in ad filtering
• automatic form completion
• advanced screenshot capture
• fine-grained content controls (such as disabling images or scripts)

Some features are fairly advanced, so consulting the user guide may help you get the most out of them.

Who will like it

If you prefer a very simple, minimal browser or rely heavily on Firefox extensions, Maxthon may not match your tastes. On the other hand, Internet Explorer users who want more control and additional features — or anyone interested in trying a different approach to browsing — could find it a pleasant surprise.

Recent fixes and notes

• Fixed an issue where the Favorites tab listed items in reverse order when opening all items from a single folder.
• Resolved a problem where copying certain text to Notepad via the WebKit engine could drop newline characters.
• Addressed sync failures in the Online Notepad that occurred after configuring a proxy such as stunnel.