Dave, can I use America Online (AOL) as my Internet Service Provider, but actually use a different web browser — Firefox — rather than the browser that’s included with the AOL software suite? Also, how about email programs?

In the old days, AOL used to force you to use their own tools, but somewhere along the way, a few years ago, they changed their configuration and you can now use any Internet applications you want, from instant message clients to the iTunes store, Firefox to Thunderbird.

The key is to log in to your AOL account and stay logged in. Some configurations might require that you do something within the AOL framework every hour or so, to keep the connection alive, but my experimentation suggests that if you’re using the Internet at all through the AOL wire, that’s good enough for it to keep you online.

To browse the Web with Firefox, for example, connect to…

Continue reading about AOL and Firefox at Ask Dave Taylor’s help desk.