Net Applications reports that for the first time ever, the Firefox browser exceeded a 20% share for a full month. Microsoft's IE still led the way with 69.77%. Firefox at 20.78% was followed by Safari (7.13%), Chrome (0.83%) and Opera (0.71%) for the top five browsers.

According to Mozilla CEO John Lilly, ""Reaching 20 percent worldwide market share is a significant milestone for Firefox and Mozilla.  It's a huge achievement by the global Mozilla community, one that just a few years ago most would have considered impossible.  The open web is more vibrant than ever, and the thousands of Mozilla contributors around the world have played a major role in making it that way."

Net Applications analysis highlights four potential reasons for the increase, including the U.S. election (usage increased in the days surrounding November 4), Thanksgiving (Firefox share increase starting on the 26th into the next month), extra weekend days (November had ten weekend days instead of the average 8.57), and higher unemployment.