Mozilla vs. IE!
Mozilla more Secure than IE, You Say? Not according to Symantec!
Symantec: Mozilla browsers more vulnerable than IE
Published: September 19, 2005, 1:10 PM PDT
By Tom Espiner
Special to CNET News.com
Mozilla Web browsers are potentially more vulnerable to attack than Microsoft's Internet Explorer, according to a Symantec report.
But the report, released Monday, also found that hackers are still focusing their efforts on IE.
The open-source Mozilla Foundation browsers, such as the popular Firefox, have typically been seen as more secure than IE, which has suffered many security problems in the past. Mitchell Baker, president of the foundation, said earlier this year that its browsers were fundamentally more secure than IE. She also predicted that Mozilla Foundation browsers would not face as many problems as IE, even as their market share grows.
Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report Volume VIII contains data for the first six months of this year that may contradict this perception....
Comments
- Anonymous
September 20, 2005
"There is one caveat: Symantec counts only those security flaws that have been confirmed by the vendor. According to security monitoring company Secunia, there are 19 security issues that Microsoft still has to deal with for Internet Explorer, while there are only three for Firefox."
You still cannot surf the web with IE safely. No how many vulnerablities are announced. - Anonymous
October 20, 2005
Well, while the Symantec report does have it's blindspots (maybe a topic for another Blog posting), it's greater, underlying theme was maybe missed on the general public (esp. those looking to shoot some fish floating in barrels).
That is, browsing the web is, in general, more dangerous now than even this time last year. And no matter the browser (Safari? Opera? Bueller?), unless you stay vigilant on patching, reviewing security bulletins and running some security apps on yer system (pop-up blocker/software FW, etc.), it's a matter of time until you have a 'very bad day'.
Considering this reality, all browsers are equal regardless of market share.
Constant Vigilance!
- Alastor "Mad Eye" Mooney