Microsoft IE 8.0 Browser Security best of all browsers?
Posted in
User Experience, Web Browsers
Posted on
25-03-2009
2 comments
2
Erm.. surely it can’t be true? Where has Firefox and Chrome gone? Could this be just another marketing hype released to coincide the release of Microsoft IE 8.0?
Just like the article announcing how IE8.0 beat Safari and Firefox in the Pwn2Own contest (forgetting to mention the wee lil fact that Google Chrome actually outlasted it.. – article from ITPro)…
NSS Labs recently released a paper that touts putting all the current browsers through over 154,000 individual tests over 12 days and coming up with some "interesting" results. In particular they were testing the browsers’ capability to intercept and stop Malware.
The tested applications included Safari, Chrome, IE8, IE7, Firefox and Opera. The article itself makes for an interesting read especially for the skeptics amongst us.
The actual article can be read (pdf format) by clicking here: Test Report
The actual article can be read (pdf format) by clicking here: Test Report
If you get a chance, please do have a quick squiz at the tests they performed and while they tried to be as unbiased as possible, most people will read it as very much a pro-microsoft article. Even withstanding the fact that IE7 was one of the lowest rated browsers in terms of malware security.
They did mention that Firefox added sites to their block list faster than IE, they went on to add that Firefox identified significantly fewer malware sites.. i just don’t like that word i guess… Also, i’m unsure if they used any add-ons in Firefox…
Still.. have a gander.. make your own mind up. As for me, I’ve got IE8, Chrome and Firefox installed on my machines and funnily enough, find an excuse to use them all at some point or other…
Let me leave you with an excerpt from one of their conclusions… surely the gap cannot be this much?
Hey Dee,
From arstechnica.com
“A recent contest at CanSecWest, an event that brings together some of the most skilled experts in the security community, has demonstrated that the three most popular browser are susceptible to security bugs despite the vigilance and engineering prowess of their creators. Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer were all exploited during the Pwn2Own competition that took place at the conference. Google’s Chrome browser, however, was the only one left standing—a victory that security researchers attribute to its innovative sandbox feature.”
Merely passing it on. I am not a hater of IE at all, I wish it would get things right (even in 8) and make my development life easier, but this is about security, not rendering :)
@Anonymous, As i said, i find uses for IE, Chrome as well as Firefox.
In fact, at work, I use Chrome for personal browsing and IE8 for work, and using Manictime (http://www.newbtech.com/2009/03/managing-your-time-with-manictime.html), I can see how much personal vs work browsing i’m doing :)
And yeah.. it can be an eye opener sometimes heh.
Dee