Avast WEBforum
Other => General Topics => Topic started by: Admiralbutthead on October 11, 2009, 07:41:49 AM
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Hey All,
Well I am sure most of you have had the same thoughts on browsers these days; especially after Microsoft came out with their security warning about holes in IE's security (holes? no kidding...). I find it difficult to use IE after Microsoft came out and warned us about it having problems... I currently use Maxthon but it seems to be lagging behind on updates. How is IE 8 coming along? I usually don't use anything from Microsoft until they have had it on the market a while and people like you tell their people where the holes are and how to fix them...
So what to use; that is the question... I can't tell if Avast helps make my browser more secure; is there any in poarticular that Avast works better with?
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I use IE8 and it has been available since March 18, 2009:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/mar09/03-18IE8AvailablePR.mspx
Windows Internet Explorer 8: Get the facts
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/get-the-facts/default.aspx
Stay Safer Online
The Internet has enhanced our lives in nearly every way. However, as more of the things we do every day depend on the Internet, online crime has risen in turn.
SmartScreen
Cybercriminals continue to rely on deceptive social engineering attacks to prey on unsuspecting web users. Whether it's via an email that appears to be from your bank, a search result for popular content such as games and movies, an advertisement or a link in an instant message promising free stuff, or a fake notification from a social networking site, there is virtually no trick they haven't tried. We developed the SmartScreen filter for Internet Explorer 8 so you can browse with more confidence – knowing you have a greater chance of being protected when you are targeted by one of these attacks.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/features/safer.aspx
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I use IE8 and I love it. It has been tested a few times and shown to be the best of all the browsers in blocking malware in it's default out of the box configuration. the SmartScreen filter is fantastic. It has caught a couple of rogue antivirus things and shut down the page they were on before my security suite even got a shot at them.
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I use firefox with NoScript^^
Its great so far^^
-AnimeLover^^
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But--in order for Firefox to achieve the security level of IE8, it needs to have addons installed. to me, that's a flaw. they even recommend installing the addons. If they know you need the addons to be secure, why don't they incorporate them into the program to begin with? I can't figure that out.
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@Dch48
You need to learn about fanboys:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/fanboy.htm
There are a few here but I like to be more like:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/eaglescout.htm
Watch out for Enfant Provocateur.
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funny MS acknowledging about IE security flaws...I'd love to have the link. Firefox's a million times more secure than Internet Explorer, add-ons or not. There's nothing to demonstrate anymore there, for years now. Internet Explorer has never been and will never be secure. It is Microsoft's shaming component in Windows, and it should be discontinued if you ask me. It's not just not secure, its outdated, version after version still based on the old good Internet Explorer we had in Windows 95. They know it at MS, they damned know it. They're now developing a completely new interface called "gazelle"...as a response to Google Waves and Google Chrome OS... Hope that's not vaporware.
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But--in order for Firefox to achieve the security level of IE8, it needs to have addons installed. to me, that's a flaw. they even recommend installing the addons. If they know you need the addons to be secure, why don't they incorporate them into the program to begin with? I can't figure that out.
Not siding with IE nor FF, but flaws are just "there". It just doesnt go away^^
If there is someone or something that doesnt have a single flaw, then something or someone will make one for it/him/her.^^
-AnimeLover^^
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@Dch48
You need to learn about fanboys:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/fanboy.htm
There are a few here but I like to be more like:
http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/warriorshtm/eaglescout.htm
Watch out for Enfant Provocateur.
I am not a "fanboy" I will acknowledge anything's faults as well as it's strengths but I will defend anything and anybody against unfair and inaccurate attacks. Certainly IE has had it's share of flaws, but so have every one of the competing browsers. Actually they're not really flaws because no one can forsee how malicious individuals will find holes in software you have spent years in developing and testing to make sure it works properly at what it's designed to do. The emphasis is on making it work in the existing environment where it will be used, not some impossible to see future where lowlifes have found ways to exploit it.
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how about opera or chrome
Long time ago i was opera fanboy 8), but now i'm using FF with ABP, NS
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Internet Explorer has never been and will never be secure. It is Microsoft's shaming component in Windows, and it should be discontinued if you ask me.
You're allowed to have your own opinion.
There isn't any browser that's safe. They all have flaws. IE 8 is as good as FF and FF is as good as Opera and at the moment I'm using Google Chrome.
Admiralbutthead,
Maxthon is a browser based on IE with some extra bells and whistles but its still uses the same engine as Microsoft Internet Explorer.
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Internet Explorer has never been and will never be secure. It is Microsoft's shaming component in Windows, and it should be discontinued if you ask me.
You're allowed to have your own opinion.
There isn't any browser that's safe. They all have flaws. IE 8 is as good as FF and FF is as good as Opera and at the moment I'm using Google Chrome.
Admiralbutthead,
Maxthon is a browser based on IE with some extra bells and whistles but its still uses the same engine as Microsoft Internet Explorer.
thanks ;D so they're all as good hey..when diplomacy equals absurdity. Saying that IE's as good as Firefox is like saying that Mars's the planet next door ;) Opera and Chrome are good, in their own way...IE's ugly, in every way, and Firefox is of course not 100% safe, but the safest of them all, and by far.
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Again, enjoy your opinion, you're entitled to it. :)
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***
A Secure Browser ... there is no such thing and never will be.
What one person can code, another person can break.
***
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Hi Admiralbutthead,
Now that extensions coming to Chrome and SRWareIron it is a reliable fast browser.
Firefox with some security extensions is also very reliable, I use it with NoScript and RequestPolicy and ABP. Browser development is a constant fight against bugs, leaks and exploits, always update and patch and use your common sense,
polonus
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***
A Secure Browser ... there is no such thing and never will be.
What one person can code, another person can break.
***
Absolutely correct and it is also true that presently, all the browsers are pretty equal, it's just a matter of personal choice (except for Chrome being by far the ugliest lol). I prefer IE8 because I like the interface, I prefer it's downloader over the others, and because my clean up utilities work better with it than with any of the others. People are free to choose and competition only makes all the products stronger and better.
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Thanks for all the info; now I have some reading to do. I should have known that would have started a "discussion" of opinions on which is the best browser. I should have said which is the most secure for the average user, which I know most of you guys that replied are not the average user. I don't mind installing more security in my browser, as I will have to do with FF but the average user (at least the ones I know) will not be comfortable doing that.
I've been using Maxthon so long I don't recall what I used before that but I recall using several others in the distant past. I have never had a problem with Maxthon until 10 days ago when something tried (I think Avast blocked at least part of it but it tried again as soon as I hit the buttons to cancel/close it) to install itself when I clicked on a link (but I was using an older version). I immediately turned off the computer and pulled the HDD and installed my backup HDD... I'm about ready to scan the original HDD and see what bug I got.
And I liked it's extra bells & whistles. I thought for sure that MS would add those options to IE 7 or 8 but haven't explored IE 8 yet... I am now using ATF cleaner.
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I think Opera "stands head & shoulders above" all other browsers in all aspects except the default skin is ugly & Firefox's Foxmarks is 110% better than Opera's bookmarks synchronizer, it's a disaster!
My favorite skin is Opera's "Bright".
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Have you seen Matt's (Mrizos) reviews of the browsers in regard to their ability to block malware? He didn't post one for Opera and when asked why, said that he had tested it, and it did so badly, that he thought posting a video of it would be useless.
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Thanks for all the info; now I have some reading to do. I should have known that would have started a "discussion" of opinions on which is the best browser. I should have said which is the most secure for the average user, which I know most of you guys that replied are not the average user. I don't mind installing more security in my browser, as I will have to do with FF but the average user (at least the ones I know) will not be comfortable doing that.
I've been using Maxthon so long I don't recall what I used before that but I recall using several others in the distant past. I have never had a problem with Maxthon until 10 days ago when something tried (I think Avast blocked at least part of it but it tried again as soon as I hit the buttons to cancel/close it) to install itself when I clicked on a link (but I was using an older version). I immediately turned off the computer and pulled the HDD and installed my backup HDD... I'm about ready to scan the original HDD and see what bug I got.
And I liked it's extra bells & whistles. I thought for sure that MS would add those options to IE 7 or 8 but haven't explored IE 8 yet... I am now using ATF cleaner.
Indeed, I've gotten an impression that you are more interested in knowledge about browsers rather than people arguing over what is the securest browsers. Personally, I have my own choice and preference but here you have Secunia's advisories.
Vulnerability Report: Apple Safari 4.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/25519/?task=advisories)
Vulnerability Report: Google Chrome 3.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/25720/?task=advisories)
Vulnerability Report: Mozilla Firefox 3.5.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/25800/?task=advisories)
Vulnerability Report: Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/21625/?task=advisories)
Vulnerability Report: Opera 9.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/10615/?task=advisories)
So, according to secunia advisory, at the moment, Apple Safari and Google Chrome don't have known vulnerabilities and Opera 9 (I couldn't find Opera 10 info there) has a moderately critical vulnerability at the moment. Firefox 3.5 and IE 8 has minor vulnerabilities but, according to Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-oct.mspx), there is a critical vulnerability in IE, which are going to be patched on this patch Tuesday as well as other critical/important vulnerability on wide range of their product.
At least, I could say it may not be wise to browse with IE till the critical vulnerability is patched. Other than that, I think the comment below by CharleyO is the golden rule.
A Secure Browser ... there is no such thing and never will be.
What one person can code, another person can break.
At the end of the day, this is why we need to check out the latest information about security, not depending on the choice of our browsers.
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Vulnerability Report: Opera 10.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/26745)
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A browser's internal vulnerabilities to attack and it's ability to block malware that does other things are two different animals.
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BBSpot report: ;D
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/microsoft_antispyware.html
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Have you seen Matt's (Mrizos) reviews of the browsers in regard to their ability to block malware? He didn't post one for Opera and when asked why, said that he had tested it, and it did so badly, that he thought posting a video of it would be useless.
I hope you don't believe everything you read.
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BBSpot report: ;D
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/microsoft_antispyware.html
Cute. ;D
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Have you seen Matt's (Mrizos) reviews of the browsers in regard to their ability to block malware? He didn't post one for Opera and when asked why, said that he had tested it, and it did so badly, that he thought posting a video of it would be useless.
I hope you don't believe everything you read.
Of course not, but his tests are usually very well done and pretty thorough.
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I guess Opera didn't offer Mrizos any money. ;)
PC Tools paid Matousec to test their firewall, so Matousec put it up against outdated brands of fw's so it would be on top.
Most recently Comodo paid Matousec to again test their fw and put it in a line up against outdated fw's so Comodo is now on top.
You can read about this in Wilders forums. It was also mentioned in OA's forum, someone wanted to know why Matousec didn't do the tests with the latest version of OA.
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BBSpot report: ;D
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/microsoft_antispyware.html
"Wednesday, January 19"
Wow, ancient history. Are we digging in the archives now to find stuff ???
This isn't even Browser related :o
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BBSpot report: ;D
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/microsoft_antispyware.html
"Wednesday, January 19"
Wow, ancient history. Are we digging in the archives now to find stuff ???
This isn't even Browser related :o
so what is it ::) and btw, a bit of humour Bob ;)
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Vulnerability Report: Opera 10.x (http://secunia.com/advisories/product/26745)
Where were my eyes? I used Secunia Advisory Search (http://secunia.com/advisories/search/?search=&adv_search=1) and thought I could find nothing. This time, I used both of google engine (http://www.google.com/search?q=Opera+10+site%3Asecunia.com) and the advisory search engine and both of them found it.
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I guess Opera didn't offer Mrizos any money. ;)
PC Tools paid Matousec to test their firewall, so Matousec put it up against outdated brands of fw's so it would be on top.
Most recently Comodo paid Matousec to again test their fw and put it in a line up against outdated fw's so Comodo is now on top.
You can read about this in Wilders forums. It was also mentioned in OA's forum, someone wanted to know why Matousec didn't do the tests with the latest version of OA.
I've been using Comodo's firewall for about 3yrs now. Highly satisfied with it. About a year or so ago I was the target of a directed denial of service attack, Comodo kept me safe. When I used to use Zone Alarm Pro, that same type of attack left the firewall hosed. Locked not only the firewall but Windows itself. Damn near had to reformat to cure the problem.
Comodo passes ShieldsUp with flying colors.
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Photon,
This thread is about browsers, not about firewalls.
I was using Matousec to make a point about Mrizos's possible motive for bashing Opera.
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I really like the new Opera 10,it is dead fast,no question.
That is a bigger issue to me than security,because ignorant as I may be,
I thank all of the major browsers are as secure/insecure as their fellows.
It is also lighter on RAM than Firefox 3.5.3 on my machine.
I also like the default windows skin for Opera,rather than the default Opera 10 Skin.
The only problem is even with Turbo turned off,images still look fuzzy to me.
So I will stick with Firefox.
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I guess Opera didn't offer Mrizos any money. ;)
PC Tools paid Matousec to test their firewall, so Matousec put it up against outdated brands of fw's so it would be on top.
Most recently Comodo paid Matousec to again test their fw and put it in a line up against outdated fw's so Comodo is now on top.
You can read about this in Wilders forums. It was also mentioned in OA's forum, someone wanted to know why Matousec didn't do the tests with the latest version of OA.
Thank You. It needed said.
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I guess Opera didn't offer Mrizos any money. ;)
PC Tools paid Matousec to test their firewall, so Matousec put it up against outdated brands of fw's so it would be on top.
Most recently Comodo paid Matousec to again test their fw and put it in a line up against outdated fw's so Comodo is now on top.
You can read about this in Wilders forums. It was also mentioned in OA's forum, someone wanted to know why Matousec didn't do the tests with the latest version of OA.
I don't believe a word of that.
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not rising to the bait,drone.
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not rising to the bait,drone.
I'm not a drone, they have it wrong. Comodo REQUESTED that Matousec test the newest version of their product instead of an older one that they used in their last tests. In that previous test, the newest version,3.12, was not used even though it was available. That seems like a reasonable request to me. Once again I am reminded why I never go to the Wilders Forums.
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Everything you said,Amen
Comodo 110%!!
When I request extra pepperoni on my pizza I normally have to pay.
that Old Matousec boy,is really accommodating!!
About Widers? I agree. ate up with Comodo fanboys.
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guys why not take a break and leave those flame wars between forums for what they are, not that important after all. What matters is the software and what it does once you got it up and running on your system. I couldn't give a s**t 'bout what Matousec or Wilders or what's his name tells in his reviews (although I admit newbies are vulnerable to the readings), I only care about the performance, and as far as I'm concerned and from what I've experienced for a couple of years now, both CIS (without the AV) and Avast are top notch products. The rest is just the rest, useless gossips and drivel ;)
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OK, Logos,lets take it from there.
Only the performance of the software count.
Lets say there was a cure for cancer,or Lupus,or Ms,or aids.
The only problem was that cure was developed from
medical experiments in a Bosnian concentration camp?
Is it ethical to use it?
Is it fact immoral to use it?
Further, let us say one dollar in ten made on the cure goes to the administration of the concentration camp.
This is the same with Comodo,certs to malware domains,and Kissy-Kissy with Ask!,a highly suspect search engine,and still the heart and soul of Hop-Surf.
You are from the land of Sartre and Camus.
Tell me,is it?
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I understand your statement about ethics...and I myself have difficulties accepting to continue using CIS I admit it and I say it...but until I find a suitable replacement (which is exactly what I've been looking for a few days now...)...I'll have no major problem using it. After all I've spent enough time there beta testing CFP (as well as cpf ;D )...they owe me that...just kidding, that's not related...I'll just keep using it until I find an equivalent, that's not very moral but I don't care.
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There is nothing immoral or unethical about anything Comodo has done. All of the certificate issuers have issued certs to malware domains without knowing it. Comodo has been the fastest at revoking them when it is found out. There also is nothing wrong with offering the Ask toolbar, or anything powered by Ask. The big brouhaha about Ask has been shown to be nonsense and greatly exaggerated. When you query people why Ask is so bad, you can never get a coherent explanation. Ask is no worse than Google, who have their toolbar, and other things, offered up in many software installation packages.
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look for me it's not that: in one of my first posts on their forums about three years ago, when asked about how we felt about their web site main page, I answered "I don't like web pages that look like Christmas Trees, I stay away from them...". Same goes today with "Comodo TV" etc...it all sounds so fishy...all those speeches about Internet security etc...I just can't stand that...again that's cheap stuff; another world when compared to the standards of CIS, but still reflected with "hopsurf" suggested at setup time...it's hard to be oneself a honest person and trust Comodo at the same time...it's not even hard, it's impossible ;D
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I don't find it hard or impossible, I trust them as much as any other software provider. That means not 100%, but as long as I have no problems, all is well. I certainly don't think there are any malicious intentions there at all. I trust Comodo more than I do Google for one example. I was talked into trying Gmail a while back. (I use another free web based email called GMX which I think is as good or better and never has outages). Almost immediately after creating my Gmail account and email, my Gmx inbox was inundated with advertising spam. I had given the Gmx address as the alternative one while creating the Gmail account. I never get spam mail as a rule and it has taken me about a month of asking to be removed from those spammers lists and now things are back to normal. I regret ever going to Gmail. And since I know people will suggest it, no, I do not believe it was a coincidence. I'm convinced Google was the culprit.
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I thought this thread was a discussion about "secure browsers" not Comodo ???
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I thought this thread was a discussion about "secure browsers" no Comodo ???
I agree Bob, but I didn't start it.