Something about firefox that I don't believe...

[YoKenny]

Maybe a poll "Firefox vs IE" is in order... 

If security is what you want; Firefox is the way to go!  If you don't care that much about security then IE is the one for you...

Arguing whether Firefox is safer or better than IE is like arguing vanilla ice cream is better than chocolate because it is white and more pure. 

I do have to say that there are some technicians out there (not all) that don't really know much about computers and pretend that they do.

 
Its all about Ego. 

The bigger the Ego the bigger the BS factor.

My dear old departed mum used to say The empty drum makes the biggest noise.

[Ltangelic]

I do have to say that there are some technicians out there (not all) that don't really know much about computers and pretend that they do.

 
Its all about Ego. 

The bigger the Ego the bigger the BS factor.

My dear old departed mum used to say The empty drum makes the biggest noise.

That's what irritates me the most. If you're a technician that earns people's money, you should make sure you know what you are doing and not let your ego get the better of you.

[Vorpal86]

Hey folks. I disagree with the so-called coputer guy, of course. here is why;

I used firefox 1.5 and up and didn't have many problems at all, and this was over a few years. I then was forced to temporarily use IE and no sooner than about a few hours I got 3 viruses because the sites I had to look through was cluttered with pop ups and ads. This was back with IE v6. i will admit IE7 made a great security leap from 6-7, and It's safe to say it.

The bottom line is, things can crash due to applications/add-ons etc.. trying to use the same memory space as the other, causing conflict, and thus a crash takes place. There are so many add-ons and things that don't work well together, you should expect crashes. The best thing to do is get reviews for the stuff/add-ons you would consider using to determine the bugs and compatibilities with other ad-ons and such.

As far as getting a virus, the majority of viruses that get into your computer depends on the USER themselves, and how they take precautions on the matter. Don't just click anything just because it seems OK. Fact is, it may be too good to be true. Firefox has crashed on me a few times, but mostly because some web sites didn't work very well, or took too long to load. there have been a few instances where FF was using up to 160mb of memory with only two tabs open.

I love FF and the only time I use IE is for updates, and those pesky sites that only work properly with IE. I don't really like those sites because that tells me that maybe M$ and that site has collaborated together so if you don't have IE, you are out of luck. Those sites are not made proper anyway I don't think, because they don't use basic web design rules and code, rather, IE specific code.

So, just be conscientious when browsing, and monitor sites that may not handle the add-ons and such. I happen to be a certified computer technician myself but I don't have the ego. When I fix a comp for folks I make sure they understand what happened, and how to prevent it. I personally wouldn't like to return and re-do a job because I wasn't careful the first time. Sure, I could easily set the comp up so it would mess up again down the road to rake in some more cash later, but that's wrong. The main thing is to be careful, and take precausions so that you can feel comfortable knowing the stuff you have work together well and prevent crashes.

Thats it for now.

[VikingBabe]

Well, I have used various versions of IE in the last 12 years.  Had my share of trojans, hijacked browsers and junk installed although I thought I had decent security installed and careful where I went.  Just wish MicroSoft was quicker on the jump to plug their security holes.  I know how it all works, there is always the rush to get stuff out and not all the bugs are taken care of.  Or spotted but not caught in time before release.  Then there is "ego" or laziness or inexperience or......take your pick. 

Four years ago, I first used Firefox to prevent being infected by a Russian made "Christmas Exploit/worm" while admining a PC game website.  The Russians made it to hit a certain range of IP addresses and unfortunately, mine was in the mix.  My webmaster was able to root it out, upgrade and secure the website with no more problems after that.   But until then, anyone using IE was hit through their ActiveX.  If they used Firefox, they weren't...as simple as that.  But not every website accepted the new browser and so continued using IE after that. 

However, in 2007, when I upgraded to a new computer, I decided to give Firefox another try and never looked back. Largely because Mozilla has made an effort to keep up. 

I am glad to see MicroSoft  finally got their act together with IE 7   And I have upgraded mine to this in my present computer.  AND download all the security for it when alerted.  Yet, as a small business owner, I can't afford to have this computer hijacked by crap that miscreants use IE to attack with.  Having been burnt in the past,  just become a wee bit too leery to go back just now.

Firefox took some getting used to and no browser will ever be totally secure. But the latter is a matter of staying aware and on guard.     
 

[bob3160]

I love FF and the only time I use IE is for updates

I'd call that a users choice. Right now, on this system, I have Opera set as the default browser.
Again, a users choice.
The Windows 7 system has IE set as the default browser and
The laptop which runs Vista Ultimate is set up with Firefox as the default browser.
For me this works out well because I can keep up with the changes of all 3 browsers.
In my opinion, all of these broswers are equaly secure providing the person using them
only goes to safe sites. 

[OrangeCrate]

I love FF and the only time I use IE is for updates

I'd call that a users choice. Right now, on this system, I have Opera set as the default browser.
Again, a users choice.
The Windows 7 system has IE set as the default browser and
The laptop which runs Vista Ultimate is set up with Firefox as the default browser.
For me this works out well because I can keep up with the changes of all 3 browsers.
In my opinion, all of these broswers are equaly secure providing the person using them
only goes to safe sites. 

+1

What's the most important part of OS security?

The user. It's always the user. I'd rather have a smart user running as administrator on a Windows computer with no firewall, no anti-virus, and no anti-spyware than a dumb user running as limited user on a Ubuntu computer with a firewall, anti-virus, and a rootkit detector. Dumb users click on anything, somehow manage to install untrustworthy software even without administrative privileges, and use easy-to-guess passwords.

As an illustration, take a look at this excerpt from the Seinfeld episode "The Robbery," in which Jerry buys a secure "operating system," and Kramer plays the "dumb user."

ELAINE: [from the bathroom] JERRY! [enters the living-room] Jerry, oh, hi, welcome back. How were the shows?

JERRY: Great, I had fun, where's the TV, where's the VCR. [Elaine looks guilty] What?

ELAINE: They were stolen.

JERRY: Stolen? When?

ELAINE: A couple a hours ago, the police are coming right over.

JERRY: Stolen?

ELAINE: [Kramer enters the apartment] Someone left the door open. [it's clear that she means Kramer; she walks to the bathroom]

JERRY: [to Kramer] You left the door open?!

KRAMER: Uh, Jer, well ya know, I was cookin' and I, I uh, I came in to get this spatula...and I left the door open, 'cause I was gonna bring the spatula right back!

JERRY: Wait, you left the lock open or the door open?

KRAMER: [bobs his head guiltily] The door.

JERRY: The door? You left the door open?

KRAMER: Yeah, well, I was gonna bring the spatula right back.

JERRY: Yeah, and?

KRAMER: Well, I got caught up... watching a soap opera...[with a broken voice] The Bold and the Beautiful

JERRY: So the door was wide open?

KRAMER: Wide open!

JERRY: [Elaine enters the living-room] And where were you?

ELAINE: I was at Bloomingdale's...waiting for the shower to heat up.

KRAMER: Look, Jerry, I'm sorry, I'm uh, you have insurance, right buddy?

JERRY: No.

KRAMER: [looks shocked] How can you not have insurance?

JERRY: Because...I spent my money on the Clapgo D. 29, it's the most impenetrable lock on the market today...it has only one design flaw: the door...[shuts the door] must be CLOSED.

http://psychocats.net/ubuntu/security

[FreewheelinFrank]

In my opinion, all of these broswers are equaly secure providing the person using them
only goes to safe sites.

Safe sites? Do you guys read the news posted here? Or even surf the web? There is no such thing as a "safe site"- many legitimate sites are hacked and serve up exploits. Even a Google search can contain exploits.

Browsers are equally secure? Well, only if you ignore the evidence.

 

http://www.webdevout.net/browser-security

[OrangeCrate]

In my opinion, all of these broswers are equaly secure providing the person using them
only goes to safe sites.

Safe sites? Do you guys read the news posted here? Or even surf the web? There is no such thing as a "safe site"- many legitimate sites are hacked and serve up exploits. Even a Google search can contain exploits.

Browsers are equally secure? Well, only if you ignore the evidence.

 

http://www.webdevout.net/browser-security

I understood what Bob meant by "safe sites", and I'm sure you did too Frank.

BBC News, or Free Wallpaper Downloads - which one do you think might be safe?

or, how about Social Security dot gov, versus Hot Britney pics?

I don't think he meant anything more, than a person needs to use common sense when surfing the web, and if they do, it really doesn't matter which browser they use.

I agree with that.

[FreewheelinFrank]

There's no guarantee that media or government sites will be safe, as both have been hacked to serve up exploits.

I've posted many links to articles on this subject, so regular forum members should be aware of the problem.

The stories are also mentioned here:

http://www.geocities.com/dontsurfinthenude/blog.htm

(See the entries for 2/10/08 and 8/5/08 especially.)

The idea of "safe sites" is just wishful thinking, as the following incident should have proved to even the most wishful;

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Avast-Forum-Hacked-Users-At-Risk-70378.shtml
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=76&threadid=2088998&enterthread=y

[alanrf]

Perhaps we could get a confirmation for these year old reports from the avast team.

Why did I miss the reports of the folks who got infected by visiting the avast forum at the time? Perhaps they were remarkably few.

Why didn't I get infected by visiting the avast forums at the time? Maybe it is my luck ... why could it not have been a lottery win?

Why did FWF not bother to report this in the forum until more than a year later?  Maybe I missed an earlier report.  

 

[TheSpirit]

Why didn't I get infected by visiting the avast forums at the time? Maybe it is my luck ... why could it not have been a lottery win?

This takes us back full circle to the title of this topic. It does say Firefox in the Softpedia article, doesn't it?

[alanrf]

Ah ... indeed ... must be because I was using Firefox at the time.

It does rather muddy the waters, at least to some extent, in the point being made in the post by FWF though. 

I have to wonder about where this is intended to take us.  Is the intent to make us all live in fear?  Is the point that we should not be using our browsers at all?  It is a bit like flying.  I didn't get killed in a plane crash yet (but many others have in my lifetime) so I will go on flying.  If I am wrong in that assessment I will try to let you all know from the beyond not to pay any heed to my comments. 
   

[TheSpirit]

And the conclusion is?  The butler did it? 

[YoKenny]

And the conclusion is?  The butler did it? 

Where is Inspector Clouseau when you need him?
http://inspectorclouseau.com

[FreewheelinFrank]

Perhaps we could get a confirmation for these year old reports from the avast team.

Why did I miss the reports of the folks who got infected by visiting the avast forum at the time? Perhaps they were remarkably few.

Why didn't I get infected by visiting the avast forums at the time? Maybe it is my luck ... why could it not have been a lottery win?

Why did FWF not bother to report this in the forum until more than a year later?  Maybe I missed an earlier report.  

 

The incident was openly discussed on the forum at the time. I think DavidR spotted it first. I made a comment too. The hack was confirmed by the avast! team. Successful attacks were hopefully very few as we're always telling people to update their software and the exploit only affected out of date browsers. It was not a question of luck- up to date browsers were not affected. Yes you missed the reports.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30119.0
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30120.0
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=30120.msg249686#msg249686

EDIT: This is actually a second exploit from a year later.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=34039.0

Ah ... indeed ... must be because I was using Firefox at the time.

No, the exploit affected IE and Firefox. It would've been because you were using a patched version of Firefox.