Browser galore - benchmark yours!

[polonus]

Hi malware fighters,

Browsers galore to choose from, but what browser is rendering best for you. Benchmark your browser of choice here:
http://service.futuremark.com/peacekeeper/index.action
It's very rough, but seems to be a good indication of where abouts browsers are in comparison to each other.
Though, once you get to a certain point (around IE7, IE8), it becomes irrelevant to the major scope of what you would want to do. Or could we say, irrelevant of what you can do, while slow browsers still have high market-shares...


polonus

[YoKenny]

Even if IE8 is slower on that test and SRWare Iron does not have the features that I like:
1. Ability to sort Favorites alphabetically
2. Have to open a New Tab to see my Favorites that takes 3 clicks to get to where I want to go after I Import from IE
3. I don't understand German:
http://www.ip-secrets.info
http://www.freeware.de
4. Why would I want pornotube video downloader?

[polonus]

Hi YoKenny,

If you are using Big E, remember that they still cling to the use of ActiveX and yet another ActiveX hole has not been patched. Microsoft has been trying that long to develop a "standard" that they hope will be globally accepted, it never is because the code is that bad. Examples:
Frontpage (extensions) - FAIL!
ASP - FAIL!
VB - FAIL!
dot.net - FAIL!
MSSQL - FAIL

Even recently official punters advice to shun IE8 and look for an alternate browser because of these unpatched vulnerabilities. Just to proof this, Fx, Flock, Opera, GoogleChrome, SrWare's Iron are immune to the "one bug rules them all"-hole, but this bug still rules all flaws of Internet Explorer, test the POC at: hxtp://www.crashthisthing.com/select.html (if not patched it may take your browser down).
In the light of all these issues I use Shiretoko Firefox for my normal online activities and SRWare's Iron for the incidental time Fx renders a page differently than I want it to show.
For security reasons I have IE8 fully patched, because of this browser being deeply embedded into my OS and because of the impact of this, I use it only to get my M$ downloads, for online activities I qualify it as a  rather insecure browser (who knows what skeletons are still around in this web browser's cupboard, with open source browsers I know what I am up against and get these issues reported as soon as they are found up, some in closed sourced IE can be without a patch for 2 years, I would use IE8 on all occasions if it had a similar inline protection as Fx has with NoScript!

polonus

[YoKenny]

polonus, no matter what browser in use the miscreants will endeavor to crash or exploit them for their own advantage.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/miscreants
Polonus's Malware "Horror"-scope for the coming year 2009"
http://familyfirstforums.com/sibyltestforum/index.php?topic=2571.0

IE8 on Vista and Widows 7 has Protected mode.

Maybe you should let the Tent Dwellers know about Comodo in http://familyfirstforums.com/sibyltestforum/index.php
Comodo Sells Out To HopSurf, Loses Sight Of Priorities
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=46737.0

[polonus]

Hi YoKenny,

Yep, agree with you there, and basically you are right, what can be coded by some can be uncoded again by others, it is an endless clash between the lighter and darker forces. Awareness of security issues and SafeHex are the best policies to go by, and there we agree more than we might differ, I always follow what you present here in the forums with a lot of interest. I'll delve in this matter you mentioned and will report in the Tent, personally I have left Comodo some time ago after they abandoned CBoClean as a stand-alone free tool and I had to take ThreatFire aboard, that I can let go off when avast 5.0 will be launched,

your webforum friend,

 pol

[bob3160]

Here are some of my results.
I can't seem to run it on Firefox 3.5.1
Keep getting an error referring to cookies not enabled even though they are.

[YoKenny]

Here are some of my results.
I can't seem to run it on Firefox 3.5.1
Keep getting an error referring to cookies not enabled even though they are.

One thing I don't have to worry about as the red fox won't invade my systems.

[Sesame]

I haven't been to these boards recently but I see there are still a certain pattern here.  Even if it is about Avast!, a certain application fanboy/hater comments are plain silly and useless.    I don't visit the fora as often as other members and I often stop coming here when I'm busy.  However, let's keep the forum more informative and helpful rather than the nest of self-assertions.

[polonus]

Hi Rumpel,

What is that about fanboyism. Anyone that posts facts like the following information: I would suggest you keep IE updated and fully patched for reasons of the importance to your OS security, it is deeply embedded into your OS. I only use it for updating, sorry.
Why for instance refrain from clicking Blue E, enduring problems with ActiveX, a bad concept from the outset and so never taken on as global standard - Microsoft spreading killbits for it all over again at patch days  because of all the instances it has been exploited. Then another issue:
This bug (one bug to rule them all) now has been fixed for Fx, SRWare's Iron, GoogleChrome, Safari, Opera.
Still vulnerable : IE5, IE6, IE7, IE8, WII, PS3, Nokia, Blackberry, Konqueror...
POC can be found here: hxtp://www.crashthisthing.com/select.html
Clicking this could bring your browser to its knees if still vulnerable...
Crashing is most easily achieved on IE, with all versions of Microsoft's browser affected.
Source of info: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/17/universal_browser_crash_bug/

These are not my views or the way I like to see it, these views are distilled from facts from reliable sources online, and never brought with any bias. IE has done a lot towards better protection, but alas for the average user not enough.
Why certain people always react with irritation when something negative is reported about IE?

I am not the only one on the forums that will keep it fully patched and updated and keep it as the main browser, but actually use another browser that I can tweak better security wise and SRWare's Iron I only use for those pages that my other browsers won't render as I like. SRWare's Iron because GoogleChrome still has privacy issues I do not like. But one has all kind of users with all kinds of attitudes and likings and dislikings, there was even one that took adblocking out of Firefox, because he felt sorry for the adlaunchers that kept the web free with their income. Well, folks, I gladly will continue to use ABP, NS and RP inside Flock or Fx and block all that I do not wanna see or run inside the browser,

polonus

[RZPogi]

IE8 is stable on my PC, but safari isn't.

It takes only 5 mins to make safari unusable, IE8 lasts longer.

However, opening a new tab in IE is very slow...

[FreewheelinFrank]

Does this test test only the browser or browser and CPU combination? Seems to me the latter. In which case, I suspect that the browser used may be correlated with CPU power. Geeks tend to have more up-to-date hardware and try new software. This could bias the results in favour of Safari, Chrome, Opera 10 and Firefox 3.5.

[bob3160]

IE8 is stable on my PC, but safari isn't.

It takes only 5 mins to make safari unusable, IE8 lasts longer.

However, opening a new tab in IE is very slow...

A good reason to use either Google Chrome or SRWare Iron.

[polonus]

Good observation, bob,

pol

[Sesame]

Hi Rumpel,

What is that about fanboyism. Anyone that posts facts like the following information

Some people post only their opinions without facts in this way I find no difference between fanboyism and hatred toward a certain apps and I think they can do better things than what they are doing.  I didn't pick up concrete examples of such posts since I don't mean the posters are silly but their actions are.

IE8 is stable on my PC, but safari isn't.

It takes only 5 mins to make safari unusable, IE8 lasts longer.

However, opening a new tab in IE is very slow...

A good reason to use either Google Chrome or SRWare Iron.

I use Iron for quick browsing at times...it's just like driving a small car for less than an hour shopping.  I use an IE alternative browser for some sites which only allow IE, which is getting rare.

As for the benchmark test, it required me to administrator privilege in my environment and I didn't try it.  This makes FreewheelinFrank's comment above convincing since there are some browser tests around which don't require administrator privilege.

[bob3160]

This could bias the results in favour of Safari, Chrome, Opera 10 and Firefox 3.5

On my system, I couldn't even get a result with Firefox 3.5.1