Posted on 12/16/2010 6:25:31 AM PST by for-q-clinton
A new report from NSS Labs studies how various Web browsers perform when it comes to blocking socially-engineered attacks. The startling results show that Internet Explorer isn't just better than rival browsers like Chrome and Firefox--but leaves competitors completely in the dust. ... NSS Labs reviewed Internet Explorer 8 and 9, Firefox 3.6, Safari 5, Chrome 6, and Opera 10 to see how well each browser helps users recognize and avoid these attacks. Data was collected 24/7 for eleven days, with 39 discrete tests run every six hours. The testing included 636 URLs identified as potentially malicious. ... Meanwhile, Internet Explorer widened the gap. Internet Explorer 8 improved its results over the previous study--increasing from an 85 percent block rate to 90 percent. Internet Explorer 9, though--which wasn't available during the previous study--was nearly flawless.
The NSS Labs Results Summary explains, "Windows Internet Explorer 9 (still in beta) caught an exceptional 99 percent of the live threats, in part due to a new application reputation system, leading the non-IE pack by 80 percent. IE9's protection includes SmartScreen URL filtering, also included in IE8, and SmartScreen Application Reputation, which is new to IE9."
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
“Firefox is becoming more of a clunker.
It has become bloated, slow, and is still a memory hog.
Firefox and plug-ins have nice features, but it is becoming a monster to use.”
Indeed. Each release is worse than the last. My guess is eventually FF will simply be crushed to death under its own weight. FF’s only redeeming value is the many fantastic productivity plugins, and in fact, that’s the only reason I use it.
I can deal with the slowness, but the memory issue is killing me. I finally went back to 3.0.13, changed about a dozen hidden config settings, disabled almost all plugins (especially silverlight), set Adobe Flash to always ask when it wants to store data, and then I keep an eye on memory growth with statusbarex, and periodically minimize all FF windows manually with the actual minimize button (having set config.trim_on_minimize to TRUE in about:config). This actually works to trim memory, at least in 3.0.13. It didn’t seem to work for me in later versions. I’m pretty sure sliverlight and adobeflash were among the worse offenders, but by no means are the only things causing explosive and unmitigated memory growth. (Ramback didn’t work for me, and Memory Fox’s afom.exe prevented Office 2000 programs like word and excel from opening.)
At any rate, given the millions of google hits on the memory issue, it obvious the FF developers don’t know how to fix this problem or don’t care or both. They seem to be too busy larding FF up with useless bells and whistles.
That being said, I can’t live without it because of certain extensions. However, I can’t really recommend FF to Mom and Pop type non-techies.
Opera blocked none...the last of the pioneers...
None of this really matters. Windows is fundamentally an unsecureable operating system. I make a living removing malware and “virus-proofing” Windows computers.
The only thing that will keep malware from invading the system is to run from “standard”/”limited” accounts. Even then, malware can invade the login id itself (though it’s easy to remove because you can simply logoff the user account, logon to the admin account and delete the offending files).
Additionally, I’ve mostly solved the standard account invasion problem with a program I wrote that removes modification privilege by the user account from an additional 27 user account registry entries. So far, I’ve not had any “virus-proofed” clients that were invaded, though there’s a class of viruses that modify user-defined filetype handlers that my additional protection can’t address.
But here again, if they were so crappy, then they would never have become so universally used. Mac-bots like yourself could only hope your “loyal loser” configuration were actually true. You discount all positive gains or reports, unless they favor your iconic views of what is a “good” or “bad” OS. Just look at the market share, if you really need to compare what the market demands. And like all competitive markets, the proof is in the details of a 10 to 1 ratio.
Refrain from “educating” the rest of us by explaining away this completely warped ratio as a simple “monopoly” as some unfair and illegal practice. The truth is, Microsoft has always offered outstanding support and has sold a product that no one else can even come close to providing. This is the sole reason they are the biggest and the best or why the entire World prefers their products.
You cannot deny those facts but I am positive you will do so in spite of the facts.
“They accused plug-ins/extensions of being the culprit.
Well, the problem as persisted and many of those 0.7 extensions I used don’t even exist any more.”
Yeah, but that same excuse still exists! Funny, how the same plugins never cause a problem on IE, isn’t it?
I currently use QTWeb. Wonder how it stacks up.
You know what happens to people who make personal attacks a habit? I'm a Microsoft user since 1984, a Windows user since about 1988, and a Mac user since only late 2007. Not your normal Macbot history. I dabbled in Macs prior to 2007, but I refused to buy one for various reasons, one of which was the inferior architecture of the OS from about 1995-2001.
But here again, if they were so crappy, then they would never have become so universally used.
Basic inability to comprehend. It was the best browser when released in 2001. By 2004 the competition had surpassed it, by 2006 it was a joke. Microsoft knew this. IE7 was supposed to be only for Vista, then expanded to XP so those users could upgrade. Microsoft even removed the Genuine Advantage requirement of IE7 in 2007 so IE6 could be upgraded on pirated copies of Windows. That's how desperate Microsoft was to rid the market of IE6.
Just look at the market share, if you really need to compare what the market demands.
Anyone who thinks Windows marketshare is based purely on the merits of the Windows system is entirely ignorant of the history of computing. They know nothing of the IBM or Microsoft monopolies, Compaq, corporate purchase influence, Microsoft's triple-E practices and many other things. Those are the facts.
As for browsers, you forget the Microsoft exec saying "We are going to cut off Netscape's air supply." Doesn't sound like a general desire to compete on the merits, does it?
Refrain from “educating” the rest of us by explaining away this completely warped ratio as a simple “monopoly” as some unfair and illegal practice.
Monopoly is not necessarily either unfair or illegal. My use of the fact was that while Windows marketshare was around 97% and IE use was close to the same. Few people thought to replace their included browser because it was good and included with the system (many users thought "Explorer" equalled "Internet). Then by 2005 IE marketshare had dropped to the early 80 percents because it was so bad people actually bothered to replace their included browser. That's why Microsoft started work on IE again.
For years it was a far inferior browser. The only thing that kept up the numbers as much as they were was pure market momentum and riding on the Windows marketshare.
Microsoft has always offered outstanding support
I'll remember that the next time I get on the phone with a clueless, unintelligble guy in India going off a checklist. And that's even for paid corporate support, not just free consumer support. I'll especially remember that if I ever have to call Apple support (I haven't in three years) and get an educated American on the other end.
Windows is fundamentally an unsecureable operating system.
And no one has challeged you on that....wonder why?
I haven't checked on that issue in a while. I have a VM here, let me check. Oops, IE is a bit out of date, so it's IE7 vs. Firefox 3.6.
IE
Open blank: 14,056 MB
Open CNN in the tab: 48,644 MB
Open Fox in new tab: 71,756 MB
Open ABC in new tab: 96,256 MB
Firefox
Open blank: 32,458 MB
Open CNN in the tab: 60,342 MB
Open Fox in new tab: 73,036 MB
Open ABC in new tab: 81,896 MB
Firefox opens obviously memory hungry. However, I have always suspected that might be because IE leverages some OS components (like explorer.exe) instead of having to use them in its process. I suspect the same for Safari on a Mac too.
But then notice that after three tabs, Firefox uses less memory than IE. Strange. But I haven't tested memory usage over time after lots of browsing, and I seem to remember that was a problem with Firefox.
They would have, but massive virus infestations prevented them from finishing their posts. ;’)
I second. :’)
HAHAHA. You earned the "psycho" part of your name with that line!
ROFL!
In non related news, NNS Labs receives increased funding from Microsoft....
Just now catching up. I see Ernest asked why no one has challenged this statement. Maybe because all OS's are fundamentally unsecureable. As soon as a user connects the machine to the network it's now fundamentally unsecureable.
Do you have a link to that charge? Or are you just trying a little misdirection to keep from giving Microsoft a pat on the back.
There are degrees. The desire for backwards compatibility in Windows has severely harmed its ability to be relatively secure. That's why I have been happy with some of Microsoft's recent moves away from backwards compatibility. Microsoft also didn't put much effort into making sure NT functioned well as an Internet facing system (remember, Gates thought the Internet was a fad). Microsoft even initially used BSD's IP stack as a quick and easy way to give connectivity.
But some operating systems are fundamentally designed for security, specifically microkernel-based systems. More specifically, the seL4 kernel has been mathematically formally verified to function exactly as specified, and in no other way. Minix should be even easier, given that it has only half the lines of code (about 4,000).
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