Firefox: Web's Most Insecure Browser?

Posted by Alex in Blog & Internet on November 10, 2009 at 1:06 pm


Say it ain’t true, Firefox. The popular browser’s reputation has taken yet another hit when a new study by application security vendor Cenzic revealed that Firefox leads the field of browsers in terms of total vulnerability (yes, even besting Internet Explorer):

According to Cenzic, Firefox accounted for 44 percent of all browser vulnerabilities reported in the first half of 2009. In contrast, Apple’s Safari had 35 percent of all reported browser vulnerability, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was third at 15 percent and Opera had just six percent share. [...]

As to why Firefox’s numbers were so high, Cenzic has a few ideas.

"It’s a combination of different things," Lars Ewe, CTO of Cenzic, told InternetNews.com. "They’ve gotten more traction as a browser, which is good for them and the more you get used the more exposure you have. As well a fair amount of the vulnerabilities have come by way of plug-ins."

One key area that Ewe said was responsible for a number of reported Firefox vulnerabilities is with how the browser handles plug-ins.

"The plug-in architecture that they have is a selling fact for the browser and one of the reasons why I love using it," Ewe said. "They can’t control security aspects of all the plug-ins and the vulnerabilities are a side effect of that."

Sean Michael Kerner of the InternetNews explains: Link


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COMMENT

11 comments to "Firefox: Web's Most Insecure Browser?"

  1. I dunno lol
    November 10th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    You know, they kinda left out how firefox also tops the overall use of browsers... so its not really a big surprise when that goes hand in hand with topping most people complaining

  2. mjgolli
    November 10th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    Yeah...I'm pretty sure this is reliable news...

    Firefox may have more vulnerabilities, but how many are fixed straight away? How long between a report of a problem and when it is fixed? What about zero-day issues?

    This company needs to ditch the generalities and do comprehensive research before making these conclusions.

  3. Domo
    November 10th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Now test it with NoScript. Its practically a built in feature, so many people use it, much like AdBlockPlus.

  4. llagirl
    November 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    Headline spell check...

  5. Alex
    November 10th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    Oops! Thanks llagirl!

  6. PaulVI
    November 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    Firefox is very insecure. It's always telling me, "Look at me! I'm infinitely customizable through add-ons! Put your tabs on the side in tree-style! Play music right in the browser! Live bookmarks! No one else has 'em!" ;-)

    Seriously, I love Firefox. Just fix the memory leaks, please.

    AdBlock and NoScript FTW.

  7. pwscott
    November 10th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

    I agree with migolli^. I don't use Firefox but I do understand that any product ships with problems that don't always get discovered or reported.

  8. Him
    November 10th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    I really like firefox, and it's my main browser for school, but I prefer Opera. It's faster, it comes with built in IMAP and POP mail, it has its own chat client, and you can import more kinds of bookmarks. Oh, and the fact that it looks nice is just a bonus.

  9. Cheezwhiz
    November 10th, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    They forgot to mention that with Firefox, people actually REPORT the bugs instead of ignoring them.

  10. bigyaz
    November 10th, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    @1: Uh, they did it by percentages. You understand percentages, don't you?

    I love Firefox, but it's very true that the plugin technology has opened up some vulnerabilities.

    And guys: You can be a fan of a product without being a closed-minded shill.

  11. housetier
    November 10th, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    so they count the number of reported vulnerabilities and from that number conclude the "secure-ness" of a program... I know a way to make the whole world of IT secure at an instant: stop reporting vulnerabilities!

    No reports, 100% security!

    right?


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