Which is Safer: IE or Firefox?
The Microsoft spin meisters are at it again. Noted columnist Brian Livingston quotes a Microsoft IE product manager who said Firefox had had (at the time of the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC), held in Seattle April 25-27)
"three major releases," she said, while Internet Explorer 6.0 had had none. This statement was presented as though a lack of upgrades to IE was a benefit.
In fact, Microsoft has released at least 20 major security patches for Windows or Internet Explorer since November 2004. Most of these patches were rated "Critical," Microsoft's most severe security alert level.
The evidence I've seen so far indicates that Firefox remains much more secure than IE.
Read Livingston's full report here. The bottom line is the only way to be completely safe on the web is to not surf at all. But for many people, the benefits of web surfing outweigh the cost. If you want to surf the web, you can reduce, but no eliminate, your exposure by turning off Java and Javascript/ASP/.Net (for e-mail, don't open attachments!). Without these enhancements, most security breaches cannot infect your system. YMMV. Use at your own risk. Don't try this at home. The door is a jar. Insert disclaimer here.
Aloha!