Comments on: Still more reasons to avoid Internet Explorer

Highlighting the obvious: Firefox good, IE bad.

[stalepie2]

I like IE7 fine. I liked IE6 too and previous versions. I don't get what the big deal is about differences in browser versions. Every time I've gotten a virus, spyware, malware, etc., it has been because I stupidly installed stolen software off some person-to-person network or because I was at a porn site that asked me to install some special video software and for kicks I did.

Internet Explorer works fine. It has more attacks of malware and stuff because it's the dominant browser, the one most people use. So it's the one that's targeted the most. Same with Windows in general.

The Mozilla Corporation makes a lot of money because it has a deal with Google and its search bar that comes with it. Does the Mozilla company pay its employees? Does it still ask for donations?

I've had Firefox 3 and previous versions freeze on me many times. IE freezes sometimes too. Opera has bene more stable and I'm not sure about Maxthon. Maxthon seemed really impressive. And Safari is good. Basically all five of the top browsers are good. Even Konquerer is good.

But I think money-making corporations should pay its "volunteers" money for their work (in making the Mozilla programs). This free software stuff that Richard Stallman peddles is Communism and it's wrong.

Matthew Dickinson

[john55440]

When run under Vista, doesn't IE7 included Protected Mode, a security feature not included in FF3? I have FF3 installed on my computer, but still user/prefer IE7.

[bleu_tropix]

This may not be the place for this question, but I'll ask anyway: is there a way to get rid of your favorites showing up when you use the drop down menu of the address bar on FF3? I thought downloading the oldbar from FF2 would get rid of this. How can I get it to simply show recently visited sites (like on IE)?

[qquidd]

Antimicrosoft blowhards rear their head again. The ZDnet post refers to only IE6 vulnerability. Sorry dude, is FF your Xian religion that you are trying to convert everyone to? [Editors' note: profanity removed.]

[Bearxy]

Looks like an advertising campaign to promote users to switch to firefox. :)

I do not think firefox 3 can be any better than ie with its premature release. Unless some annoying bugs is fixed i will stay with firefox 2.

[Bearxy]

Looks more like an advertising campaign for firefox? :)

I do not think that the "premature" firefox 3 is anyway better than ie. Unless the bugs are fixed firefox 2 user (including myself) is not going to be very happy when they upgrade to firefox 3.

[The User]

Regardless of the security issues, FireFox 3 is by far superior browser out there. It does pretty much the same things, but somehow every one of them is faster, more intuitive and convenient.

Just to name a few: downloads - download manager in FireFox is gives full control of your donwloaded or saved files. Popup messages - every time I need to use IE7 I am just amazed by the sheer number of popup messages like "do you want to proceed", "blabla" - somehow FireFox avoids them all together or knows how to present warning in non-intrusive way.

Pretty much every other function of FireFox somehow works as you expect it to work: with no annoying messages and with access to the comprehensive data about everything you need to know. When using IE7 I go *** every 5 minutes because of all the little annoyances.

[resd234]

Lerianis it might be true that IE8 won't let you download anything without consent but it may end up being annoying and most novice user might ignore it completely ruining the point. This reminds me of the UAC (user account control) for vista. It was "great" about letting you know every single detail that was going on but user just got so annoyed with it that they just disabled it.

[compudoc318]

Just keep up on your patches and updates and above all, use common sense when you browse. I do virus removals for my work, and I see plenty of machines with firefox and a firewall and antivirus, but in the end, if you go to bad sites or download things that you arent sure about, you'll get infected. I'd more reccommend a free download like mcafee siteadvisor which tells you which links are bad.

[mhinnewyork]

I agree that SiteAdvisor is a very useful, and free, thing. Michael Horowitz

[dirty55409]

I "know how computer work" too lol and I haven't used IE for 2 years. Granted steps are usually taken by companies like M$FT to tighten up security problems, but come on, firefox is so open-source it's a plethora of leading edge innovation and competition. Wanna be god? Create a slick and glitch-free add-on for firefox. Who knew?

[Composer_1777]

hahaha i still remember netscape navigator

[polis12]

Do people realize there are many more PC's in the world than Mac's? Do people realize IE is the most popular browser and is used the most frequently? Not to toot Microsoft's horn or anything (they have their share of issues, as any large corporation does), but let's look at this issue logically. Since more people use both of the aforementioned MS products compared to competitors, the people out there exploiting bugs, creating viruses, hacking your personal info, and basically doing their best to screw up your computer and life, know this fact. Therefore, there will always be a direct proportion of these problems aimed straight at the majority user. If more people use IE overall, other people will learn to take advantage of its flaws to exploit them.

Trust me, if things today were reverse and Apple had a larger market share, along with Firefox, we would all be complaining about them and how they are unsafe compared to Microsoft, the little start-up that could (ha!). If Apple and Firefox both continue to gain ground in the consumer market, and they also continue to do these studies, I think one would find in time that the number of problems increase proportionately to the overall market share.

Let's use an analogy:
Smaller towns have less crime, on average, than large cities. Whereas crime is often more prevalent in areas of greater population. More people to prey on, the more incidents.

[MSSlayer]

Market share has nothing to do with security.

Let's assume that your asinine comments are true. So explain why Windows Server and IIS has a minority share and the vast majority of the exploits?

Also please explain how Mac OS9 had lots of flaws exploited and had a much smaller market share than OSX which after 7 years or so has exactly 0 in the wild exploits.

There go your ignorant opinions.

Windows and IE gets attacked because it is the low hanging fruit. AKA the easiest.

[Lerianis]

Market share has a lot to do with security, MSSlayer (bad name for someone who should be neutral on these boards).

Secondly, Windows Server and IIS is based on a lot of consumer level products, with sometimes the code being DIRECTLY ported. So since Windows Vista is very similar to Windows Server.... you get a vulnerability on one, it is usually going to affect the other.

As to OSX not having any 'in the wild' exploits.... wrong. They have had at least two that I know of, that I read about on PC World. I don't remember what those two referenced, but it had something to do with Safari.

As to Windows and IE being attacked because it is the 'easiest'... no. More and more, it is becoming apparent that it is NOT the easiest to attack, just the one that is out there on most consumer systems.
Heck, even the computer criminals and crackers have admitted that in court when asked why they target IE and Windows.

[solitare_pax]

Firefox is easier to use - unfortunately, some websites - UPS.com, Paypal.Com - seem to insist that you use IE on Windows, or no dice. Apparently, their website wizards aren't that bright.

[Lerianis]

It isn't that they 'aren't that bright': in order to save money and time, they code for only ONE browser and insist that you use that browser. As to Paypal... you are stupid if you use it with their blatantly illegal TOS and all the trouble I have heard of with them.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Pure FUD...IE on Vista runs in protected , "sandboxed" mode and is actually safer than FF. Apparently the author of this dribble is not a regular listener of "Security Now" with Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson.

[2Cold Scorpio]

Too bad FF3 on my rig runs like a dog...creeping along until it decides to die. Since I actually know what I'm doing with my computer, I'll use IE7 paired with IE7Pro (which is fast, and crash-free 95% of the time...much better than FF3's track record over here) or I'll use Opera 9.51, which I think is superior to FF3 in every way. ^_^

[daps2k6]

internet explorer is very rubbish...be 7 or 1000. It is the pinnacle of of doomsday even if you know "how your computer works" it is slow, crashes a lot, and it way beyond appalling. For me anything that goes wrong with my internet connection is because of internet explorer

[bscr72]

Jeez, are you guys getting paid by Mozilla? I've just had it with CNEt and their blantant promotion of FireFox. If you guys want to report about vulnerabilities, do it unbiased, like any credible website would do.Firefox has had a record also with unpatched vulnerabilities, but no articles about that on CNET!!!!
IE 7 has improved, Firefox is faster, blah, blah, blah....Instead of breaking down each Microsoft product, try taking a class in unbiased journalism...That will be time better spend....Until that time, no more CNET and second-hand journalism for me!

[mattumanu]

That will only happen if Microsoft disconnected IE from windows itself. Microsoft could fix a lot of problems by doing that, and by asking users if they are "home" users or "work" users so that IE could be updated more often without making big coporations angry

[arkangel_3]

In the beginning there was Netscape, and it was good. Then came Netscape Communicator, and it was awesome...that is until AOL bought the product. It was no longer the browser I knew and loved. So I switched over to IE.

Just before I bought an iMac in Dec 2006, I used IE7. Without a doubt, that is the most horrendous iteration of that Browser; constant crashes, slow page loading, and hanging at the slightest little thing were just some of its hallmarks.

I then used Safari for a time, and I found it to be a much more stable and reliable browser. Then along came Safari 3, and it was a shadow of its former self. Pages did indeed load faster, but crashes and hangs were common. It also no longer "played nice" in a chat room (no live refresh; you had to manually reload the page to see conversation) and the message boards (no quote function support) on a website I belong to.

I then downloaded Firefox 2 and was blow away at its stability and ease of use. I've been using FF 3 since the first beta, and it's even better now than it ever was. It even works great in that aforementioned chat room and message board. Browsing the web has never been easier, more reliable, and more fun. I love the fact that I can customize the way it looks, and with Ad Block Plus, I never have to look at a piece of advertising anymore.

If you haven't downloaded FF 3 yet, you really need to. Highly recommended for not only faster and more secure browsing, but your sanity as well!

PS>Firefox is indeed the Phoenix from the ashes of the late, lamented Netscape as the Mozilla project was spun off from Netscape just before the AOL purchase. Talk about coming full circle!

[mcjazzer]

I'm unfortunately working for a school district that has been taken over by the "all Microsoft all the time" crowd - they started by redoing the whole network, using Microsoft's "Active Directory" (we were using Novell for the network before). Then came the My Documents synchronization (a waste), etc. Now we're being told that they have to remove Mozilla from all the district computers because some enterprising high school students have used the fact that Mozilla is open source to write script that gets around the district's filters so they can access inappropriate sites....I'm not a fan of MS at all, but is that kind of thing a potential problem for businesses or other organizations - the fact that Mozilla is open source, so it can be programmed to cause mischief?