IE better than Firefox in Microsoft safety study....

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:10:12

Quote "Internet Explorer is more secure than Firefox, according to a senior Microsoft executive, who compared how many vulnerabilities were found in the two browsers — but critics say his study is flawed." I can see both sides but I think Firefox had nine days last year, or this year so far where it was vulnerable and that's better than IE7 (xp) It's all swings and roundabouts really but its not a surprise that a Microsoft survey would find in their favour really

Full story here http://www.zdnet.co.uk/talkback/0,1000001161,39291257-39001093c-20089520o,00.htm

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:11:28

That would be like trusting a Govt survey that said politicians were trustworthy and competent.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:12:37

what are you saying Rik

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:26:08

That I don't trust 99.9% of what a politician says. The 0.1% is to allow for any erms, uhs etc.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:28:59

Oh I'm right along with you there Rik, how long till the government says it found a wmd's stored here sign in Iraq so as to prove that they were right all the time

same principle as M$

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:33:28

Should we move to Rant at this point?? 8)

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:40:49

calm, I am calm.....

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:41:19

I thought you were Gary.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:43:12

Quote from: Rik on Dec 04, 2007, 16:41:19
I thought you were Gary.

That was one of the other personalities Rik, Gary is back now

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:47:29

Complete with a still animated banana... I'm impressed.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:50:06

Quote from: Rik on Dec 04, 2007, 16:47:29
Complete with a still animated banana... I'm impressed.

I read that out loud and now Justina is giving me odd looks Rik, not that unusual for her, but this one is a bit...

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:51:06

Never read anything I write aloud, Gary, unless completely alone.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:52:33

If only I had realised

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 16:57:15

Tell Justina it was all my fault...

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 16:59:19

I tried, she knows me to well 8)

Rik · Dec 04, 2007, 17:03:14

... but she doesn't know me too well.

Gary · Dec 04, 2007, 17:05:13

indeed I promise to not say a word

Lance · Dec 04, 2007, 22:18:30

I wonder why it was compared to IE7 on XP and not Vista. I've not read the artical, so can only guess that it is because not enought data was available for Vista?

Rik · Dec 05, 2007, 10:37:34

Quote from: Killhippie on Dec 04, 2007, 17:05:13
indeed I promise to not say a word

I seem to have missed you hitting the 1000 post mark, Gary.

congratulations.

Gary · Dec 05, 2007, 10:40:11

Cheers Rik

Gary · Dec 05, 2007, 10:44:31

Quote from: Lance on Dec 04, 2007, 22:18:30
I wonder why it was compared to IE7 on XP and not Vista. I've not read the artical, so can only guess that it is because not enought data was available for Vista?

I think that IE7 on Vista is just so new as you say Lance there is not enough data, also it is the safest browser to use at this time compared with the others.

somanyholes · Dec 05, 2007, 13:05:37

Hey

as has been stated every time one or the other has a bad month/year one of these, we are safer than them statements come out, personally I take them with a pinch of salt. Two things matter for me in the browser security contest.

1. How quickly do they patch them once they are out in the wild.
2. Which of them can i customize more to make them more secure.

and the winner is? ....

Gary · Dec 05, 2007, 13:37:03

IE7 on Vista

Yes I am still using XP Pro and Firefox and yes they patch FF faster than Microsoft do with IE by a mile, but the latest Quicktime issue effects Firefox much harder than IE7 or Opera, not pointing blame here its not FF fault as such but FF farms the request straight to the program as a separate process outside of its control where as IE7 loads it as an internal plugin and so if the buffer overflow happens buffer overflow protection is triggered, so all you will get is a crashed browser and no more damage, where as in FF your machine is owned! I know which browser I would prefer to use right now and having to uninstall quicktime for safety is a pain when you have itunes. Still its swings and roundabouts and untill I go to the Vista side I shall remain using firefox as the two IE7's are very different on XP and Vista in safety respects, but I'm starting to doubt FF a little more as the years have gone by to be honest.

somanyholes · Dec 05, 2007, 13:55:21

Hey Kill

I generally cheat and stream everything I can through vlc, please don't mention realplayer lol. You are right in saying that ff does seem to have slipped more, I suppose the more marketshare it gets the more attacks that will occur.

Rik · Dec 05, 2007, 14:25:58

What's RealPlayer?

I've never got on with that app...