ClarityWEB Article
Firefox, a more flawed web browser than Internet Explorer
News today has revealed something we eluded to a short while ago. Firefox is a more flawed web browser than Internet Explorer. It can be very easy to carried away with Microsoft bashing but todays news makes the point that sometimes it is best to report facts instead of feelings.
In our article about Germany banning Internet Explorer we mentioned the fact that not all that glistens is gold. Firefox and Chrome both have flaws that simply are not reported upon with the same vigour as those with an axe to grind against Microsoft.
So, putting away the rose tinted glasses for a while (because we use Firefox more than any other browser ourselves but we acknowledge it is far from perfect), let us look at the facts.
Flaws in Internet Explorer 7 were some of the most exploited in 2009. They were behind attacks exploiting loopholes in Microsoft Windows SMB 2, Adobe Reader and Flash, yet ahead of a problem with Microsofts MPEG-2 ActiveX Control.
However, despite IE7 being the most attacked web browser it has a confirmed 45 flaws compared to Mozilla Firefox and its 169 vulnerabilities. Yes, a whopping 169 flaws. A representative of Symantec said:
This shows that attacks on software are not necessarily based on the number of vulnerabilities in a piece of software, but on its market share and the availability of exploit code as well.
Spread the Word
So, is IE better?
Well, in a word, no. Firefox is a very good, fast, browser. The problem is that it is not quite as good as many will have you think.
It has flaws - a lot of them. It just does not court the same bad press that Microsoft Internet Explorer does. Much of this press is legacy based, but IE still has not addressed a number of points that it should have done long ago.
We still use Firefox as our primary browser of choice. We also use Chrome, Safari, IE and Opera - often for compatibility testing purposes (to make sure a website works in all browser types).
The report will not stop us using Firefox, but it does highlight the fact that you cannot rely on everything you read. Overall it remains the better choice as some of the IE problems are more dangerous in respect of security and privacy. It just pays to be aware that looking through rose tinted spectacles often hides the truth.
First Time Online?
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