Firefox = only free browser left?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bruce the Shark
  • Start date Start date
Do we at least know that the extensions listed on the
Mozilla, Mozillazine, and mozdev sites are clean?
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Yes and no, I guess. There's a lot of developer eyeballs looking over
that stuff, so the ones on those sites should be alright. Just don't be
first in line when your fave extension is ported over to 1.0PR :-)

There's at least one badly-designed extension that managed to earn its
own vulnerability alert at some security sites:

http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/16971

And here's a developer recounting how he *almost* introduced a security
hole in one of his extensions:

http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/weirdal/archives/006137.html
 
Scary stuff. Do we at least know that the extensions listed on the
Mozilla, Mozillazine, and mozdev sites are clean?
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There are surely enough people at those sites with sufficient know-how to
check them over before the extensions ever get listed there?

If you're not prepared to trust them, I suggest perhaps you should just
disconnect from the Internet now, and use your PC in stand alone mode from
now on.

You cannot remove all risk from living, and if you can't trust anybody at
all, you might as well end it all now while you're about it! :-)

Cheers,

Roy
 
Wrong, actually. Most folks get infected through email, by opening a
message which contains a payload. Few actual viruses are in
circulation, they are mostly email worms, which people mistakenly
refer to as viruses.
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Okay, fair point.
Very few consumers who are not computer
enthusiasts download programs. Maybe some pictures or songs, and games
for the gamers, but the average person will usually just use whatever
software came with their system until it's necessary to upgrade, then
they just buy a new computer.
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I guess the difference here is in how we define 'computer enthusiasts'. My
mom, who was pushing 80 when she died last fall, got her first computer
when she was 72 and was downloading all sorts of stuff. Games, files
(mostly recipes, or labelled as recipes) and things she didn't really
understand. I'd go every so often and clean out the computer for her, and
I made her promise to keep her virus definitions updated.

I think a non-tech woman of her years with a first computer couldn't be
considered 'computer enthusiast', or could she?



Chakolate
 
I think a non-tech woman of her years with a first computer couldn't be
considered 'computer enthusiast', or could she?
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Sounds like she was very much the enthusiast. But how many browsers did
she download and test drive? That was the point of the original quote.

Browsers and email are the two most oft-used pieces of software for most
people, and once they get comfortable with whatever they're using,
they're loathe to switch. They don't want a reprise of the time and
effort it took to use their browser instinctually, surfing the web
looking *through* the browser, instead of at it.

I do agree though, that this happy confluence of a small shitstorm of
security issues and an uncharacteristic lull in MS's lineup of Real Soon
Now vaporware is a ripe moment for the also-ran browsers and OSes. They
had better make the most of it, they'll be facing an uphill battle again
when the bazillions of OEM-installed Longhorn PCs and an IE7 larded with
Windows-only whizbang features come rolling down the pike.
 
Simone Murdock said:
I'm glad too: go on debugging it and when it will be ok, I'll switch to
Firefox! :-)
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hmmm... last time i used IE to browse must've been early 2001. I've
been using mozilla ever since.
 
Rod said:
If he/she is dead, Schrodinger killed him/her with hydrocyanic acid.
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Dramatic. I was always told you could kill that cat just by watching him.
But then, if he's not gonna die, suppose it would be time to take more
serious measures. Especially if it nets you the effect of receiving a
$grant.
 
Dramatic. I was always told you could kill that cat just by watching him.
But then, if he's not gonna die, suppose it would be time to take more
serious measures. Especially if it nets you the effect of receiving a
$grant.
Click to expand...

Actually, watching the box where the cat's in should provoke your mind to
realize you can't tell wether the cat is dead or not. It's in a state of
possibility, by opening the box and looking at it you bring it back to a
state of actuality, dead or alive. So you could kill it from looking at it,
as you can also bring it back alive.

Rod
 
Rod said:
Actually, watching the box where the cat's in should provoke your mind to
realize you can't tell wether the cat is dead or not. It's in a state of
possibility, by opening the box and looking at it you bring it back to a
state of actuality, dead or alive. So you could kill it from looking at it,
as you can also bring it back alive.
Click to expand...

That's very heavy, and I'm going to refuse to think about it, safer for
me not to tread into those realms. :)

Remember how Descartes crawled into a cold oven, and stayed there for
days, while trying to figure out if he existed...
 
Rod <[email protected]>: SNIP

That's very heavy, and I'm going to refuse to think about it, safer
for me not to tread into those realms. :)
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I can't say it did me any good thinking about it, don't feel a better or
more complete person now.
Remember how Descartes crawled into a cold oven, and stayed there for
days, while trying to figure out if he existed...
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So ? Just like fishing and leaving the toiletseat up, this is a man-thing,
this is what we live for.

Rod
 
I would say yes. Simply adding a pop-up blocker is a security
enhancement.
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Of course XP SP 2 has a popup blocker too. But I don't really think popup
blockers add much if any additional security.
Many have additional cookie management options as well as
ad blocking, cache and history cleaners etc.
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These are more privacy based functions, rather than security.
 
Did you never heard od proxomitron or webwasher
???
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Acually I know of one or two isolated cases, where IE shells were immune to
some exploit, that straight IE wasn't. But those as I said were isolated
events (once was by chance, another was by design after the exploit was
disclosed), but by and large you shouldn't expect more security.
 
Of course XP SP 2 has a popup blocker too. But I don't really think popup
blockers add much if any additional security.


These are more privacy based functions, rather than security.
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Right now, and tell me if i misses something that I can't see, but I did
not find what MyIE + Proxo can give yet, and I did experiment with
Firefox, K-Meleon, OffByOne and Opera (for testing). But yep I use a
tight MyIE setting.


Have a nice day
_ _
eLmimo
--
 
Acually I know of one or two isolated cases, where IE shells were immune to
some exploit, that straight IE wasn't. But those as I said were isolated
events (once was by chance, another was by design after the exploit was
disclosed), but by and large you shouldn't expect more security.
Click to expand...

Exemples, please?

Have a nice day
_ _
eLmimo
--
 
Right now, and tell me if i misses something that I can't see, but I
did not find what MyIE + Proxo can give yet,
Click to expand...

Give yet what?


and I did experiment with
Firefox, K-Meleon, OffByOne and Opera (for testing). But yep I use a
tight MyIE setting.
Click to expand...

No better than a tight IE setting...
 
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