Firefox 3.5.1 Has Serious Vulnerability

Well, Friday, the Firefox browser came out with a patch for a vulnerability that was announced last Monday. OK, I thought cool. They patch fast. Well, I mean the next day, it was announced that the newly released version of the Firefox browser has a serious vulnerability.

The Internet Storm Center has a write up on this you can read. Click here to read that post in the ISC Diary.

Hope your weekend was fabulous. Monday is just around the corner. Be on the watch for a patch for the Firefox browser soon. I'll let you know. Stay safe.

Another Reason to use Firefox Browser

Last week and this week, Microsoft has had two pretty serious 0-day vulnerabilities that allowed an attacker to get the ability to run code on the target PC. Now with Patch Tuesday being this week, Microsoft was able to correct the DirectShow fix on Tuesday. However, the new one that I wrote about in the previous post is not. One wonders how long it will be before a patch is in place.

Now, proof there is another reason you really should be using the Firefox browser as your primary browser. Early this week, it was announced that Firefox had a serious 0-day. I have stated in the past, there really isn't a browser out there that doesn't have problems with security vulnerabilities. However, the key is, how quickly do they get patched. The window of opportunity for bad guys to take advantage of 0-day vulnerabilities in Firefox are just smaller. Today, if you are a Firefox user, make sure you get the update 3.5.1 that will correct the current problem.

If you don't use Firefox, try it. It is free and has some great addon's that you can use to protect yourself more. I personally use Noscript which I recommend you do too.

OK, have a fabulous Friday and stay safe out there.

Which Browser? Internet Explorer? Firefox?

Which browser do you use when surfing the internet? Are you like most folks out there who use Microsoft Internet Explorer? The largest percentage of the population uses MSIE. I prefer to use Firefox. Firefox has gained in popularity over the past few years. Here are the reasons I use Firefox and not Internet Explorer.

Think about what the bad guy attacker thinks. If I write an exploit that takes advantage of a vulnerability, I want to hit the most largest possible target base. Simple math (I hated math by the way) and you go to the masses. I want the most targets so I write my exploit for MSIE. Simple. This is one reason why I use Firefox. I don't have that Apple mentality to think that there are no exploits written for Firefox. Trust me when I say this, there is no "safe" browser when it comes right down to it. Browsers are software and when software is written, it has bugs. So this is reason number one.

Reason number two. When bugs are discovered, Firefox has a smaller window from the time a vulnerability is discovered, to the time an update is deployed. Nothing against MSIE. I think Microsoft has come a long way from the days of old. It just seems that it takes longer for MSIE has a longer window from the time a vulnerability is discovered to the time it is patched.

Reason number three. If you are a user of MSIE, then you know with MSIE 7, you got tabbed browsing. I've been using Firefox for several years and it has had tabbed browsing for quite some time. I think there are many things that Firefox does that MSIE has moved in that same direction. Plus there are many plug ins that are awesome also. Many for security reasons.

Those are enough reasons for me to use Firefox. You ought to try it if you have never tried it. After downloading it and setting it as your default browser, browse the plug ins and see what is out there. I'll admit there are many I don't use. I have mentioned in previous posts that I do use a plug in from www.finjan.com. Be brave, try it for a couple of weeks. See if you can make yourself a smaller target out there in the wild wild west called the Internet.

If you are an Internet Explorer user, I say try Firefox and see how you like it. I believe as many in the Computer Security field do, that a change to the Firefox browser will keep you safer because you are now not wearing such a big target on your back. Take care and stay safe.