Browser Security

I use Internet Explorer (IE) solely as a matter of habit but also because I believe it is secure enough for web use. I’ve had my assumption challenged a few times by other colleagues who believe that IE is an inherently unsafe browser.

Today I did some online research to determine if the claim of superior online security is a correct one for the non-IE browsers.

My first surprise was the popularity of Firefox. Nearly half of the browsers in use are Firefox and the three types of IEs add up to less. Last time I checked in July 2006, Firefox was at 26%, which, back then, made me feel smug about my IE preference.

2009	IE7	IE6	IE8	Firefox	Chrome	Safari	Opera
October	12.8%	14.1%	10.6%	47.5%	8.0%	3.8%	2.3%
September	12.2%	15.3%	12.1%	46.6%	7.1%	3.6%	2.2%
August	10.6%	15.1%	13.6%	47.4%	7.0%	3.3%	2.1%

Browser Usage for the last three months

The online research I did to find a definite ‘most secure’ browser did produce a clear winner. IE8. I am pleasantly surprised to find it has the best features for defending against Socially Engineered Malware and Phishing. These two vulnerabilities are quite difficult to defend against because they involve the user to a high extent.

When users are not aware of the threats present in an activity it is easier for them to be fooled into acting to the benefit of criminals. Browser makers are now designing technologies that rate websites in order to warn or block users from visiting them.

While IE8 might be the champ, I still believe the user can control how secure the browser runs on their system.

A browser is similar to other applications in that it comes with a default setting. The security level of this in most cases is the lowest and needs to be adjusted for improvement. This should be done as soon as the browser is installed to avoid infections such as spyware. In IE browsers the adjustment can be done in the Tools > Internet Options section. Here is an excellent tutorial on securing your browser.

Web activity contributes the most to the spread of infections and the growth of cyber crime. Securing the browser is a major step towards protecting your system and data. It is not the only step and should be complemented by the use of antivirus software on your computer. Software vendors send out updates, patches, for their products, receiving these updates should be automated as much as possible.

Photo by Amehare

Comments

[David Pastitiou]

Can you please provide hard facts to back up the "most secure" label you are giving IE8, as you did for the usage statistics. Providing a source would be very comforting too. These two things would do a lot to back up your post.

[Bill Lanark]

I find it hard to believe that out-of-the-box, IE is more secure. Perhaps, by default, it has more anti-phishing, but there's a lot more to security than that. I've also read reports that the anti-phishing has not worked properly

For example, I'm forever removing malware off my dad's PC and he usese IE8. I bet there are many more exploits than for the other browsers, and they take longer to get fixed, and I'd be willing to wager that they are more severe (more execution of code locally, for example).

Many people used to use toolbars to improve their security (E.g. the one from netcraft), but nowadays a modern browser (FF, IE8, Opera) will include this functionality. And Microsoft's monthly roll-out of patches on "Patch Tuesday" means that you may be vulnerable for weeks - Firefox can patch in less than 24 hours!

[Stephen Wood]

Your quoting of the w3schools browser usage stats is without context and is misleading.

The w3schools website makes it clear that their browser usage stats are based on hits on the w3schools website -- and the demographic of people visiting that site is not representative of the whole of internet usage.

Sadly, IE is still the most popular browser by a comfortable margin. My evidence? Well, you provide it yourself. The w3schools page you link to states, "the browser figures above are not 100% realistic. Other web sites have statistics showing that Internet Explorer is used by at least 80% of the users".

Also...
If you want to be taken seriously, you should ask yourself this: do authors deserve respect if they write articles from a biased viewpoint and if their claims are backed up by no evidence or misleading evidence?