Firefox Over IE? - Guild Wars Forums

Zebideedee · Feb 28, 2009, 01:33 PM // 13:33

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. Anywhoo, I read on a couple of other posts about Firefox being recommended over Internet Explorer in terms of security, I was just curious about what the security risks are with IE? I recently installed Firefox and would be grateful if someone could enlighten me on this. Everyone else I've asked says what amounts to "Yeah use Firefox!" but can't give many a reason why.

Ghengis Kwell · Feb 28, 2009, 01:56 PM // 13:56

I think in many ways it's the attitude of people towards good old Bill and his company , seems like all the hackers/bad guys loathe him so the majority of viruses/trojans etc. are aimed at making him look bad and exposing exploits whereas Firefox is perceived as being 'cooler' , just an opinion of course I could be wrong

Dmitri3 · Feb 28, 2009, 02:03 PM // 14:03

Use Google search. Or Live search if you REALLY want to.

P.S. Here, I'll make it easy for you: http://www.google.ca/search?q=intern...security+risks

Hollygen · Feb 28, 2009, 02:13 PM // 14:13

As Ghengis Kwell mentions IE gets targetted by malicious code writers.

That's part to make Microsoft look bad, but also, since Windows integrates IE into much of it's day to day functionality it acts as more of a gateway the hackers can attack to compromise whole systems.

Firefox isn't immune to being targetted, but it is less so. In addition Firefox has the flexibility of add ons that can boost your security. Tools such as NoScript help mitigate malicious code injection through Flash and Javascript.
If an advert supplying service gets compromised, as they do sometimes, then their customers' websites get compromised (just look at Guru getting blacklisted by Google briefly a couple of weeks back for an infected ad).

Zebideedee · Feb 28, 2009, 02:22 PM // 14:22

Okey Dokey, Thanks guys, sorry for asking something in a forum Dmitri3, next time I'll google it and remain silent, good enough?

The Air Revenger · Feb 28, 2009, 02:35 PM // 14:35

i use google chrome as my browser, i like the setup and incognito mode.

jiggles · Feb 28, 2009, 02:38 PM // 14:38

Can you press the mouse button in and then move up and down in chrome yet?

shump · Feb 28, 2009, 03:12 PM // 15:12

"An independent study shows that, in 2006, IE users were vulnerable to online threats 78% of the time. Firefox users? Only 2%."

???At risk??? defined as publicly available exploits with no patch. Source: ???Internet Explorer users Unsafe for 284 Days in 2006???
Brian Krebs, Washington Post, 1/4/2007
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/

lewis91 · Feb 28, 2009, 05:48 PM // 17:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by shump

"An independent study shows that, in 2006, IE users were vulnerable to online threats 78% of the time. Firefox users? Only 2%."

???At risk??? defined as publicly available exploits with no patch. Source: ???Internet Explorer users Unsafe for 284 Days in 2006???
Brian Krebs, Washington Post, 1/4/2007
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/

Rofl owned, but like the other guys said, its more down to the popularity, and the malicious code writers, think about it, Windows is the most common OS for the average pc buyer, and IE comes standard with it, thus an attempt to hack IE, means you could probably infect a very large amount of pc users.

Same with anti virus', if you have one well advertised, and most common, then it is most likely targeted by hackers. I once had norton, and i was getting a virus a month, doesnt mean theyre bad at protecting, just means theyre being hacked faster than they can prevent.

Arduin · Feb 28, 2009, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Is that 2006 data still valid in 2009?

ac1inferno · Feb 28, 2009, 06:45 PM // 18:45

I use Firefox over IE also because I read somewhere that it has less security risks, but that was a long time ago and I'm not sure about now.

Abedeus · Feb 28, 2009, 07:15 PM // 19:15

Everything is better than IE. Opera, Firefox, Chrome.

Elder III · Feb 28, 2009, 07:27 PM // 19:27

IE stinks..... I only use it for a couple of sites that don't load properly with firefox.... for everything else Mozilla is the better choice hands down (and that's without taking into account the increased risk of virus/trojan/worms/bots/etc on IE).

iVendetta · Feb 28, 2009, 07:30 PM // 19:30

On top of security, Firefox is immensely customizable and it is also fast (not as fast as Google Chrome though).

MStarfire · Feb 28, 2009, 07:33 PM // 19:33

Not only are their fewer security risks, but firefox is faster than both IE7 and IE8.

However, Firefox has a rather large memory footprint, especially when multiple tabs are open. I suggest a browser like Chrome due to its small footprint and independent-process tab architecture, though it is lacking in some features (and doesn't like Guru for some reason).

I recently switched to Safari 4 Beta for evaluation purposes, and while it's faster and incredibly customizable, it suffers from gigantic memory problems. It's currently using 163,596k of memory. That's nearly three times what Firefox uses, and almost ten times what Chrome uses.

Your choice of browser is up to you, but really the bottom line is "don't use IE".

iVendetta · Feb 28, 2009, 08:17 PM // 20:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by MStarfire

I suggest a browser like Chrome due to its small footprint and independent-process tab architecture, though it is lacking in some features (and doesn't like Guru for some reason).

The browser being released in the 21st century, it does not have smooth-scrolling. That is sad.

Burning Freebies · Feb 28, 2009, 09:20 PM // 21:20

I recommend Firefox, as it provides more protection.

MStarfire · Feb 28, 2009, 10:17 PM // 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by iVendetta

The browser being released in the 21st century, it does not have smooth-scrolling. That is sad.

Like I said, it's lacking in some features, but it runs small. That's a big deal to power-users who routinely have many programs open at once.

pamelf · Mar 01, 2009, 03:06 AM // 03:06

I don't use IE because it's non-standards compliable. Apart from that I can block all cookies and scripts through firefox add-ons. Depending on what you want to do I find that add-ons for firefox can come in really useful.

Dmitri3 · Mar 01, 2009, 09:07 AM // 09:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewis91

Rofl owned, but like the other guys said, its more down to the popularity, and the malicious code writers, think about it, Windows is the most common OS for the average pc buyer, and IE comes standard with it, thus an attempt to hack IE, means you could probably infect a very large amount of pc users.

Same with anti virus', if you have one well advertised, and most common, then it is most likely targeted by hackers. I once had norton, and i was getting a virus a month, doesnt mean theyre bad at protecting, just means theyre being hacked faster than they can prevent.

Popularity is NOT an excuse! If it's more popular then they get more money thus they are able to hire more people to fix holes. If they can't do that, it just says they're shitty, that's all.

Open Source has another way to do this though. More popular means more people willing to put in their own time into the project (fix holes, make addons, etc.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebideedee

Okey Dokey, Thanks guys, sorry for asking something in a forum Dmitri3, next time I'll google it and remain silent, good enough?

Asking is okay. I never said you shouldn't ask, I just said you should do your own research as well.

Feb 28, 2009, 01:33 PM // 13:33	#1
Zebideedee Jungle Guide Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: 55?? 57' 0" N / 3?? 12' 0" W Profession: N/Me	Firefox Over IE? Sorry if this is in the wrong section. Anywhoo, I read on a couple of other posts about Firefox being recommended over Internet Explorer in terms of security, I was just curious about what the security risks are with IE? I recently installed Firefox and would be grateful if someone could enlighten me on this. Everyone else I've asked says what amounts to "Yeah use Firefox!" but can't give many a reason why.

Feb 28, 2009, 02:03 PM // 14:03	#3
Dmitri3 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Canada, almost got to see a polar bear... :P	Use Google search. Or Live search if you REALLY want to. P.S. Here, I'll make it easy for you: http://www.google.ca/search?q=intern...security+risks Last edited by Dmitri3; Feb 28, 2009 at 02:06 PM // 14:06..

Feb 28, 2009, 01:56 PM // 13:56	#2
Ghengis Kwell Baby Maker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: UK Guild: Sent Fromhell Profession: D/W	I think in many ways it's the attitude of people towards good old Bill and his company , seems like all the hackers/bad guys loathe him so the majority of viruses/trojans etc. are aimed at making him look bad and exposing exploits whereas Firefox is perceived as being 'cooler' , just an opinion of course I could be wrong

Feb 28, 2009, 02:13 PM // 14:13	#4
Hollygen Core Guru Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: UK Guild: Blinkie Ponie Armie [bpa] Profession: R/	As Ghengis Kwell mentions IE gets targetted by malicious code writers. That's part to make Microsoft look bad, but also, since Windows integrates IE into much of it's day to day functionality it acts as more of a gateway the hackers can attack to compromise whole systems. Firefox isn't immune to being targetted, but it is less so. In addition Firefox has the flexibility of add ons that can boost your security. Tools such as NoScript help mitigate malicious code injection through Flash and Javascript. If an advert supplying service gets compromised, as they do sometimes, then their customers' websites get compromised (just look at Guru getting blacklisted by Google briefly a couple of weeks back for an infected ad).

Feb 28, 2009, 02:22 PM // 14:22	#5
Zebideedee Jungle Guide Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: 55?? 57' 0" N / 3?? 12' 0" W Profession: N/Me	Okey Dokey, Thanks guys, sorry for asking something in a forum Dmitri3, next time I'll google it and remain silent, good enough?

Feb 28, 2009, 02:35 PM // 14:35	#6
The Air Revenger Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Feb 2008 Guild: Looking For TA Guild! Profession: W/	i use google chrome as my browser, i like the setup and incognito mode.

Feb 28, 2009, 02:38 PM // 14:38	#7
jiggles Desert Nomad Join Date: Sep 2007 Profession: N/	Can you press the mouse button in and then move up and down in chrome yet?

Feb 28, 2009, 03:12 PM // 15:12	#8
shump Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Nov 2007	"An independent study shows that, in 2006, IE users were vulnerable to online threats 78% of the time. Firefox users? Only 2%." ???At risk??? defined as publicly available exploits with no patch. Source: ???Internet Explorer users Unsafe for 284 Days in 2006??? Brian Krebs, Washington Post, 1/4/2007 http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/security/

Feb 28, 2009, 06:13 PM // 18:13	#10
Arduin Grotto Attendant Join Date: May 2005 Location: The Netherlands Guild: Limburgse Jagers [LJ] Profession: R/	Is that 2006 data still valid in 2009?

Feb 28, 2009, 06:45 PM // 18:45	#11
ac1inferno Desert Nomad Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Boston Guild: We D Shot Your Stances [GODS] Profession: A/W	I use Firefox over IE also because I read somewhere that it has less security risks, but that was a long time ago and I'm not sure about now.

Feb 28, 2009, 07:15 PM // 19:15	#12
Abedeus Grotto Attendant Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Niflheim Profession: R/	Everything is better than IE. Opera, Firefox, Chrome.

Feb 28, 2009, 07:27 PM // 19:27	#13
Elder III Furnace Stoker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Guild: I Will Never Join Your Guild (NTY) Profession: R/	IE stinks..... I only use it for a couple of sites that don't load properly with firefox.... for everything else Mozilla is the better choice hands down (and that's without taking into account the increased risk of virus/trojan/worms/bots/etc on IE).

Feb 28, 2009, 07:30 PM // 19:30	#14
iVendetta Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Where no man has ever gone before. Guild: Syndicate Nightmare [SyN]	On top of security, Firefox is immensely customizable and it is also fast (not as fast as Google Chrome though).

Feb 28, 2009, 07:33 PM // 19:33	#15
MStarfire Krytan Explorer Join Date: Nov 2007 Guild: [SOS] Profession: Rt/	Not only are their fewer security risks, but firefox is faster than both IE7 and IE8. However, Firefox has a rather large memory footprint, especially when multiple tabs are open. I suggest a browser like Chrome due to its small footprint and independent-process tab architecture, though it is lacking in some features (and doesn't like Guru for some reason). I recently switched to Safari 4 Beta for evaluation purposes, and while it's faster and incredibly customizable, it suffers from gigantic memory problems. It's currently using 163,596k of memory. That's nearly three times what Firefox uses, and almost ten times what Chrome uses. Your choice of browser is up to you, but really the bottom line is "don't use IE".

Feb 28, 2009, 09:20 PM // 21:20	#17
Burning Freebies Krytan Explorer Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: The wonderful land of gift giving Guild: [FoW] Profession: E/Mo	I recommend Firefox, as it provides more protection.

Mar 01, 2009, 03:06 AM // 03:06	#19
pamelf Forge Runner Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Australia Guild: Lost Templars [LoTe] Profession: Me/Mo	I don't use IE because it's non-standards compliable. Apart from that I can block all cookies and scripts through firefox add-ons. Depending on what you want to do I find that add-ons for firefox can come in really useful.