Browser Security News

If you’re using Apple’s Safari browser, PayPal has some advice for you: Drop it, at least if you want to avoid online fraud. Safari doesn’t make PayPal’s list of recommended browsers because it doesn’t have two important anti-phishing security features, according to Michael Barrett, PayPal’s chief information security officer.

Users of Thunderbird are being urged to update to version 2.0.0.12 of the open source email client to close several security holes. In the new version, the Mozilla developers remedy five vulnerabilities, one of which is categorized as critical because attackers can inject malicious code by means of specially crafted e-mails – and all users [...]

More and more businesses, schools, and government agencies are managing Internet usage. In many cases, organizations are setting up policies to prevent users from accessing sites like MySpace, FaceBook, gambling, and shopping.

A few months ago, I wrote that Flock, the social-media browser built on top of Firefox, had become my new favorite browser. It still is–and today, the Flock folks released a beta of version 1.1. It’s got no earthshaking new features, but is sure worth a look if you like inventive Web tools.

A number of Microsoft enthusiasts this week received invitations to a “limited technical beta program” for Internet Explorer (IE) 8 Beta 1. According to the invitation, Microsoft is planning to make IE 8 Beta 1 available to the general public, as well. But before that happens, an invitation-only tet program will be conducted. The invitation [...]

ActiveX controls are small programs, sometimes also called “add-ons,” that are used on the Internet. They can enhance your browsing experience by allowing animation or they can help with tasks such as installing security updates at Microsoft Update. Some Web sites require you to install ActiveX controls to see the site or perform certain tasks [...]

With recent news about Internet Explorer 8’s imminent beta, Microsoft’s long and checkered history with web standards compliance has been hurled back into the harsh, unflattering spotlight. Even though IE8 will have a new "standards compliant" mode, it won’t be perfect, stirring up a new wave of grumbling about Microsoft’s attitude and position in the [...]

According to the folks at Mozilla, the 500 millionth download of the Firefox browser happened last night. That doesn’t, of course, represent a half billion people–I’ve probably downloaded various versions of the browser thirty times myself, for one computer or another–but it’s still a whole lotta downloads, and evidence of the immense popularity of the [...]

The Mozilla Foundation announced today the official launch of Mozilla Messaging, a new subsidiary dedicated to creating open-source Internet communication software. The organization, which is headed by former ActiveState CTO David Ascher, will take on stewardship of Mozilla Thunderbird. The newly-formed subsidiary has also revealed plans for Thunderbird 3, the next major version of the [...]

A recent string of high-profile ActiveX vulnerabilities caused the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to advise users to disable the ubiquitous Microsoft browser plug-in technology altogether. The vectors for these recent exploits include a third-party image uploading tool used on both the Facebook and MySpace social networking sites, and flaws found in Yahoo’s Music [...]