Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

IE8 best at blocking malware sites, says study

March 24, 2009 12:00 PM ET

The two bottom browsers, Opera 9.64 and IE7, were essentially useless at stopping their users from visiting bad sites, catching just 5% and 4%, respectively. "[They] provided virtually no protection against malware," said the NSS report.

Microsoft was the sole sponsor of the test, Moy acknowledged, adding that having just one funding source was unusual for his company. "It wasn't exactly a comfortable feeling, but I think it was all pretty above board. They were very hands off."

Even though Gartner Inc. analyst John Pescatore noted that NSS has a solid reputation in testing circles, he cautioned against reading too much into the report. "You do have to look at the results of this with a jaundiced eye," he said Tuesday.

Pescatore also questioned whether the numbers reflected how browsers -- and more importantly, browser users -- really work. "For IE7 and Firefox, in real-world use, we don't see any major difference in their security performance," he said. "If you look at how Firefox 3.0 is really used, and how IE8 is used, and the typical user, I don't think there's going to be a tremendous difference in blocking malware sites. They use very similar databases."

In fact, Firefox, Chrome and Safari all turn to the same source for their blacklist: Google's SafeBrowsing API. Moy wasn't able to completely explain why, if that's the case, the three browsers' scores were so different in the NSS tests. He did, however, speculate that while each browser pings Google's blacklist, they handle the information differently, and may add or subtract from it using their own algorithms.

"The implementation [of SafeBrowsing] is different in Firefox than the others using it," Moy said.

The NSS report can be downloaded from the company's Web site (PDF download). NSS has also scheduled a webinar for March 31 at 10 a.m. Pacific time, during which it will outline its results. Users can register for the session on the NSS site.

Read more about security in Computerworld's Security Knowledge Center.



Jump to comments

Microsoft

Additional Resources

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know
WHITE PAPER
Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.
Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009
WHITE PAPER
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.
Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing
WHITE PAPER
Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

Death to PST Files
Download Now  

Web 2.0, Social Media and the Dark Web - A Web Criminals Paradise?
In this discussion, learn about the challenges of protecting your users from the potentially unsafe content hidden in the "Dark Web".

eGuide: Enterprise Security
Smart Security Strategies for 2010. Read now!  

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...


IT Jobs