Although the world's attention is focused on Firefox 3, the Mozilla team has not forgotten about the Internet users out there who still have the 2.0 version installed on their systems. At the beginning of July Mozilla's Firefox 2.0.015 was launched addressing a dozen security issues (literally). It seems that 12 vulnerabilities within the browser have been solved: 4 critical, 4 high, 2 moderate, and 2 low.

You are very well advised to update if you are still using Firefox 2.0 and not the recently launched 3.0. The four critical flaws are the most worrisome ones as attackers could remotely exploit them, gain access to your system and propagate their malware. That malware could influence your PC in numerous ways. You could become another zombie in their botnet, or they could steal your private info leaving you exposed to ID theft. E-crime is a serious matter that must not be taken lightly.

Opera has issued patches for its browser as well. The 9.51 is the latest version of the Opera web browser and it solves vulnerabilities regarding arbitrary code execution. The company has yet to release information in regard to the exploit.

It is important that you keep your browser up to date because failing to update and install the latest patches and updates makes your system vulnerable. Take the four critical updates that the Firefox2.0.0.15 solves; the fact that they were classified as critical means that you will not even know when you have been infected. You sit in front of your computer, surfing the web as you usually do, unaware that an attacker is installing his malicious software on your system.

While Mozilla Firefox 3 is downloaded at a record pace, in the Microsoft Internet Explorer world there are some who continue to use the outdated and less secure IE6.