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IE and Firefox Fight for the "Most Vulnerable Browser" Award

More and more security flaws discovered in both applications

By Bogdan Popa, Security and Search Engines Editor

23rd of February 2007, 09:28 GMT

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The battle between Internet Explorer and Firefox is known on the entire Internet because they are the most popular browsers. Firefox is the application designed by Mozilla that was the first browser to introduce tab browsing while Internet Explorer is included in the Windows operating system developed by Microsoft that is currently installed on numerous computers. Because Internet Explorer is often regarded as a very vulnerable browser, Firefox might be regarded as the favorite tool to win the competition but the matter
is even more complicated. Last week, the security companies on the Internet reported Firefox contains a security flaw able to make our computers vulnerable to attacks. Today, it seems like Internet Explorer tries to keep up with a vulnerability discovered in the address bar.

"The vulnerability is caused due to an error in Internet Explorer 7's handling of "onunload" events, enabling a malicious website to abort the loading of a new website. This can be exploited to spoof the address bar if e.g. the user enters a new website manually in the address bar, which is commonly exercised as best practice. The vulnerability is confirmed on a fully patched Windows XP SP2 system running Internet Explorer 7. Other versions may also be affected," security company Secunia reported in an advisory.

The solution provided by the firm might look a little funny because they sustain the only protection is to close the browser after visiting untrusted pages so it's obvious that Internet Explorer is not safer than Firefox.

The battle for the most secure browser on the Internet is quite interesting because the latest version of the Microsoft's tool, Internet Explorer 7, is bundled into Windows Vista, an application that is regarded as the safest operating system ever created. Although Secunia rated the flaw as less critical, the vulnerability exists and damages the reputation of the browser. So, no matter you use Firefox or Internet Explorer, it seems like the Internet is not quite a peaceful and safe place.
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