14 DAY TRIAL // Firefox 2.0 (and later) and Firefox 3.0 (and later) have been the most vulnerable pieces of software for the Windows platform in 2008, according to Bit9. In “The Dirty Dozen” - 2008’s Most Popular Applications with Critical Security Vulnerabilities whitepaper, Bit9 gives the first place to Mozilla's open source browser, which comes with an inherent aura of security, especially when compared with Microsoft's proprietary Internet Explorer. In fact, Microsoft software products would have entirely missed the Dirty Dozen, if it hadn't been for the company's instant messaging client.
“Year after year, we see a growing number of applications within the enterprise creating security vulnerabilities that are easily prevented through better visibility across endpoints, and a more centralized patch-management process,” Harry Sverdlove, chief technology officer, Bit9, revealed.
“2008 has been no exception. This year, along with the widely reported huge increase in malware, the number of well-known applications causing security problems for companies has also increased. Our annual ranking now covers 12 applications, up from 10 last year.”
Adobe Flash and Acrobat occupy the second position in the Dirty Dozen vulnerability ranking, followed by the EMC VMware Player, Workstation and additional solutions, and by the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Stopping one position short of the little honorable top three is Apple with QuickTime, Safari, and iTunes. Even though the Cupertino-based hardware company continues to applaud the high level of security of its software, QuickTime, Safari, and iTunes are among the most vulnerable products running on Windows.
The list continues with Symantec's Norton products, versions 2006 through 2008, despite the fact that Symantec is a leading security company worldwide. At the same time, Trend Micro with OfficeScan has ended up on the seventh position of the Dirty Dozen, followed by Citrix Products, Aurigma Image Uploader, and Lycos FileUploader. The list is wrapped up by three popular instant messaging clients. Bit9 places Skype 3.6.0.248 on the tenth position, Yahoo! Assistant 3.6 on the eleventh place, and Microsoft Windows Live (MSN) Messenger 4.7 and 5.1 on the last one.
