David Pogue on security experts have now unveiled an even more insidious hole. Phishers (people who try to intercept your Web passwords and private information) can now make any text they like appear in the address bar. They can, for example, make it look like you’re viewing the Web page of PayPal or eBay; when you “log in,” you’ll actually be sending your account information straight into the phishers’ databases.
So what should you do? If you ask me, you should switch immediately to the free, infinitely superior browser Firefox (if you use Windows or Mac) or Safari (Mac OS X). You’ll absolutely love its tabbed browsing, pop-up window stopper and other advanced features-and you’ll be safe from most of the security holes in Internet Explorer.
I have tried Firefox twice now, and here is what I do not like about it.
For one, it alters the way my page is displayed detracting from the composition. The borders do not display.
Two, I cannot consolidate the toolbars. In IE, I can put all bars (menu, tools, navigation) on the same line. When you view full-screen, the menu bar disappears and you cannot auto-hide the toolbars that do remain. I prefer my browser to be for browsing rather than for toolbars. Likewise, what I do not like about the tabs feature is that it takes up more browser room. Although, I can recognize that many users might like using this tab feature.
Thirdly, I really do not like the bookmarks folders because you cannot eliminate the bookmark toolbar. Likewise, the import feature puts all the ?favorites? into a favorites folder rather than importing the links directly into the bookmarks folder (while maintaining the integrity of the sub-folders). I had to manually move all the sub-folders and links. Moreover, I cannot choose the icon image for the links within the bookmarks.
Granted, the safety is good, but with some basic settings and updates, IE is also safe. The reason Firefox has less vulnerability within the default settings is that so few use it. Since so many more computers run IE, the attackers can do more harm here. Given time, if Firefox becomes more mainstream the assaults will come, you can count on it. Why attack something that so few use, particularly businesses? It is like attacking Andorra when you can attack Iraq and have so much more fun.
Overall, Firefox is good and quite user-friendly and I would recommend it for those who do not like IE, unless you need to view MSN pages such as the Money Portfolio, or fine art pages such as, The Sonoran Son. 🙂
I downloaded Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird today. It does require a little messing around to figure out the new way of doing certain things, but, so far, I like the programs. I can already see several improvements over ME and OE. I especially like the tabs. And if it’s at all safer for however long it is, then so much the better.
Additionally, the scroll bar colors do not reflect the original design.