Security and Internet Browsers - Firefox vs Internet Explorer

Introduction

The Internet is becoming a more and more dangerous place to be, due in no small part to the inherent security risks posed by viruses and spyware. Additionally, applications that access the Internet as part of their normal operations may have errors in their code that allows hackers to launch attacks against the computer on which those applications are running. The safety and integrity of digital assets is further compromised by the fast-growing threat of cybercrooks who devise and implement large-scale hoaxes such as phishing and ID theft.

In the light of all this, it's clear that users need a reliable and secure web browser between them and the Internet, which will be free of these problems and won't let harmful content invade the computer.

The web browser industry continues to be dominated by the Windows-bundled Internet Explorer, with an 85% market share, but in recent years a new breed of free, more functional and resilient browsers has appeared - the most popular being Mozilla/Firefox and Opera. All have received serious security upgrades to help protect against recent scares and safeguard users online.

Internet Explorer is at version 6.0, essentially the same product that was included with Windows XP in 2001. Eighteen months ago, the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 substantially increased IE safety; however, it did not eliminate many of the loopholes exploited by hostile program code. At present, Firefox is at version 1.5, but its very different development history (see next section) means that it can be considered at a similar level of maturity as Internet Explorer.

Currently, Microsoft is preparing its next-generation browser, Internet Explorer 7.0, which it plans to introduce sometime during the first half of 2006. The company has stated that it intends to make the browser stronger and more secure to help protect its users against the many problems that have dogged the software over the years.

We, along with Internet users everywhere, await the final results with interest. In the meantime, we decided to undertake our own security evaluation of both IE 7 (beta) and its closest rival, Firefox 1.5.

History and overview

Internet Explorer is a proprietary graphical web browser developed by Microsoft. In 1995, the company licensed the commercial version of Internet Explorer 3.0 from Spyglass Mosaic and integrated the program into its Windows 95 OSR1 edition. Later, it included IE4 as the default browser in Windows 98 - a move which continues to raise many antitrust questions.

Firefox is an open-source browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation; anyone who is proficient enough can collaborate in writing and improving its program code. Mozilla is known for its stringent approach to security, promising a bounty of several thousand dollars for any major vulnerability found in the product.

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Locate Your Firefox Profile Folder

Firefox allows you to create multiple profiles for saving your bookmarks, user names and extensions. To manage those profiles, it is helpful to locate your Firefox profile folder on your computer. Once you locate the profile folder, you will be able to backup your profiles or move them to a new location.

Find Your Firefox Profile Folder on Your Computer

Click 'Start' from the desktop and then choose 'Run' from the menu.

In the 'Open' line, type '%AppData%' (without the quotes) and press the 'OK' button. This will automatically open the 'Application Data' folder on your computer.

Browse through the list of folders until you find the 'Mozilla' folder. Double-click the folder.

Find the 'Firefox' folder and double-click to open the folder.

Locate the 'Profiles' folder and double-click it as well.

Find the 'xxxxxxxx.default' folder and open it up. The Xs represent 8 random letters and numbers that will be unique to your computer.

Locate the profiles found in this folder.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_2033372_locate-firefox-profile.html#ixzz1W2AYWyQT

How to Fix Firefox.Exe Errors

Mozilla Firefox is an Internet browser known for its speed and customization options. In December 2009, Mozilla Firefox became the most popular web browser, with a global market percentage of 21.93 percent. While many people enjoy the benefits of Mozilla Firefox, some users have experienced a pesky Firefox.exe error. Fortunately, fixing this error is relatively easy.

Instructions

Reinstall Mozilla Firefox


Click "Start" and then "Control Panel."


Click on "Uninstall a Program."


Scroll down the list of programs and click on "Mozilla Firefox."

Click on "Uninstall" and then click "OK."


Download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox at the Mozilla Firefox home page. The link for this page can be found in this article's Resources segment. Firefox.exe errors are often the result of a bad installation. Moreover, Mozilla Firefox continually updates its Web browser to combat errors. Therefore, reinstalling Mozilla Firefox should fix the Firefox.exe errors. If it does not, continue to the next step.


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Locate Your Firefox Profile Folder

Firefox allows you to create multiple profiles for saving your bookmarks, user names and extensions. To manage those profiles, it is helpful to locate your Firefox profile folder on your computer. Once you locate the profile folder, you will be able to backup your profiles or move them to a new location.

Instructions


Click 'Start' from the desktop and then choose 'Run' from the menu.


In the 'Open' line, type '%AppData%' (without the quotes) and press the 'OK' button. This will automatically open the 'Application Data' folder on your computer.


Browse through the list of folders until you find the 'Mozilla' folder. Double-click the folder.

Find the 'Firefox' folder and double-click to open the folder.

Locate the 'Profiles' folder and double-click it as well.


Find the 'xxxxxxxx.default' folder and open it up. The Xs represent 8 random letters and numbers that will be unique to your computer.


Locate the profiles found in this folder.


Read more: http://goo.gl/xloEp

How to Increase Firewall Protection ?

With the constant threat of Internet hackers and identity thieves it is vital that your computer is fully protected and always updated for the latest viruses and malware. The Windows firewall, a default with most PCs, is a powerful anti-virus tool that can be configured to increase your computer's protection.

Instructions

Navigate to your Computer's Control Panel located in the Start Menu. Double-click on the "Windows Firewall" icon to open a new window. The Windows Firewall icon is represented by the image of a brick wall with the planet earth behind it.

Ensure that the Windows Firewall is switched on. If your firewall is not switched on your computer is susceptible to incoming viruses, Trojan horses and malicious files. Click the "On (recommended)" button to turn on your firewall.

Click the "Exceptions" tab at the top of the Windows Firewall window. You are still allowing certain programs and applications to download and transfer packages through your PC although your firewall is running. By altering the Exceptions of your firewall you can increase the protection of your PC. Clicking on the "Exceptions" tab opens a new window section.

Un-tick some of the programs that are more likely to contain or traffic malicious files. For example, P2P file-sharing programs such as Limewire, Ares and UTorrent are not 100 per cent regulated or checked for viruses.

Update your firewall with a Windows Service Pack. Windows is constantly updating the firewall software of its Operating Systems and this means that any new or previously-unknown malware will now be recognized and prevented from accessing your PC. Your computer will let you know and warn you when these new malicious files are accessing your computer.

Read more: http://goo.gl/VqYHf

How to Import Bookmarks Into Firefox ?

Importing bookmarks from another computer or other web browser into Firefox is easy. With just a few clicks, your bookmarks will be saved into your Mozilla Firefox browser.

Instructions

Open up a Firefox window.
       
Click on the "Bookmarks" menu and select "Manage Bookmarks." If you are using Firefox 3.6.2, then you need to click on "Organize Bookmarks..."
        

In the window that pops up click on the "File" menu and select "Import." In case of Firefox 3.6.2, click on "Import and Backup" just above the list. Then click on the "Import HTML" option from the drop-down list. A new window comes up.
      

Select the "Microsoft Internet Explorer" option if you are importing favorites from Internet Explorer on the same computer. Then click next. If you are importing from a file of saved bookmarks or favorites choose "From File" and click next.
        

Select the file in the open window that pops up and then click "Open" if you are importing from a file. Firefox will do the rest for you. If importing from Internet Explorer, just click "Finished" when it's done.


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Firefox: Benefit Analysis versus Internet Explorer

Most of Firefox's advantages are MSIE's disadvantages, and vice-versa. This article will look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of Firefox in relation to MSIE.

Advantages

Security

Security is often cited as the primary reason for users switching from MSIE to Firefox. Security is of utmost importance for software that interacts with remote computers, in an era of high security risk activities such as online banking.

Firefox has fewer security holes and a tighter schedule of disclosing them. The enhanced security in Firefox is due to a multitude of factors the system's inclusion of more source code reviewers and a better bug reporting system and exclusion of VBScript/ActiveX, often the source of vulnerabilities.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has been clamoring for years to try to clamp down on the MSIE security holes. It acquired an anti-spyware product, which it released under the banner of Microsoft AntiSpyware. It also promises its new Windows Vista platform will be more secure. However, Microsoft's track record to date has done little to boost the confidence of today's user.
Standards compliance

Firefox has vaulted ahead of MSIE with improved support for standard web protocols, such as its superior stylesheet compatibility.

Since MSIE had a leading marketshare, the company had less interest in conforming to web standards, and instead focused on proprietary protocols, with the goal of maintaining their market position. That is, the focus of Microsoft was to try to convert as much of its userbase to writing webpages and web applications that required a proprietary MSIE-approach, so that down the road, users would be less able to move off a Microsoft platform.
As a result, Microsoft neglected for years to improve support for basic open standards. For example, transparent PNG graphics did not work all the way through to MSIE version 6.

Multiple operating system platforms

Firefox is available for users who runs Windows (Windows 98 through to Windows XP), Mac OS X, all the leading versions of Linux, as well as some lesser-used operating systems. In comparison, Microsoft has dropped development for Mac, and other non-Windows systems. Furthermore, Microsoft has ceased new development even on their own versions of Windows, making the new MSIE only available to users who have a license for Windows XP.
Firefox also has a similar user interface among the different operating platforms. For deployments that have a mix of operating platforms (such as Linux for the techs, Macs for the graphic designers, and Windows for the accounts department), moving to Firefox for everyone thus brings technical support costs down.

Time-saving browser innovations

Internet communication and interaction is a core component for most modern businesses. Efficient use of web browser time translates to increased profits, so innovations to help workers do their tasks faster are welcomed.
Firefox leads MSIE in this regard, with out-of-the-box features such as integrated Google search in the toolbar, placing the find-within-page box at the bottom of the browser window so as not to obscure the text, and so on.

Read more: http://goo.gl/9fi4t