Internet browsers

Private Browsing Not So Private After All?

June 8, 2023 by noemi

How often do you use the private browsing capabilities of your chosen Internet browser? For one reason or another, I am sure that the average person will find this capability useful. While I am not going to prod as to why you would need to go incognito while browsing, you ought to know that there is supposed to be a flaw in the whole private browsing model.

Researchers from Stanford University and Carnegie-Mellon University have recently studied the private browsing model being used by major Internet browsers, and they say that it is not that foolproof; at least not as foolproof as we would like to believe. They released their findings in a paper titled An Analysis of Private Browsing Modes in Modern Browsers.

Their conclusions?

We analyzed private browsing modes in modern browsers and discussed their success at achieving the desired security goals. Our manual review and automated testing tool pointed out several weaknesses in existing implementations. The most severe violations enable a local attacker to completely defeat the benefits of private mode. In addition, we performed the first measurement study of private browsing usage in different browsers and on different sites. Finally, we examined the difficult issues of keeping browser extensions and plug-ins from undoing the goals of private browsing.

The next time you face the need to go incognito while browsing, make sure you take these things into consideration. Your best bet is to use your private computer and regularly take steps to ensure your security.

Firefox: IBM’s Browser of Choice – Should You Follow?

June 4, 2023 by noemi

Earlier this month, IBM made an announcement that Firefox is now the default browser of the company. The announcement came straight from the horse’s mouth – Bob Sutor, the vice president of open source and Linux at IBM’s Software Group. In his blog, he said:

We’re officially adding a new piece of software to the list of default common applications we expect employees to use, and that’s the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Firefox has been around for years, of course. Today we already have thousands of employees using it on Linux, Mac, and Windows laptops and desktops, but we’re going to be adding thousands more users to the rolls.

This development definitely gives Firefox points in the browser wars. Here’s the thing – if such a group as IBM has publicly announced its browser preference, should we follow suit?

I don’t know what browser you’re using, but I have been switching between Firefox and Chrome in the past year. Before that, Firefox was my main choice. I have been having to pull up Chrome because of speed issues (I know Firefox is supposed to be fast but for some reason I have problems with this), but Internet Explorer has been out of the picture for the longest time.

Why should you even consider following IBM’s example? Sutor gives his reasons for his browser of choice:

• Firefox is stunningly standards compliant, and interoperability via open standards is key to IBM’s strategy.
• Firefox is open source and its development schedule is managed by a development community not beholden to one commercial entity.
• Firefox is secure and an international community of experts continues to develop and maintain it.
• Firefox is extensible and can be customized for particular applications and organizations, like IBM.
• Firefox is innovative and has forced the hand of browsers that came before and after it to add and improve speed and function.

Is that enough for you?

Stay Safe On XP SP 2 After July 13

June 1, 2023 by noemi

If you haven’t already heard, tomorrow is quite an important day for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 users. After tomorrow, Microsoft will no longer be providing automatic security updates for this version of their operating system. More information about this in my post last month.

If you’re really concerned about this issue, the easiest fix is to ditch XP, right? But it is totally understandable if you do not want to do that just yet. More so, there are ways by which you can continue to enjoy a relative degree of security while continuing to use XP SP2. Here are some tips.

Stick to XP, but upgrade to XP SP3. This version will continue to receive automatic updates till August of 2014 – that’s a long way off. You can either download and install SP3 using Windows Update, download a disc image (for use in more than one machine), or buy the installation CD (only $3.99).

If you really want to continue using XP2, here’s a simple fix that can increase your security: stop using Internet Explorer, if you haven’t already. I know very few people who continue to use this Internet browser for so many practical reasons. If I were you, I’d go with Chrome of Firefox (which has a new beta, by the way).

Here’s a no brainer – make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date and reliable. This is assuming that you already have one installed. Even the free ones are pretty good, and they usually prompt you for updates anyway.

Opera 10.6 Beta Released

May 27, 2023 by noemi

And the Internet browser wars go on. While it is true that the general public is probably mainly aware of the big three – Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, a considerable number of people out there use Opera. With this new release, a lot more might just change loyalties in the near future.

Opera 10.6 beta has been released, and it is promised to be 50% faster. According to Michael Muchmore of PCMag, it is indeed faster than Chrome 5 – but not by that much. Still, many of us would give a lot for more speed, wouldn’t we?

Aside from the speed, though, Opera 10.6 beta has more to offer. For one, it already supports Google’s WebM video format, which was recently announced. For those who prefer to use Microsoft’s Bing (as opposed to Google or Yahoo), Opera also integrates this search engine as the default. The browser also has more HTML 5 support.

In terms of visuals, Opera 10.6 beta is a bit different from its predecessors. The iconic O button is now replaced by MENU. While it does not mean much in terms of performance, some users might prefer this more obvious button. Also, the speed dial new tab page is now viewable in wide screen mode- quite helpful for those with sight issues.

Currently, the browser is only available for Windows, so Mac and Linux users will have to wait. The forecast is that the final version will be out by the summer. To download the beta version, visit http://www.opera.com/browser/next/.

3 “New” Web Browsers That Could Replace Your Default

October 15, 2012 by noemi

Web browsers are the lifeblood of anyone who spends a fair amount of time online. Without a decent web browser, you’d be stuck in a hellish world rife with slow loading times, and probably crashing windows.

There are, of course, the usual suspects, but in this age where there’s a specialized something for everything, alternative web browsers are not lacking as well.

If you are on the lookout for different web browsers to suit your needs and preferences, take a look at 3 “new” web browsers that might just become your default browser in the near future.

Internet browsers

Maxthon