Firefox Users Most Secure on Internet, Study Shows

Slashdot links to an article about the study "Understanding the Web browser threat: Examination of vulnerable online Web browser populations and the "insecurity iceberg", whose aim was to analyze web browser preferences and behavior by people using the Internet. The study is a collaboration among researchers at The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Google and IBM Internet Security Services which offers a comprehensive analysis of Web browsers, particular with regard to the area of security.

Firefox users were by far the most likely to use the latest version at an overwhelming rate of 83.3 percent running an updated browser on any given day. The study also revealed that 65.3 percent of Safari users were likely to be running the latest version and that Microsoft Internet Explorer users ranked dead last in terms of safe browsing.

"With today's hostile Intent and drive-by download attack vectors, failure to apply patches promptly or missing them entirely is a recipe for disaster; exposing the host to infection and possibly subsequent data disclosure or loss," said researchers.

See Channel Web for details.