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Is Mozilla’s Firefox 5 a More Stable Browser Than Its Predecessor?

Mozilla Firefox 5.0

Mozilla Firefox 5.0

This week’s release of the Firefox 5 browser came shockingly fast for Mozilla. Firefox 4 came out of beta barely 3 months ago–the previous numbered release, Firefox 3, was released way back in 2008.

A quick look at the features and improvements in Firefox 5 however reveals what the Mozilla foundation did to accomplish the fast release: There are some significant upgrades under the hood, but this is really more of a 4.1 release than a full new version of the browser.

However, the big news is that the release of Firefox 5 may finally solve the stability issues users have complained about since the beta builds of Firefox 4. When the Mozilla foundation released the last major overhaul of Firefox back in March, it was a huge step forward for the browser. The update brought with it a host of new features like improved tab navigation and the ability to sync bookmarks across multiple computers.

Perhaps most importantly, Firefox 4 improved the speed of the browser which had been lagging in recent years.

However, Firefox 4 also brought a lot of complaints about random crashes. A user named bigdaddyken on Mozilla’s support forums posted that “firefox 4 crashes constantly, on opening, different pages, etc. Old firefox worked fine.” More than one thousand users reported the same issue, and this report was only one of many crash complaints on the forums.

PCWorld users have also had problems with the browser. In a comment on our early hands-on with Firefox 4 report, user xvMATTLEEvx said “Sure it has added features but that is just to keep up with everyone else it’s nothing innovative like Mozilla used to be. On top of that Firefox 4.0 is suffering the same crashes and memory spikes Firefox 2.0 suffered. I am talking without add-ons not with add-ons.”

Firefox 5 Feature List

The list of Firefox 5′s new features isn’t exactly designed to thrill. It’s headed by “added support for CSS animations” and features other improvements like “improved discoverability of the Do-Not-Track privacy feature preference” and “improved spell checking for some locales.”

Clearly the features listed here aren’t the real news in Firefox 5. Users will probably be a lot more excited by the list of hundreds of bug fixes that come along with Firefox 5. While there is some reason to worry that this rapid update strategy brings as many problems with it as it solves, with any luck, these bug fixes will make Firefox 5 as crash-proof as it is fast.

Today, we asked our Facebook page users if they had any similar problems with Firefox 4 and quickly got more than 40 responses like Irving Cool who says “FF4 crashes a lot :S” or Wali Khan who stated his “New Firefox crashes every 5 minutes.”

Let’s hope Firefox 5 really solves the problems.

Get Firefox

If you need a fresh new copy of Firefox, you can get it here:

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The Best Antivirus Software in 2011, According to PC Magazine

The Best Antivirus Software in 2011

Best Antivirus Software, 2011

Antivirus vendors have included “2011″ in their product names since the summer of 2010. Now that the year 2011 has actually arrived it’s time for a new look at the whole collection. Several of the latest additions attempt to crank up protection by running two different antivirus engines, and some actually succeed. This batch also brings a new Editors’ Choice for free antivirus and a new shared Editors’ Choice for commercial antivirus.

As always, when I say “antivirus” I mean a utility that protects against all kinds of malicious software, not just viruses. Trojans, spyware, rootkits, keyloggers, adware, scareware – a proper antivirus must handle all of these.

Standalone or Suite?
Many of this year’s products blur the line between standalone antivirus and security suite. In the past the presence of a personal firewall has been one defining suite element; not any more. There’s a fully-functional firewall inside Panda Antivirus Pro 2011. eScan Anti-Virus 11 and McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2011 also offer firewall protection. Norton AntiVirus 2011 doesn’t include a complete firewall, but its intrusion prevention feature is more effective against exploits than most full-blown suites.

Spam filtering is another component typically found in a suite. The spam filter built into BullGuard Antivirus 10 is reasonably accurate and unusually helpful at setup time. eScan also offers a spam filter, but it’s not something you’d want to inflict on your Inbox.

StopSign Internet Security 1.0 includes an optional firewall with spam filtering built in. None of the independent labs have tested it, though, and its performance in my own malware blocking and removal tests was so poor that I didn’t bother evaluating those optional features.

BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 offers full remote management of other BitDefender installations across the network. McAfee can monitor other installations remotely and fix problems. Panda and Norton can at least let you know when another installation has problems, though they won’t fix those problems remotely.

BitDefender includes a very effective phishing prevention tool, as does G Data AntiVirus 2011. The LinkScanner component in AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 also works to block phishing sites, as does McAfee’s SiteAdvisor. AVG and Norton both scan the links on your Facebook pages to protect you from Facebook scams and viruses. BitDefender and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 both check your system for security vulnerabilities, though BitDefender takes the concept a bit farther.

Outpost Antivirus Pro 7.0 and BitDefender can block transmission of user-defined private data, a feature usually found only in suites. Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security 9.0, AVG, Kaspersky, and McAfee will tune system performance and wipe out traces of computer and Internet use. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that the product is “only” an antivirus, not a full suite.

The true standalone antivirus isn’t dead, however. For example, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2011 sticks to the business of virus protection without any sign of morphing into a mini-suite.

Twin-Engine Trend
Several late-season additions aim to double your protection by using two antivirus engines, with varying degrees of success. G Data’s dual scan doesn’t take much longer than the average single-engine product, and it includes powerful phishing protection. However, it doesn’t thoroughly clean up the threats it detects, and a failed cleanup effectively killed one test system. TrustPort Antivirus 2011 ran a bit slower than G Data and failed significantly in my testing. After its alleged removal some threats were still running. In the malware blocking test a few threats that it claimed to block managed to install and launch anyway.

Double Anti-Spy Professional v2 turned in the best performance of the twin-engine antivirus tools. It scans first with one engine, then with the other, and it also requires two separate updates. It’s noticeably slow, but effective enough that it’s worth waiting for.

Adjustable Interfaces, Built-in Support
Some users want to hear about every little security event, but most prefer a product that just does the job, without making a fuss. Ad-Aware Pro appeals to both with a choice of simple or advanced mode. BitDefender goes even further. Not only can its users choose basic, intermediate or expert view, they can build a personal collection of their most-used tools.

Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011 totally focuses on keeping everything as simple as possible. It updates automatically, scans while the system is idle, and interacts with the user through a completely redesigned interface. All the detail a tech-savvy user might want is available, but hidden when not needed.

The user interface for Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus + 2011 discards the standard landscape-orientation window for a skinny vertical panel that takes up minimal space. McAfee, too, has switched to a vertical interface.

Norton reserves a panel across the bottom of its main window for interaction and communication with other security components. Initially the panel shows an interactive world map of security activity, but it can also connect with Norton Safe Web for Facebook or with your Norton Online Backup account.

Built-in and automated support features grace many of these tools. BitDefender includes a search box for help topics right on its main screen; a built-in tool will gather system information and contact an agent for chat-based support. Norton’s one-click support system gathers diagnostics and offers relevant FAQs or chat-based support. Kaspersky’s built-in support tool can send diagnostic reports to the company and process purpose-built scripts to fix specific problems. Panda’s PSCAN lets remote analysts request samples and push fixes without requiring full chat-type interaction. BullGuard offers built-in access to e-mail and live chat support with a message center to manage your support interactions. eScan links to live chat and online help.

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Top 10 Security Threats for 2011

Top Ten Security Threats - 2011

Top Ten Security Threats

Imperva announced their predictions for the top ten security trends for 2011 which have been compiled to help IT security professionals defend their organization against the next onslaught of cyber security threats.

The trends have been detailed below:

1. Nation-sponsored hacking: When APT meets industrialization
Nation-sponsored hacking specifically-targeted cyber attacks will incorporate concepts and techniques from the commercial hacker industry. These campaigns will contain a different malware payload than the traditional attacks conducted for monetary gain. However, these attacks will use similar techniques. These Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks will borrow techniques, such as automation and viral distribution, making them all the more powerful and potentially more successful. An example of such an attack is Stuxnet, which was not searching for data to monetize, rather it was focused on gaining control of crucial infrastructure.

Both classes of attack (hacker industry and APT) are going to use some of the same techniques so some security controls are applicable to both. On the positive side, given you’re covered against the cyber mafia you should have some of the controls to be protected from certain APT attacks. As APT is persistent, if a certain attack does not succeed, another one will come into play. The traditional security controls do not deter these relentless, state-sponsored hacker organizations. For the enterprise as well as government, this means increasing monitoring of traffic and setting security controls across all organization layers.


2. The insider threat is much more than you had imagined
In this upcoming year, we expect to see a growing awareness to security incidents of an “insider job” nature. Attention will grow as a consequence of an increased flow of incident reports where data theft and security breaches are tied to employees and other insiders. The cause of this trend will be the emphasis put on new regulations covering the act of notification and disclosure (rather on the actual protection of data).

To deter insider threats, organizations should therefore:

  • Enforce access controls such that access is based only a business need-to-know level. This includes eliminating excessive privileges.
  • Provide the proper access auditing tools to data centers. These auditing tools should monitor who accesses what data

3. Man in the Browser attacks will man up
Man in the Browser (MitB) attack sophistication is going to increase, as well as moving forward to more types of online applications. As a consequence, more online service providers are going to include this in their list of priorities for 2011, shifting the responsibility for mitigating the risk from the consumers to the service providers.

While avoiding infection by proxy Trojans is presumably the responsibility of consumers, MitB attacks are quickly becoming a concern of online service providers. The actual rate of infection and the proliferation of the many types of MitB malware suggest that providers must be able to serve (and protect) customers who might be infected with one type of malware or another. Just as the evolution of vehicle safety drove manufacturers to include device such as ABS, Air Bags and ESP, rather than rely on us to drive carefully, so will online service providers need to invest in mechanisms that allow them to conduct business with allegedly infected consumers. Among the technologies that we foresee as helpful are strong device identification, client profiling, fast security code evolution, session flow tracking and site-to-client authentication.

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Google Says Hundreds Of Gmail Accounts Hijacked

Google Gmail Hacked

Google Gmail Hacked

An attack from China has affected hundreds of users, including senior U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries such as South Korea, military personnel, and journalists.

Google has detected a campaign to gather Gmail account credentials that appears to originate from Jinan, China, and is warning users to take a few minutes to review their security settings.

Eric Grosse, engineering director for Google’s security team, said in a blog post that hundreds of users have been affected, including senor U.S. government officials, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries such as South Korea, military personnel, and journalists.

“The goal of this effort seems to have been to monitor the contents of these users’ emails, with the perpetrators apparently using stolen passwords to change peoples’ forwarding and delegation settings,” Grosse said.

By changing these settings, which are only evident through the appropriate Gmail Settings tab page, the attackers could generate copies of incoming and outgoing email that would be forwarded without the account holder’s knowledge.

Google declined to provide further details or information about those it believes may be behind the attack.

In January 2010, Google reported that it had uncovered “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China.” Google said at the time that it had reason to believe that one of the main goals of the attackers was to compromise the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

In that respect, the attack was not very successful: While Google acknowledged that the attackers had stolen unspecified intellectual property, it stressed that only two Gmail accounts appeared to have been accessed.

Jinan, capital of Shandong Province in Eastern China, happens to be the location of the Lanxiang Vocational School, one of the two Chinese schools linked to the 2010 attack against Google.

An October 2009 report on Chinese cyber espionage prepared by defense contractor Northrop Grumman said that the Chinese military maintains at least six technical reconnaissance bureaus for gathering cyber intelligence in the Lanzhou, Jinan, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Beijing military regions.

The current attack differs from the 2010 attack in that it doesn’t involve a vulnerability in Google’s infrastructure; it is simply a phishing campaign to dupe users into revealing their Gmail login credentials.


Google said that it detected the phishing campaign through its cloud-based security and abuse detection systems, through the reports from users, and through a report published in February on the Contagio blog, a collection of malware samples and threat analysis. The company said it has notified victims and the relevant government authorities.

Google is advising Gmail users to consider steps to improve the security of their accounts. The company recommends using two-factor verification, using a strong password, only entering account information at the proper Google domain, checking Gmail settings for unknown forwarding addresses or unauthorized account delegation, watching for suspicious account activity warnings, using Google Chrome, and reviewing security education materials available online.

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Donbot dumps fake AV spam – pitches gambling site instead

Donbot dumps fake AV spam – pitches gambling site instead

Botnets pitching online casinos

Donbot – aka Bachsoy and Buzus – is known to be capable of generating an incredible volume of spam. At its height in the summer of 2009, the swarm was noted as generating around 800 million spam messages a day from around 125,000 infected PCs.

This equates to around 1.3% of global spam volumes, although some reports have noted spikes reaching the 4.0% mark.

According to David Broome, a researcher with M86 Security, Donbot’s spam deluge paused recently for 15 minutes and came back with a gambling pitch.

The pitch, he says in his latest security blog, is one his security colleagues have seen for over a year on and off in their spam traps.

“It is designed to encourage the reader to gamble money on roulette with what is presented as a winning strategy. Conveniently, a link to an online casino is provided to the user in order to use this strategy and make easy money”, he reports.

Following the link, says Broome, leads to a web splash page where clicking any button on the page – including the language flags at the top – starts a download of Casino-Online.exe.


The WHOIS information for the casino domain lists it as having been registered at namecheap.com on the 24th of May 2011.

“So, if there was any doubt to the possible legitimacy of this casino, here’s the proof that it is in fact an illegitimate operation. The domains that lead to the casino software are changing regularly and being spammed out fresh”, he said.

After downloading the Casino-Online.exe binary and scanning it through the VirusTotal test site, 4 of 42 anti-virus packages detected it as various malware executables.

“When we ran the Casino-Online.exe in our environment and set up an account, no unusual traffic was seen going out. While it may not be malware in the traditional sense, it’s certainly operating in a highly dubious fashion. We normally advise against clicking links in spam messages, so downloading and executing arbitrary executable files is a definite no-no”, he said.

The information gathered during the account creation process, he explained, is quite thorough, which is also concerning given what data could be collected and used for future spam campaigns, or sold.

“Assuming the casino isn’t rigged, the odds are still stacked in favour of the house. Despite their description of the strategy, the odds for Red/Black in roulette are not actually 50/50, instead being 48.6/48.6/2.8 – the 2.8% being for the 0 that is also on the wheel”, he observes.

This means, he goes on to say, that regardless of a bet on red or black, you have a 51.4% chance of losing the bet.

Whilst this may seem reasonable odds, he adds, it gives the casino enough of a winning margin that – given enough time they will eventually come out on top.

“Using the strategy outlined in the spam message of multiplying a bet 2.5 times after every loss, it would take only 10 losses in a row for you to have lost $6,000, and 13 losses in a row for you to have lost just shy of $100,000″, he says.

“Without an unlimited bankroll you will surely come to grief at some point”, he adds.

from http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/18297/donbot-dumps-fake-av-spam-pitches-gambling-site-instead/

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Symantec claims spam continuing its downward spiral

Symantec Security

The latest state of spam and phishing report from Symantec claims to show that spam levels are continuing to fall in the wake of the takedown of the Rustock botnet back in March of this year.

The report appears to confirm reports from the BBC and security researcher Brian Krebs, although the slightly bad news is that phishing volumes appear to be up.

Delving into the statistics from the report shows that March spam dropped by 27.4% in that month, along with a further drop of 5.4% in April.

This means that spam now accounts for 74.8% of all email messages – a significant drop on the 89.2% figure noted in April last year, Infosecurity notes.

Phishing levels, however, rose by 15.6% in April says Symantec, noting that this growth was fuelled by a rise in phishing websites created by attack kits, which increased by 26.2%.

According to the security vendor’s report, many of the phishing attacks seen exploited the death of Osama bin Laden and spoofed legitimate media brands as the source to create trust and a feeling of authenticity.

These attacks, notes the report, attempted to trick users into clicking on links that supposedly led to uncensored photos and videos from the raid but instead pointed to malicious files or poisoned web pages.

Phishing attacks do appear to be taking over from spam, as the report notes that phishing emails that used unique URLs increased by 12.3% during April.

Phishing websites with IP domains instead of alphanumeric ‘regular’ web addresses, also increased slightly during April by about 5.5%, and web hosting services comprised 12.0% of all phishing, a massive increase of 10.3% from the previous month.

Interestingly, Symantec found that 89.0% of the phishing sites were hosted on free web hosting sites, whilst 13.0% were typosquatting – typosquatting refers to the practice of registering domain names that are typo variations of popular websites.

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Google rolls out a security patch for Android to fix an encryption hole

Google Android Security

Google Android Security

Google is rolling out a security patch for Android that fixes a vulnerability reported to have affected 99 per cent of users.

The patch fixes an issue flagged by German security experts that could allow hackers to look at personal information in the Google calendar and contacts apps.

The University of Ulm researchers said that in Android 2.3.3 and earlier these apps transmitted unencrypted information to retrieve an authentication token, or Authtoken, from Google. This left an opening where criminals could steal the token through WiFi snooping.

Once a hacker had one of these Authtokens, they could use it for several days, accessing your private information and potentially impersonating an individual smartphone. In Android 2.3.4 this flaw is fixed, but it was mentioned that 99 per cent of Android users were still using versions 2.3.3 and earlier, which meant they were all at risk.

But now Google is updating all of the endangered handsets with a silent server-side patch that won’t require any action by Android users, forcing servers to use an encrypted HTTPS connection when syncing with a handset.

A Google spokesperson said, “We’re starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts. This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days.”

Sophos security consultant Graham Cluley praised Google’s actions but added, “Concerns still remain as to how easy it would be to fix a serious security vulnerability on the Android devices themselves, given that Google is so reliant on manufacturers and carriers to push out OS updates.”

from The Inquirer http://www.theinquirer.net

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Google, Yahoo, And MySpace Ads May Infect Computers

Infected Search?

Infected Search?

Antivirus company Avast alleges that ads served by companies such as Google, Yahoo! and Fox, and published on websites such as the New York Times and TechCrunch, have included bad software that could infect your computer.

Users don’t even have to click the ads to be affected. Their browser gets infected just from loading the ads. CNet has the story.

The report allegs these companies’ ad platforms include exploits that allow malicious hackers to run a JavaScript exploit called JS:Prontexi.

Prontexi is a Trojan horse targeting Windows machines that looks for further vulnerabilities in software such as Adobe’s Reader and Acrobat, Java, QuickTime and Flash. It pops up fake antivirus warnings to trick you into installing further malware. The malware started spreading in late December. Since then, Avast has found it has infected more than 2.6 million computers. Almost 530,000 of those were from Yield Manager and more than 16,300 from DoubleClick.

The worst affected are Yahoo!’s Yield Manager, Fox Audience Network’s Firmserve.com and Google’s DoubleClick. Together, these networks serve over 50% of all internet ads. DoubleClick has been the least affected and Google has been the fastest at tackling the problem, according to CNet and Avast.

A Yahoo representative confirmed the report and said it was investigating the situation, but didn’t provide much information. “We have identified the creatives in question and are working to make sure they been deactivated in our system,” the company said in a statement.

“Yahoo is deeply committed to providing a high-quality experience for users, advertisers, and publishers. We expect our members to support and abide by our standards and guidelines around acceptable ad content and behavior,” the statement said. “On the rare occasion that an ad is served that is in conflict with our expectations and guidelines we take action to remove it as quickly as possible.”

A Google spokesman said the company had discovered malware in ads from DoubleClick on its own and halted them. “In this case, we stopped several of the ads in question on the same day, independent of this report,” he said.

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How to Recognize a Fake Virus Warning

Watch out for fake anti-virus alerts

Scareware: FBI Warns That Those Pop-Up Security Warnings Pose a Threat to Your Computer

I have a friend in the real estate business who told me that he wanted to pick up his computer and hurl it through a window.

The cause of his frustration was an incessant series of pop up messages on his computer screen that warned he had a virus on his computer. He could not figure out how to make the pop ups go away and eventually his computer ceased working.

He presumed that the warnings were legitimate, but he later learned that he was the victim of “scareware.”

He didn’t know that the FBI put out a warning this month about the threat of pop up security warnings.

The FBI states that pop up messages claiming that you have a virus and you are in need of anti-virus software may, ironically, actually contain a virus that could harm your computer, cause costly repairs or, even worse, lead to identity theft.

The FBI states that those pop up messages contain “scareware”, fake or rogue anti-virus software that looks authentic, but they are not.

Scareware is sold to unsuspecting computer users who fear viruses on their computers. The scareware is either useless or contains damaging malware programs. The cyber criminals convince users that he or she has a virus that has infected their computer and then offers anti-virus software to remove it. The virus does not in fact exist until the user downloads the scareware
The term scareware describes software products that often generates a bombardment of pop up warning messages that makes using your computer difficult.

The message may display what appears to be a real-time, anti-virus scan of your hard drive. The scareware will show a list of reputable software icons; however, you can’t click a link to go to the real site to review or see recommendations. The FBI says that cyber criminals use botnets —collections of compromised computers — to push the software, and advertisements on websites deliver it. This is known as malicious advertising or “malvertising.”

Once the pop-up warning appears, it can’t easily be deleted by clicking on the “close” or “X” buttons. If you click the pop-up to purchase the software, a form to collect payment information for the bogus product launches. In some instances, the scareware installs malicious code onto your computer, whether you click the warning or not. This is more likely to happen if your computer has an account that has rights to install software.

The FBI says that downloading the software can result in viruses, malicious software called Trojans, and/or keyloggers— hardware that records passwords and sensitive data —being installed on your computer. This malicious software can cause severe damage and the inability to use your computer.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notes that the scareware scam has many variations, but there are some telltale signs. For example:

  • You may get ads that promise to “delete viruses or spyware,” “protect privacy,” “improve computer function,” “remove harmful files,” or “clean your registry;”
  • you may get “alerts” about “malicious software” or “illegal pornography on your computer;”
  • you may be invited to download free software for a security scan or to improve your system;
  • you could get pop-ups that claim your security software is out-of-date and your computer is in immediate danger;
  • you may suddenly encounter an unfamiliar website that claims to have performed a security scan and prompts you to download new software.

The FTC reports that scareware schemes can be quite sophisticated. The cyber criminals purchase ad space on trusted, popular websites. Although the ads look legitimate and harmless to the website’s operator, they actually redirect unsuspecting visitors to a fraudulent website that performs a bogus security scan. The site then causes a barrage of urgent pop-up messages that pressure users into downloading worthless software.

Fake anti-virus example screenshots

Example screenshots of fake anti-virus alerts

The FTC suggest that if you’re faced with any of the warning signs of a scareware scam or suspect a problem, shut down your browser. Don’t click “No” or “Cancel,” or even the “x” at the top right corner of the screen. Some scareware is designed so that any of those buttons can activate the program. If you use Windows, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open your Task Manager, and click “End Task.” If you use a Mac, press Command + Option + Q + Esc to “Force Quit.”

Lastly, make it a practice not to click on any links within pop-ups.

The FBI recommends that you take precautions to ensure your operating systems are updated and your legitimate security software is current. If you receive these anti-virus pop-ups, close the browser or shut down your computer system. Run a full anti-virus scan whenever the computer is turned back on.

Call me today at 262-203-4459 and I will clean up, tune up and speed up your entire system so your computer can run like new again. Guaranteed.

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Spread Firefox Co-Founder Slams Tech Giants for Stealth Plug-Ins

Spread Firefox's Asa Dotzler

Spread Firefox's Asa Dotzler

Asa Dotzler, co-founder of the Spread Firefox project, is more than a little miffed at Apple, Google, Microsoft, and RockMelt for installing plug-ins into Firefox without first asking for permission from Web surfers.

Dotzler made the stealth plug-in discovery when he installed software like Apple iTunes, Google Chrome, and Windows Live Photo Gallery.

“When I installed iTunes, in order to manage my music collection and sync to my iPod, why did Apple think it was OK to add the iTunes Application Detector plug-in to my Firefox web browser without asking me?” he asked in a blog post.

“Why did Microsoft think it was OK to sneak their Windows Live Photo Gallery or Office Live Plug-in for Firefox into my browser (presumably) when I installed Microsoft Office? What makes Google think it’s reasonable behavior for them to slip a Google Update plug-in into Firefox when I installed Google Earth or Google Chrome (not sure which one caused this) without asking me first?” he asked.

Firefox stealth plug-in and extension security issues

Microsoft, Google and Apple install plug-ins without user's permission

Dotzler compared the companies to those that manufacture malware, as a secondary software installation occurred without user permission.

“These additional pieces of software installed without my consent may not be malicious but the means by which they were installed was sneaky, underhanded, and wrong.”

The Firefox advocate had some strong advice for the offending companies. “Microsoft, stop being evil. Apple, stop being evil. Google, stop being evil. And you upstarts like RockMelt, don’t follow in those evil footsteps.”

RockMelt, Microsoft, and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Google representative said the Firefox browser plug-in is simply Google Update, which automatically pushes software updates to Google products. The representative stated that Google utilizes this method as a non-intrusive way to deliver updates, and that it doesn’t constantly run, eating up CPU resources.

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson replied to our inquiry with the following statement: “We use web/open standards where possible. To reach as many customers as possible with our web experiences, we use HTML/JS/CSS and try to avoid plug-ins. Office Web Apps are a great example of this. Sometimes we need plug-ins to enable key features. For example, Silverlight improves animations in PPT web app, Office 2010 plug-in lets people switch from web editing to Office 2010 on the desktop to do video editing etc.”

Dotzler’s blog post was first reported by The Register.

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