LaZZZy_bOi
join:2005-01-18
Brooklyn, NY
|  Website viruses can't infect you if you use Firefox?
When I used IE I used to get a lot of time alerts from Avira that the websites I visited where infected. Since using Firefox I don't get those alerts anymore and then I decided to go to eicar.com and clicked the eicar.txt and avira didn't detect nothing but in IE it did.
Also I noticed Spywareblaster is not necessary anymore for Firefox (only for cookies) because it doesn't have the option like for IE that malicious ActiveX can just install themselves so it makes me assume Firefox doesn't allow that to happen naturally! |
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nwrickert
sand groper
Premium,MVM
join:2004-09-04
Geneva, IL
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·AT&T Midwest
| It is true that firefox does not support ActiveX. And it is true that virus writers are more likely to target IE. However, using firefox is not a guarantee of safety.
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AT&T dsl; Westell 327w modem/router; openSuSE 11.0; firefox 3.0.5 |
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rcdailey
Dragoonfly
Premium
join:2005-03-29
Rialto, CA
| reply to LaZZZy_bOi
Sure it doesn't support ActiveX, but it does support Javascript. You can disable Javascript, or you can add NoScript and then decide whether to allow scripts to run on any given page, but if you like YouTube, you'll end up allowing that, and so on, and so on. Firefox can end up being just as vulnerable as the next browser because safety depends on your actions. |
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EGeezer
Go Bobcats
Premium
join:2002-08-04
Country!
 ·Callcentric
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T CallVantage
1 edit | reply to LaZZZy_bOi
When I see something along the lines of "I am using (insert favorite computer thingie here) therefore I am secure" I am reminded of Bruce Schneier's 2000 article;
»www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0005.html
*He said "insert thingie" - hneh hneh hneh..*
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The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis |
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redwolfe_98
join:2001-06-11
·RoadRunner Cable
1 edit | reply to LaZZZy_bOi
lazzzy, when i tested to see if antivir would flag the "eicar.com" test-file, antivir flagged it, on my computer.. first, antivir's "webguard" flagged it.. then, i disabled "webguard" and tested again, and, that time, antivir's "avguard" flagged it..
i don't know why antivir didn't flag the "eicar.com" test file on your computer.. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| reply to LaZZZy_bOi
Fx streams it. IE saves it to disk cache thus Avira alerts. There is nothing for Fx to alert on. Try saving the page with the eicar string using Fx. Avira will not allow you to save it.
I have a trojan that is a browser exploit. I think it is an iframe exploit. Avira alerts on it if it set to open in Fx but does not alert if it is set to open in IE. Microsoft patched IE back in 2004 for the exploit. I am reasonably sure Fx is patched since then. So, I conclude that the file has enough of the trojan code in it to get Avira to alert (25% of vendors alert on it according to VirusTotal) but I don't think the trojan would execute if I opened the file in Fx. I mention this just to illustrate the trickiness of nasties and what various browsers do or don't do.
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"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| reply to LaZZZy_bOi
said by LaZZZy_bOi  :Also I noticed Spywareblaster is not necessary anymore for Firefox (only for cookies) because it doesn't have the option like for IE that malicious ActiveX can just install themselves so it makes me assume Firefox doesn't allow that to happen naturally! In my opinion,I've yet to see my computer get infected by spyware or get nailed by a drive by download when using both FireFox version 2.0xx and 3.0x. The moral of the story is not to use Internet Explorer because of the security risks involved. Microsoft's monthly patches of I.E. prove this point. 
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Kayrac
Premium
join:2001-09-29
Rochester, NH
2 edits | said by antiphishing :said by LaZZZy_bOi :Also I noticed Spywareblaster is not necessary anymore for Firefox (only for cookies) because it doesn't have the option like for IE that malicious ActiveX can just install themselves so it makes me assume Firefox doesn't allow that to happen naturally! In my opinion,I've yet to see my computer get infected by spyware or get nailed by a drive by download when using both FireFox version 2.0xx and 3.0x. The moral of the story is not to use Internet Explorer because of the security risks involved. Microsoft's monthly patches of I.E. prove this point. »www.mozilla.org/security/known-v···fox3.0.5
»www.mozilla.org/security/known-v···x20.html
»www.mozilla.org/security/known-v···x15.html
»www.mozilla.org/security/known-v···x10.html |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| » Internet Explorer's market share plunged 10 Percent in 2008
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Specializing in "takes downs" of phishing and advance fee scams
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Kayrac
Premium
join:2001-09-29
Rochester, NH
| "Not surprisingly, the bulk of IE's December loss came from IE6's declining popularity" |
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Cudni
La Merma - Vigilado
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-20
Someshire
| reply to antiphishing
said by antiphishing : The moral of the story is not to use Internet Explorer because of the security risks involved. the message is too learn how to secure a browser whatever that may be. Unsecured Firefox has good chances of being cause of system exploit especially if user thinks of being more secure by not using IE. He or she is not
Cudni
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"what we know we know the same, what we don't know, we don't know it differently."
Help yourself so God can help you.
Microsoft MVP, 2006 - 2008 |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| said by Cudni :said by antiphishing : The moral of the story is not to use Internet Explorer because of the security risks involved. the message is too learn how to secure a browser whatever that may be. Unsecured Firefox has good chances of being cause of system exploit especially if user thinks of being more secure by not using IE. He or she is not Cudni Of course as we all know many internet users do not want to learn how to secure their browsers or operating system correctly so the safer route is just to use Firefox. I strongly believe that a unsecured Firefox is still way safer then using any version of Internet Explorer. This is why their is a mass movement of internet users moving away from using I.E.
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Cudni
La Merma - Vigilado
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-20
Someshire
| said by antiphishing : I strongly believe that a unsecured Firefox is still way safer then using any version of Internet Explorer. This is why their is a mass movement of internet users moving away from using I.E. Sure, equally i believe that not to be the case in either one.
Cudni
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"what we know we know the same, what we don't know, we don't know it differently."
Help yourself so God can help you.
Microsoft MVP, 2006 - 2008 |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| said by Cudni :said by antiphishing : I strongly believe that a unsecured Firefox is still way safer then using any version of Internet Explorer. This is why their is a mass movement of internet users moving away from using I.E. Sure, equally i believe that not to be the case in either one. Cudni Their is a ton of evidence on the internet to prove that Firefox is more secure then I.E. If a internet user is foolish to block updates from Mozillia then they reap what they sow. I would rather do small Mozillia updates then doing whole operating system patches every month which is what you get from Microsoft.
I would think that a lot of people in the forum , including myself are getting fed up with Patch Tuesday and service
packs. 
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Cudni
La Merma - Vigilado
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-20
Someshire
| It is a damaging myth to perpetuate that some software or system it runs on is more secure just because of its name because it is not. Learn to secure a browser, learn to secure a system and enjoy internet
Cudni
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"what we know we know the same, what we don't know, we don't know it differently."
Help yourself so God can help you.
Microsoft MVP, 2006 - 2008 |
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| said by Cudni :It is a damaging myth to perpetuate that some software or system it runs on is more secure just because of its name because it is not. Learn to secure a browser, learn to secure a system and enjoy internet Cudni But you continue to hold on to the simple fact that each and every internet user will secure their browser and or operating system. If this was a true fact then we wouldn't have to deal with Botnets,malware, zombie machines and spam. Microsoft in part has created this mess and should take full responsibility in securing their products and not rely solely on the person who owns their software to do it for them. 
Let me ask you this,Do you real think Windows 7 will be any better then Vista when it comes to security or will they continue to release patches each and every month to hide the fact that they offer substandard software. Mozillia from the very beginning has offered a better product and the mass exodus away from IE proves this point.
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Cudni
La Merma - Vigilado
Premium,MVM
join:2003-12-20
Someshire
| said by antiphishing :Microsoft in part has created this mess and should take full responsibility in securing their products and not rely solely on the person who owns their software to do it for them. i don't think i should depend solely on somebody else for security, so I don't
see how non trivial it is to secure software
»What makes software 'secure' or 'insecure'?
Cudni
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"what we know we know the same, what we don't know, we don't know it differently."
Help yourself so God can help you.
Microsoft MVP, 2006 - 2008 |
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Non Pro
@verizon.net
| reply to LaZZZy_bOi
said by LaZZZy_bOi :Website viruses can't infect you if you use Firefox? I'll make sure to tell that to my friend who only uses Firefox:
»puter shuts off and reboots
»rebooted and still here |
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Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX
·AT&T U-Verse
3 edits | reply to antiphishing
said by antiphishing :In my opinion,I've yet to see my computer get infected by spyware or get nailed by a drive by download when using both FireFox version 2.0xx and 3.0x. This is partially true, at least for me. On two PCs that had Firefox on them, without additional security such as NoScript and the MVPS hosts file, I encountered redirects to Winfixer fraudware sites at intellicast.com and wfaa.com:
»Another WinFixer infiltration...this time on www.wfaa.com
The redirects never occurred again after putting the MVPS hosts file on those two PCs. Nor did they occur on my PC, which already had the MVPS hosts file on it. And later when I put NoScript on my PC, I encountered unsuccessful redirect attempts to pages hosting Antivirus 2009.
Of course, none of these are true drive-by downloads per se; they rely mostly on social engineering to get themselves installed. Though in some cases, trying to close the windows that pop up by clicking on the red 'X' may trigger an install attempt by the rogue.
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"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)
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antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
Premium
join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA
| reply to Cudni
No one software manufacture makes one hundred percent secure software. The only way to keep Windows and all it's installed software completely secure is not to connect it to the internet. But that is not reality since without cyberspace life would be quite boring  .
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