firefox

[chaos16]

Firefox uses java doesn't spyware come in to ur computer through java???

Are there already spyware that can get in ur pc through firefox????


hopefully now security products support firefox not only IE

[chaos16]

can u move this to privacy thread pls i made a mistake. :-[

[Bubba]

-{ Quote: "can u move this to privacy thread pls i made a mistake. :-[" }-Actually you did good....since this is the Forum for browser related questions\discussions.

Regards,
Bubba

[BrowserFan]

-{ Quote: "Firefox uses java doesn't spyware come in to ur computer through java???
Are there already spyware that can get in ur pc through firefox????
hopefully now security products support firefox not only IE" }-
Hi:)
Any modern browser is Java compliant, which doesn't mean that one has to allow the browser to use it.

For a browser to be able to interpret Java Applets, one has to use the Sun's Java Runtime Environment (free download Here (http://javashoplm.sun.com/ECom/docs/Welcome.jsp?StoreId=22&PartDetailId=jre-1.5.0_02-oth-JPR&SiteId=JSC&TransactionId=noreg)
This Environment and the Java technology use a security concept, more or less complex, which only allows applets to perform certain types of action on one's computer. In other words, where Active-X and JavaScripts are not subject to security concepts, Java applets are. This tends to make Java rather secure, if not perfect. It does not mean that running applets is completely risk free, since the JRE - despite all its efforts to enforce security measures for applets to be run - is a software, and as such is always perfectible. So there's always the possibility of some error or bug, but the guys at SUN are constantly updating the JRE, and keep awatchful eye on it.

So, to get back to FFox, it wouldn't use Active-X technology (and refusing Active-X tends to always be a great leap toward increased security !) Opera doesn't use it either. Only Explorer and Exporer-based browsers use M$'s Active-X.

JavaScripts are inseparable from an animation-rich web experience, and are basically used.... almost anywhere. FFox has some features to prevent JavaScripts becoming a nuisance, e.g. the embedded pop-up blocker.

For the rest, FFox being a browser, it is, of course, a software by itself, so FFox too is able to suffer some bug. The good thing is that the Mozilla dev-team always has made it a priority to make it as safe a browser as can be.

For anyone who wants to watch after the current flaws in various browsers; one may have a look Here (http://secunia.com/)

To make a long story short:
1/ Don't panic. No software can claim to be absolutely and forever free of spyware. There's a war outhere: hackers try to hack, developers try to develop. Good points for FFox: Critical flaws are VERY few and very quickly patched by Moz, while FFox in itself is developed with security in mind.

2/ A good way to surf is to enable Javascripts while restricting the Javascripts Properties somewhat; for example, there's no need to allow Javascripts to move or resize existing windows; and so on. Don't forget to set FFox to ask everytime a cookie is sent to your browser, so you can decide which ones to accept on a site-by-site basis.

3/ Java doesn't have to be enabled, except for some rare sites, e.g. banking, or chats. So you can surf without Java, and if you encounter a public site using Java, and you like it and tend to trust it and wanna give it a try, just enable Java for the particular session.

Further worrying is pointless in my humble opinion...

Rgds