Which browser is the most secure: Firefox or Opera?

Hi!
I´ve been using FF since its 1.0 release, and I´m very pleased using this excellent browser. However, because of its rising popularity, I´m afraid it also going to be more in focus for the malware producing community. Therefore I´m wondering, which browser is the most secure/stabil against malware: Firefox 1.5 or Opera 8.51? I´m only concerned about the safety and stability issue, nothing else.

Regards, C.

 

Thanks Ronjor, I´ve missed that one... Even if some mentioned a little bit about secure browsing, I would like to have a more specific comparing, pro et contra, regarding the security issue, not some general debate about which one is faster and so on. I´ve been at secunia and according to their statistics, Opera would be the one to pick if you go by the numbers. But I wonder if there are other sources that have an other view about secure browsing. I also only want to mention that I do some web development so I using FF, Opera an IE to check and tweak my code, but as my main browser I´m concerned about this issue.

Regards, C.

 

I totally agree, and now I will check this K-Meleon (never heard about it...).

Regards, C.

 

Let's do enjoy ourselves a wee bit but let's also stick to the support question at hand. We do have a Forum where we can kick back that some of this can be taken to Please

 

Opera seems to be more secure than Firefox.

But then again, more popularity leads to more "research". Take for instance Windows vs Linux.

 

I´ve now tested K-Meleon, and I agree that the browser indeed is small and fast But even if it doesn´t have any known security hole (secunia), it doesn´t update so often, so it´s not an alternative from a security view... I´ve also considering those security softwares that protects your http traffic against malware scripts (e.g. Avast Scriptblocker, Spywareblaster etc.). Even if Opera have lesser critical issues, it have to be more exploited to malware scripts compare to Firefox, since most of the http security softwares only supports the more popular browsers as FF (and IE) but not Opera...

Regards, C.

 

Ahh, browser wars... gotta love 'em, eh?

Wait for Opera 9 (there's a preview version out already)... then decide.Firefox 1.5+handpicked extensions beats Opera 8.51 only by just the slightest of margins... slightest. The thing is, Opera is much more stabler on more and more PCs these days. It just is. Sometimes, Firefox will just exit if I minimise... which is why I had installed Session Saver extension (already present as a feature in Opera... notice the garbage can on the right of the tabs listing )
Which means Opera's Tab management beats not only the Native Firefox builds, but also Fx+Session Saver combo.
Opera's Wands pwd mgr system is MUCH better and more secure than Firefox's, and it evens beats AI Roboform to some extent (in that it is pre-installed and has SEAMLESS integration... you need to *feel* the difference... after you've browsed for 30 hours... that bloody green box becomes a little bit annoying)
Opera's OOB (out of the box) resource usage may seem high to you, but consider this...
> MOST of the extra plugins you need are present already. Add them to Firefox and see your RAM usage go bye bye
> It ALREADY INCLUDES a fully featured mail client, unlike Fx which needs Thunderbird suite (another 20-30 MB ram gone)
> It is rated BETTER at Secunia

why is Fx so much better?
> Interface, though childish at first, is very slightly... cleaner.
> Plugin support means wonderful additions like Foxytunes, IETab (amazing), and Adblock (Brilliant... call it a customised PROXOMITRON for Firefox)

BOTH have vibrant communities... OPERA fans should stay tuned to abc in the US at new year's eve

and guess what... using them BOTH means more fun for me

Disclaimer... i mixed a lot of 'facts' with 'personal opinions'... don't sue me, but I gave to you 'in written' what I feel was true

 

Some Secunia info;
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=640939&postcount=22
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=640945&postcount=23

 

Well For sure it isn't IE.

The latest WMF exploit bears this out.

Even though in theory firefox users can be affected, they are prompted to open it.

The key thing to note is that, the problem with IE, isn't about iframes (you can set it to prompt you when it accesses iframes), but rather IE automatically starts the associated app , so you don't even have a chance to stop it.

Very bad...

 

Have you seen The new broswer on the block > Flock

Totally off topic, but its Fun!

 

I agree. And K-Meleon does have security holes. To make it safe you must manually patch it. The problem is that the patches don't come from the developer, they come from other K-Meleon users. The big question is, do you trust those users? How do you know they didn't hack one of the DLLs? The question I asked myself is this: "Have I just trojanized my K-Meleon by applying this patch?"

Phil

 

Phil.

K-Meleon's community is one of the most devout believers you'll find (though I must say a visit to the official forums say that it /may/ be a shrinking one)
I don't think they'll let just *ANYONE* come in and say "Hi from HackerCracker#72... I patched the security flaw that nearly no one exploits... grab it from www.crack_the_hell_outta_me.crk"

That said, it is also upto the user to only get a patch from the *true* community. And if you ARE that paranoid, it never hurts to grab the patch's source and do a custom compile

Also, what I wonder is... how can ANYONE live with the reduced featureset, barebones, and at times, flawed, UI, and a complete disdain for usability?
Opera anyday. Firefox most days. IE rare days. K-meleon ... last resorts only.

for the security conscious... tried / OFF BY ONE \ yet? It's a *perfectly safe browser*... just like the *Perfectly Normal Beast*

have a nice year...

before you can say it's a happy one, it ain't gonna be new anymore