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Firefox 2 To Have Anti-Phishing Technology

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-like-to-catch-phish dept.

Mitchell Bronze writes "Mozilla's Mike Shaver said in an interview that the upcoming Firefox 2 will have anti-phishing capability using technology that might come from Google." From the article: "With the continued rise in online attacks, security tools have become something Web browser makers can use to try to stand out. Microsoft plans to include features to protect Web surfers against online scams in Internet Explorer 7, due later in 2006. Similar functionality is already in Netscape 8 and Opera 8, both released last year. 'It is another example of the energy that has returned to the browser market,' Shaver said."

3 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. More appropriate as an extension? by potluckman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a big fan of the Fox, but is this really a feature that should be built-in to our svelte (but extensible) browser?

    Seems like something that could be its own extension, or if Google is really so involved, integrated into the Google Toolbar for Firefox.

    1. Re:More appropriate as an extension? by bcattwoo · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I'm a big fan of the Fox, but is this really a feature that should be built-in to our svelte (but extensible) browser?

      Yes.

      The users most susceptible to phishing are also the ones least likely to seek out and install an extension ("what's that?") to prevent it.

      If more savvy users are concerned about bloat perhaps this protection could be optional with the default for it to be turned on.

  2. Re:An opportunity, a threat... by kandresen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My fear is similar, but not only that, most of the anti-spyware systems require external lookups which is a privacy risk. If we for every page we look at have to contact a 3rd party we are revealing our internal network structures as well as our use of internet. This is a gold mine for spammers, lawyers, and phishers among others...

    One of the things I demand to use this system is the ability to limit how it is used, turn it off, switch it for an alternative system, or uninstall it. The best way it can be implemented is as an pre-installed plugin, making it easy to maintain for those who need need alternatives.

    Firefox was always intended to be plugin based, so I hope they stick to that.