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Firefox Security Head Says Microsoft Obscures OS Holes

Posted by Zonk on from the a-feudin-and-a-fussin dept.

theranjan writes "When a Security Strategy Director at Microsoft decided to compare Internet Explorer security vulnerabilities with those of Mozilla Firefox, he may have forgotten that the Head Security Strategist of Mozilla was a former MS employee. In a rebuttal of the study, which finds IE more secure than Firefox, Mozilla said that the number of vulnerabilities publicly acknowledged was just a 'small subset' of all vulnerabilities fixed internally. The vulnerabilities found internally are fixed in service packs and major updates without public knowledge. 'For Microsoft this makes sense because these fixes get the benefit of a full test pass which is much more robust for a service pack or major release than it is for a security update. Unfortunately for Microsoft's users this means they have to wait sometimes a year or more to get the benefit of this work. That's a lot of time for an attacker to identify the same issue and exploit it to hurt users.'"

7 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. touche... by advocate_one · · Score: 3, Funny

    Game, Set, Match... well, I think that's that argument well and truly settled... Microsoft will never dare to use that FUD again...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  2. It's Probably Also Interesting to Note... by explosivejared · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...that the study in question was done in collaboration with the Texas Department of Science Education. The department was called in when MS had concerns over the factual rigor that the test would be subjected to.

    --
    I got a catholic block.
  3. Obviously MS is just covering their OS... by kiscica · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... what a bunch of OS-holes.

  4. Microsoft wants what's best for you by El+Yanqui · · Score: 4, Funny

    Firefox is spyware. At least according to Microsoft. http://img405.imageshack.us/my.php?image=msasmfph6.gif

    Remove it immediately to prevent harm to your computer and protect your privacy!

    --
    Well, thanks to the Internet, I'm now bored with sex.
  5. Firefox and Windows by tristian_was_here · · Score: 3, Funny

    So basically I have to be running Windows to get the full use of security holes? Why can't my "Free" OS be like Windows?

  6. Re:My Vote by msuarezalvarez · · Score: 2, Funny

    You are free to use any other browser. Btw, if patches annoy you, you may be interested in MS's IE, which, from what I hear, does not get patched that often...

  7. Re:Ah, the wonder of Slashdot moderation by pintpusher · · Score: 3, Funny

    How are we supposed to keep this all straight? Either the mods are on crack or the mods are geniuses of sardonic delayed humor or the mods... oh wait, I've got mod points!! d'oh!

    --
    man, I feel like mold.