France Tells Its Citizens To Abandon IE, Others Disagree

Freistoss writes "Microsoft still has not released a patch for a major zero-day flaw in IE6 that was used by Chinese hackers to attack Google. After sample code was posted on a website, calls began for Microsoft to release an out-of-cycle patch. Now, France has joined Germany in recommending its citizens abandon IE altogether, rather than waiting for a patch. Microsoft still insists IE8 is the 'most secure browser on the market' and that they believe IE6 is the only browser susceptible to the flaw. However, security researchers warned that could soon change, and recommended considering alternative browsers as well." PCWorld seems to be taking the opposite stance arguing that blaming IE for attacks is a dangerous approach that could cause a false sense of security.

Comments

please stop using ie6

[chentiangemalc]

yes people should stop using IE 6, besides the horrible interface, many new websites don't display correctly in it, it is a browser dating back to 2001 and outdated by now, 2 versions behind current Microsoft product. People with windows updates should already be using a more secure browser IE 7 or IE 8, or one of their choice. And although IE6 has been significantly attacked - switching to other browsers does not make you immune, Chrome, Safari, Firefox have all had security flaws. IE8 holds up well to other browsers re http://nsslabs.com/test-reports/Q309_Browser_Security_Summary_Final.pdf Also there are some social engineering style attacks that no browser currently protects against completely - sites that people are fooled into believing they are legitimate and passing personal details/etc.

Re:Tear down

[Rary]

BRILLIANT!

I'm convinced.

Re:Tear down

[jc42]

WRONG!

That's just the sort of cogent, thoughtfully crafted counter-argument I've come to expect on Slashdot.

RIGHT!