Computer Tips -Tech Info

Tag: mozilla firefox

  • Linux Market Share Growing Faster than Apple! | Linux adoption rate beats iPhone

    I had to find a twist like that headline above reading this article. Net Applications does a monthly survey across sites that receive 160 million visitors to gauge the “market share” of operating systems and web browsers. According to the November numbers, Microsoft Windows has no fallen below 90% market share, Mac is up to 8.87% and linux is around 0.83%. The growth rate for Mac is 7.43%, Linux growth rate is at 15.49% The iPhone is “only” growing at 12.12%

    Of course, looking at numbers from one month to the next you can see variations caused by a number of factors that may or may not accurately reflect the situation. Are people surfing more from work this month for some reason? Maybe there is a weather related reason that causes more web traffic than last month/less/etc…. Still the trends are that Windows is shrinking and NON windows use is growing…

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  • Firefox 2.0 RC3 out

    Baring big problems, the final release candidate for the new 2.0 version of Mozilla Firefox is out reported here and here.

    Mozilla.com page for the RC is here.

  • Firefox code under the microscope

    So, the stories are out of the analysis of the code for Mozilla Firefox. It seems there were a large number of potential flaws found (71 potential security vulnerabilities) according to the article. This was done using an automated tool and many say, that in order to evaluate the true severity of the flaws, you have to be familiar with the code. Some, I’m sure will pounce on this with the “I thought open source software was supposed to be more secure…. I’m going back…” but it’s time to stop and think about things a moment. Open Source software…. anyone can access the source, anyone can analyze it for problems, anyone can run an automated tool to test it…..

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  • Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 RPMS for Mandriva 2006

    I finally got the Mandriva 2006 rpms rebuilt for Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6. I ‘ve been running it for a bit and it and all seems well. Of course, this is always at your own risk. http://www.averyjparker.com/wp-content/downloads/firefox/mozilla-firefox-1.5.0.6/

  • Firefox 1.5.0.6 is out

    That was a quick turn around…. It appears as though some of the multimedia streaming issues were severe enough to require a quick turnaround for Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.6 Sans had the initial heads up…. But it looks as though it’s now officially out (and labeled as a stability update.) Download page.

  • Mozilla Firefox user-agent spoofing

    Sometimes you run across a site that’s a browser snob. You know the type…. you visit it in Mozilla Firefox or (anything other than IE) and it says, “you must use Internet Explorer version 6 or newer to use this site. Well, some browsers have nice ways of changing the user agent through the menus, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a plugin for this in firefox (haven’t yet looked.) But, there is a way in about:config.

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  • More reason to be cautious with Firefox plugins

    Again…. this article referring to an exploit related to the cross platform plugin capability in firefox, is a GOOD reminder to be cautious when looking at potential plugins to install for mozilla firefox. In fact, the advice is usually do NOT install software (including plugins) from untrusted sources. By all means, please investigate any piece of software before downloading and installing. (And please don’t take just the software makers word for it…. ie. “my toolbar is really cool and makes firefox work better” does not equal something you can now trust and install.)

  • Mozilla Firefox use above 15% in the US…

    and Internet Explorer use has dropped below 80% in the US. Currently 12.93% of online users browse with Firefox. Almost 40% of German web-browsers use Firefox to view the web. It’s nice to see Firefox’s share gaining. I, personally wouldn’t mind seeing SEVERAL competing, standards-compliant browsers with significant share’s. (Opera has moved above 1%.) I think (and hope) the day will come when it doesn’t matter a bit what browser you use (as long as it’s standards compliant.) Hopefully we’re moving towards that.

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  • Exploits a plenty – IE / Excel (Firefox?)

    There are a number of vulnerabilities that are currently unpatched, but have working publicly known exploits for Excel (*2) and Internet Explorer (2 vulnerabilities here as well.) Proof of Concept code has been released for both the Excel and Internet Explorer vulnerabilities. This means, with the code publicly available, it won’t be long before it’s bundled into other malware delivery structures…. You might look at alternative browsers, BUT…. be forewarned that one of these vulnerabilities appears to work on a fully patched install of Mozilla-Firefox. (According to Sans – the Secunia code doesn’t – but the full disclosure exploit code does affect Firefox.) I’ve seen word of early 1.5.0.5 builds being available – I wonder if that will be modified to fix this issue?

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  • The “secure software” dilemma

    It’s quite a dilemma when a software product is billed as more secure than another…. several days back when Mozilla Firefox released v. 1.5.0.4 which fixed a number of security issues, I saw someone comment “I thought firefox was supposed to be secure.” I think there’s a misunderstanding when it comes to software. I think the misunderstanding is that one piece of software can be secure and another not. Out of the box. Let’s take a stab at clarifying…. Security is not a product, it’s not a feature, it’s a way of doing things. Along those lines….

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