Browser Fingerprints – How Unique Is Your Browser

by: admin - March 29th, 2010   Filed under: Security, Tech News Add Comment

Now this is another interesting attack vector using little bits of data not many people consider. I have heard about this kind of technique before and considered how it’d be done myself.

Finally someone has put together a public version of a tool that can tell you how unique your browser footprint is. As for me I’m using a fairly standard Firefox install with a couple of plugins – but still Panopticlick tells me “Your browser fingerprint appears to be unique among the 764,828 tested so far”.

The people behind it are the EFF or Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Read on…

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Last Rites for Microsoft’s Loathed Browser IE6

by: admin - March 4th, 2010   Filed under: Microsoft, Tech News Add Comment

Mark your diaries for 4 March because in Denver the funeral arrangements are well underway for the planned passing that day of Internet Explorer 6, commonly referred to as IE6.

Few however will shed tears as IE6 crosses to the other side. In fact developers across the globe are likely to celebrate an event that has long been hoped for Microsoft’s most loathed browser.

The reason IE6 is held in such disregard by the developer community is that they feel it is outmoded and buggy.

Last year a band of around 70-plus developers got together to launch their own campaign and a website called www.IE6nomore.com.

Read on…

[Good to know that IE6 is gone at last. I wish the whole IE series will be gone.]

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Microsoft’s EU Browser Ballot Approved, Arrives March 1

by: admin - February 24th, 2010   Filed under: Microsoft, Tech News, User Interface Add Comment

After protracted legal wrangling with the EU, the Microsoft browser ballot is at last heading towards roll-out. The EU’s complaint was that Microsoft’s bundling of Internet Explorer made the browser market less competitive to the detriment of consumers. Wary of substantial fines and endless legal costs, the company eventually worked to settle with the Competition Commission last year. As part of this settlement agreement, it promised to stop prioritizing Internet Explorer. Microsoft’s initial plan—to offer a version of Windows without any browser at all—was rejected. The solution agreed upon by both parties was instead to offer end-users a choice of browsers automatically.

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Alternative Mobile Browsers Tested: Skyfire vs Opera Mobile vs Fennec vs Safari vs Internet Explorer vs BlackBerry

by: admin - November 17th, 2009   Filed under: Reviews, Tech News Add Comment

Surfing on your phone doesn’t mean riding it over wind-swept waves — it’s actually worth getting on the mobile Web. Mobile browsers are doing a good job of bringing the Internet to life, even on the tiny screens and anemic processors of our phones.

But you don’t have to dance with the browser what brung you — you can install browsers other than the default, especially if you have a phone that runs the Symbian S60 or Windows Mobile operating systems, which are particularly app-friendly, despite their lack of decent app stores.

We took three of the main contenders for Web-browser domination and stacked them up against three popular built-in browsers for your fun and edification.

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After 5 Years, Firefox Faces New Challenges

by: admin - November 11th, 2009   Filed under: Tech News Add Comment

Five years ago, Mozilla made it clear that the browser wars weren’t over after all.

In the 1990s, Netscape had lost its dominance in the browser market to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, and the Netscape-spawned open-source project called Mozilla had sunk into obscurity. Even a federal antitrust suit accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive practices with its browser and Windows was not enough to turn the tide.

But on November 9, 2004, Firefox 1.0 emerged to fight back again.

The project, originally named Phoenix to symbolize rebirth from Netscape’s ashes, has now clawed its way back to account for nearly a quarter of the browser usage today. Microsoft may not be on the run, but it’s on the defensive, gradually building its browser development effort back up into fighting form.

Read on…

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