Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:32 pm**

features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2008/12/16/microsoft-admits-security-flaw-stop-exploring-experts-say/

Microsoft admits security flaw; Stop Exploring, experts say

(sorry, hypertext not working for this one)

Posted: **Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:47 pm**

Yet another reason why I'm glad I haven't been running IE for years.

Posted: **Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:53 pm**

“It would not be advisable to send people from one vulnerability (in Internet Explorer) to multiple vulnerabilities...” (in other browsers)

I personally prefer a browser whose exploits (potential or otherwise) are recognized and fixed than one whose flaws and vulnerabilities go undetected and unreported, and even unrepaired, like "all the other ones". As you can see, for such a high profile browser like IE, compared to the others, the gap is pretty small for total number of existing/known flaws. 33% security is as good as it gets? Just proves that web browsing itself is not secure, so it doesn't really matter much how you do it or what you do it with.

Posted: **Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:58 pm**

Good point, Esmer. Nothing is perfect. I hear that IE is a lot more secure than it used to be. And as popularity grows for the alternatives, they will become larger targets. I personally use Firefox 2.something, I believe. It works for me.

Posted: **Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:46 pm**

At home, I use the latest IE on Vista Home Premium - because I have a broad masochistic streak. Honestly, it isn't that bad - but I do have full protection suite, blockers turned to max, ports disabled, scan frequently -- and I am kept well-versed and current on security issues by my sweet wife's indiscriminate browsing and email habits. Any virus issues we have at home are the clear result of PEBKAC, also known as ID10t errors.

dw

Posted: **Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:12 pm**

Ah, the good old ID 10 T.

Firefox 3 on this machine, (The GF's, right now mine is busy struggling to uninstall CS3), Firefox 2.something.something on mine.

--A

Posted: **Thu Dec 18, 2008 9:36 pm**

I just received the update for Firefox 3.0.5 earlier today. I'll apply it as I am signing off tonight...

Posted: **Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:41 am**

Menolly wrote:I just received the update for Firefox 3.0.5 earlier today. I'll apply it as I am signing off tonight...

Yep, I'm using 3.0.5 right now.

To be fair to IE, sites still load noticeably faster with IE than with Firefox. That has always been the case for me. While I'm relieved that I hadn't used IE recently (at home anyway), I'll still use IE to browse KW if I want a lightning fast experience. It'd be nice to believe that Firefox's lag must be due to its tighter security (as its makers love to proclaim), but Esmer's chart above shows that its ever-so-slightly better security performance versus IE is nothing to brag about.

Posted: **Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:53 am**

I run IE, and I'm not aware of ever having any problems because of it. I'll avoid reading any specifics about this topic, on the principle that what I don't know won't hurt me.

Posted: **Thu May 14, 2009 12:17 am**

Um, hey, I've got an IE Alert:

INTERNET EXPLORER -- YEAH, STILL FASTER THAN FIREFOX

Hadn't used IE in a while, but I'm browsing KW in IE 7 right now. IE still kicks Firefox's tardy ass when it comes to loading pages, submitting posts, and browsing in general.

If I can be bothered, maybe some time I'll try the Opera browser to see how it compares to Firefox. But for now, IE remains the Speed King for me.

Posted: **Thu May 14, 2009 12:58 am**

matrixman wrote:but I'm browsing KW in IE 7 right now.

Why?
I have IE 8.0.6...
...not that I use it often.

Posted: **Thu May 14, 2009 5:41 am**

I simply didn't bother to check for a newer version. I just opened whatever version of IE I had installed.

The fact that an old version of IE is still far more responsive than the newest version of Firefox underlines my argument. Heh.

Posted: **Thu May 14, 2009 9:49 am**

That's bizarre. I don't run IE because it seems slower than mud. Seriously, I can open the browser, walk downstairs to check the laundry and back, and my homepage won't be completely loaded.

Posted: **Thu May 14, 2009 5:34 pm**

Hmmm...I don't know why IE is quicker than Firefox on my computer. I wish I did - then maybe I could adjust Firefox so that it could run just as fast.

Posted: **Sat May 16, 2009 3:50 pm**

Firefox finally crashed my computer. Blue screen of death. Page file was filled up (over 2 GB!!).

I'm running IE now, and it's lightning fast. Scrolling, posting, loading pages. The difference is incredible. It's an old version of IE, too. It came with my 3-yr-old Windows XP.

Posted: **Sat May 16, 2009 10:55 pm**

Does your memory usage keep increasing the longer you have your browser open? If so, could be a memory leak.

Or maybe try this:

Reduce Firefox Memory Consumption

Think I'll stick to my 2.0.0.14... 3 or 4 addons and 5 tabs and it's still at 50-60mb.

I thought this was the other thread.

--A