Maybe you will wonder to find out that I recommend you to use as web-browser Opera , Chrome or even Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. The last one, was declared after a study made by NSS Labs, a product analysis company, as the most resistant browser against social engineering malware.
General speaking, a social engineering malware is a Web address appearing as an inoffensive page with, for example a video embedded, that download and execute a malicious code into your computer automatically when viewing the video or tricking the users to download an apparent harmless file like a PDF . Another social engineering malware is when a friend with an infected computer send you an instant message pointing you at an infected web address . However, the study was sponsored by Microsoft, I don’t know how much this can help you in day by day life on the Internet, or how accurate was the study.
But this is one thing. The other thing I know is Firefox is the world’s most preferred as browser, and that’s mean the most studied and preferred target for hackers attacks . I talk about the stored password, there is dozens of trojans modules that decrypt the stored password in a Firefox Profile folder, but only a few for Opera for example. Firefox stores the passwords even if don’t explicitly select that. In the real world, conclusion is if you get infected there is many more chances to have your Internet accounts(emails, bank accounts) stolen if you use Mozilla Firefox.
Using the crowd of plugins and add-ons available for Mozilla Firefox besides the advantages has a lot of disadvantages also , being a good chance to get infected. After 4600 downloads from the Mozilla official site, they discovered that two of their add ons, Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4.0 and Master Filer were infected with a password sniffer, Win32.LdPinch , respectively with a very dangerous trojan, Win32.Bifrose for the second one.
This trojan is called also a Remote Administration Tool — RAT, giving to the attacker the power to view your webcam or to take screenshots, to view and download your files, upload any other files to your computer, in conclusion he makes whatever he wants in your PC, not only to steal passwords.
Another true story :
The russian company Intevydis made a Windows exploit for a previously vulnerability in Firefox 3.6
“The feat – which allows enemy to remotely govern malicious formula upon end user PCs – triggers a heap crime disadvantage in a popular open-source browser, pronounced Evgeny Legerov, owner of Moscow-based Intevydis.”
You can read more here if you want to.
Enough said about Firefox, a good sense rule says you don’t want to use the most targeted-by-hackers web-browser in the world, how it was for example Internet Explorer 6 in the past.
The good add-on now.
WOT, meaning World of Trust has a plugin for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome protecting you from online scams, sites with adult content, spam and other Internet threats.
Home page and download link for it can be found here.
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