Firefox Phinished?

Recently all over the internet there have been reports about security exploits and possible phishing vulnerabilities in the fastest growing web browser, Mozilla Firefox. So what to make of all of this? Should me move back to Internet Explorer or try something completely different like Opera?

My answer is lets wait and see. Sure Firefox has had a couple of serious bugs but look at Microsoft's track record. IE6 at the moment still has more serious exploits than Firefox, yet is a far more mature program.

What it really boils down to is which you find more secure. Both browsers have bugs. All software has bugs. What really matters is how well the organisation addresses them and how quickly they fix them. Firefox usually takes about one to two weeks to fix a problem, and is happy to announce that an issue has been found. Microsoft on the other hand releases updates once a month, and being the money making organisation they are, fear the public knowing about critical weaknesses until they have a suitable patch.

All of these factors however can be attributed to the Open-source vs. Closed-source development structure of the browsers. While in my opinion neither is superior, it does influence the way security is dealt with. Closed source relies on lack of information about the way software works, while open source relies on a community of volunteers to scrutinise over the code and analyse it for errors.

But don't just listen to me. Make up your own mind. I personally am a Firefox user, and not for security reasons: I love the clean interface and the ease at which it can be customised with themes and extensions. So go ahead, make up your own mind. Choice is the way of the future and good competition between the major browsers (IE, Firefox and Opera) will hopefully ensure higher quality web browsers in the future.