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11.20.07
Firefox 3 Beta 1 Out For Testing
 By David Utter
Security updates rate among the numerous tweaks made by the Mozilla Foundation to the next version of Firefox.
People should keep in mind the Firefox 3 beta 1 browser is very much in beta. The Mozilla Foundation has made it available for testing purposes; everyday users should stick with the stable Firefox 2 release.
Among the many updates, security pros should be pleased to see several security related features arriving in Firefox 3:
• One click site info: Click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site. Identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand. In later versions, Extended Validation SSL certificate information will be displayed.
• Malware Protection: malware protection warns users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware. You can test it here (note: our blacklist of malware sites is not yet activated).
• New Web Forgery Protection page: the content of pages suspected as web forgeries is no longer shown. You can test it here.
• New SSL error pages: clearer and stricter error pages are used when Firefox encounters an invalid SSL certificate.
• Add-ons and Plugin version check: Firefox now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and will disable older, insecure versions.
• Secure add-on updates: to improve add-on update security, add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.
• Anti-virus integration: Firefox will inform anti-virus software when downloading executables.
• Vista Parental Controls: Firefox now respects the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.
Firefox became a viable browsing alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer as security threats to IE rose dramatically. Keeping on top of potential attack vectors like forged pages and known malware sites will help Mozilla maintain that edge.
About the Author:
David Utter is a business and technology writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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