Security News
After re-Chroming its Edge browser last summer, Microsoft this week announced a list of new security and privacy features it plans to add to forthcoming versions in an effort to take on its rivals. The third is called Password Monitor, a feature that will tell Edge users when usernames and passwords they've entered on a website have been found on the dark web.
Firefox has decided it's time to burn the browser's FTP connections. Platform list, developer Michal Novotny announced "We plan to remove FTP protocol implementation from our code."
The Tor browser has fixed a bug that could have allowed JavaScript to execute on websites even when users think they've disabled it for maximum anonymity. The Tor Project revealed the issue in the release notes for version 9.0.6, initially suggesting users manually disable JavaScript for the time being if the issue bothered them.
It sounds almost impossible to stop, but not according to the makers of the Brave browser, which is using its latest developer build to test a new defence against fingerprinting: confusing fingerprinting collection algorithms by randomising some of the data they collect. Although fingerprinting has a lot of possible APIs and network IDs to utilise, Brave's concept is that it is only necessary to disrupt a few to confuse surveillance.
The incident is a reminder that browser extensions - however useful or fun they may seem when you install them - typically have a great deal of power and can effectively read and/or write all data in your browsing sessions. The health insurance site was compromised after an employee at the company edited content on the site while using a Web browser equipped with a once-benign but now-compromised extension which quietly injected code into the page.
Users looking for a privacy-focused browser might want to consider Brave first, according to a study published this week. Douglas Leith, professor of computer systems at Trinity University, examined six browsers for his report - Web Browser Privacy: What Do Browsers Say When They Phone Home? He found that Brave's Chromium-based browser is the least likely to reveal unique identifying information about the computer using it.
Microsoft Edge and Yandex are "Much more worrisome" compared to Brave, Chrome, Firefox and Safari, according to a paper on browser privacy published this week. Douglas J Leith, a comp sci professor at Trinity College Dublin, investigated the network activity of six browsers - Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Brave, Microsoft Edge and Yandex - using a proxy to capture encrypted traffic.
Microsoft Edge and Yandex are "Much more worrisome" compared to Brave, Chrome, Firefox and Safari, according to a paper on browser privacy published this week. Douglas J Leith, a comp sci professor at Trinity College Dublin, investigated the network activity of six browsers - Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Brave, Microsoft Edge and Yandex - using a proxy to capture encrypted traffic.
A powerful new approach to securing web browsers is getting its first real-world application in the Firefox browser. The new approach is now part of a test release of the Firefox browser for the Linux operating system and could be available on Windows and MacOS platforms within a few months.
Santa Clara, Calif-based McAfee has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Baltimore, MD-based Light Point Security. Financial details have not been disclosed, but on completion of the acquisition, the Light Point staff will join McAfee, while the Light Point technology will be integrated into the McAfee Secure Web Gateway.