CNET posted an article today, Concern grows over browser security, about the rise in browser-based attacks (mostly spoofed sites for phishing, but also attempts to install viruses and other malware through web browser security holes).
What’s interesting about the article is that nowhere does it mention Mozilla, Opera or Safari.
Could it be that attacks through these browsers are less common than attacks through Internet Explorer, even adjusted for market share? (Sure, IE has more than 90%, but there are a lot of people using the others.)
Or could it be that the author has succumbed to the “Web Browser = MSIE” belief?
If nothing else, you’d think that their statistics would have a bit more information, but it’s a single number for “browser” attacks. Nothing more detailed than that.
To be fair, the press release doesn’t provide any better numbers. In fact, it mentions no browser by name at all. (One can hope their data is a bit more detailed, but the purpose of the study appears to have been to identify trends in types of attacks, not in the software targeted.) And yet IE is the only browser CNET mentions, despite the alternatives’ better security records.
Grumble. As a Safari user, I’ve noticed the assumption is that in an emergency you can switch to IE. As though Linux users and Mac OS 10.3 users would naturally have a Win Box too.
Do you think CNET is playing to Microsoft’s interests by the browser omission or it is just operating under the same Microsoft dominated mindset?