January 22nd, 2010
Will switching from Internet Explorer make you safer?
Posted by Ed Bott @ 3:47 am
The panic over this month’s wave of targeted, zero-day attacks against Google, Adobe, and other companies is over. Microsoft has released a security update for Internet Explorer that patches the underlying vulnerabilities, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.
But what does this episode say about Internet Explorer? I’ve seen several pundits argue that Internet Explorer is inherently unsafe. I think they’re overreacting. Yes, there is a case to be made for using a different browser, especially one with a lower market share that is targeted less frequently than Internet Explorer. (And if you’re too impatient to read this entire post, then
skip to the last page for that discussion.) But it’s also true that switching browsers is a small part of a comprehensive, defense-in-depth security strategy.
One thing’s for certain: Changing browsers isn’t a magic bullet, and it might not have made a difference in this case, as I explain in this post.