Update: that's pretty funny with things like this happening
Listening to: Prodigy - Mindfields
Tuesday, 13 July 2004
Mozilla not secure?
I was trying to fill out some forms at ciisd online and wasn't able to log in. I got a page that said "the link you are going to is broken" from the splash page. I was like wtf? So I sent in a "your thing is broken" email. I got a reply from the help desk. Apparently they don't support 'cause Mozilla "isn't secure", but they support Netscape 7. uhh? The lady told me that I couldn't use Mozilla or follow their link from Hotmail because that isn't secure. I don't follow, I tried to explain why I didn't understand, but she just didn't get it. *sigh* I hate tech support... mostly when I have to use it.
Update: that's pretty funny with things like this happening
Update: that's pretty funny with things like this happening
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It's actually somewhat reasonable to assume this, given the way that Mozilla is developed. Ironically, Netscape 7 is actually a rebranded version of Mozilla.
ReplyDeleteMozilla is released often -- almost too often for web site developers to verify the integrity and security of every single Mozilla release. A Mozilla committer with bad intentions or ignorance might be able to insert an exploit into the browser and people wouldn't notice for a little bit.
The same thing could happen -- and does happen -- with closed source browsers. But the openness of the code probably adds to the fears that it would be more easily exploited.
Public perception is that Netscape 7 has been out for a while and is one release with a proven track record. Even though it probably suffers from the same exploits as Mozilla, the Netscape name has a reputation of releasing good products. Mozilla is probably still seen as a toy browser.
Brand recognition still goes a long way, especially with the ignorant and lazy. The Hotmail security "exploit" (more of a social engineering exploit than a technical one) that she referred to is peanuts compared to some of the ActiveX exploits that have been found in IE6.
I think its debatable whether or not Netscape has 'good' brand recognition. From a user's perspective, yes it's fair... from a developer (website or otherwise) it's a pain (which is why Netscape/Moz aren't acceptance tested as much with most sites).
ReplyDeleteIt's chicken and egg for sure. But the egg is Microsoft's security problems, and it's about to hatch bigtime!
ReplyDeleteYou might want to check out stories like this for information about mozilla vulnerabilities. Oh well, guess all browsers have their problems. This one only affects mozilla while running under Windows though. Yet another reason to use Linux. GO LINUX !!
ReplyDeletehttp://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/08/2159244&mode=nested
Okay, I understand better why they would not support Mozilla now... but if you are going to not allow people to use it, at least have a message saying that and don't make it look like a broken link.
ReplyDeleteI hate bad error messages... they can be worse than nothing 'cause they have you looking in the wrong direction.