Courtesy of OSWeekly.com

(Column) - We’ve been talking about security a lot lately, and for good reason. Every one of us has been forced into a position where we have to think about it, and if we don’t, then we’ll pay the price for it. Many of us have become so lazy that we sometimes skip installing system updates or new antivirus definitions even though all we may really need to do is click a button and wait a little while. If it’s not streamlined and automatic, then we’ll somehow find a way to miss out on these important updates. If your behaviors are reminiscent of what’s described above, then it might be a good idea to ask yourself, "How much of a rush am I in that I can’t even take simple steps to improve my computer security?" Self-examination can be eye-opening, eh?

In relation to computer security, there is a gaping hole that is sometimes left wide open for attacks, and that is the Web browser. If you take the time to visualize your operating system as being a house, then picture the browser as representing the front door. It’s the way that you get into the homey setting that is your operating system, and it’s also the way that you get out into the world via the Internet. You wouldn’t necessarily invite malicious strangers to stay in your physical home and use/steal your resources for an extended period of time, would you? In fact, I’m willing to say that you probably have a deadbolt installed in your door to help protect you from harm, and some of you even have security systems that offer another layer of protection.

While these practices are important in real life, they’re also very important with the connected online life that you lead. If you don’t have any antivirus or firewall software running on your computer, then you’re basically leaving the door wide open for attack, and you might as well place an Open House sign in front of your computer on the digital yard. Who among us finds it to be such an inconvenience to lock the doors on our house that we just skip it altogether? Therefore, why should any of us be negligent with securing our digital home?

No matter which operating system you use, the browser is always a source of concern because content is constantly streaming in to your computer through it, and if it’s not secure and up-to-date, then you’re figuratively rolling the dice to see what happens with your security. As you should know by now, that’s not a good idea.

For the longest time, Internet Explorer has been our model for how security shouldn’t be done in a browser, and Microsoft’s reaction to threats to their browser has been embarrassing to say the least. Instead of acting on fixing the problems that needed to be fixed, they just seemed to ignore them completely. Of course, with Firefox breathing down their neck, Microsoft has basically been forced to make the product better, and Internet Explorer 7 is aiming to reclaim some respect for the IE brand.

Symantec recently released its biannual Internet Security Threat Report, and the results may surprise you. As you would expect, security vulnerabilities in Web browsers are on the rise; however, the browser with the most problems discovered wasn’t IE, but instead, it was Firefox. The exponential growth of Firefox surely has something to do with this increase in the number of vulnerabilities, but it’s not the only browser with issues. Internet Explorer took the second spot, and Safari took the third spot. Oddly enough, Opera was the only browser that had a decrease in vulnerabilities from the last report. Maybe more of us should be singing Opera?

Even though the number of vulnerabilities discovered in Web browsers is increasing, the thing that really matters is how fast the patches are issued. Firefox may be the unfortunate leader of problems discovered, but it’s also the fastest to get patches out. Because of that, these two things sort of balance each other. Internet Explorer and Opera also showed improvement in the patch response time, and the only browser in the report that actually showed a decrease in this area was Safari. It’s time to pick up the pace, Apple. With news like this, it’s no surprise that people would want to use an alternative browser.