Here’s a screen that will bring back memories for those of us old enough to remember DOS and VGA monitors.
The only problem is that this is a fake online scanner virus warning notice being displayed in a browser window. According to the guys over at Sunbelt Software this is one called BlockScanner and is a variation of the Winisoft family.
Thanks for the memories Alex – I think 
One of the trickiest parts of the job for web developers is testing their work in all the different browsers. It is especially tricky when it comes to Internet Explorer given that to be able to run all the different version (if you can find their install packages) can mean jumping through a whole bunch of hoops to get them working.
Enter IETester.
With this handy program you can test your work in all the different version of IE from 5.5 up to 8 from within one program. As you can see in the graphic below WinExtra definitely doesn’t play nice in older versions of IE (click on image for larger view).
You can grab your copy of IETester at their site.
hat tip to Addictive Tips
According to two reports out from NSS Labs that tested the latest browsers: Safari 4, Firefox 3, Opera 10, Google Chrome 2, and Internet Explorer 8, there are some surprises as to which of them is the most secure. While I am sure many will rush in and say it has to be Firefox or Chrome the fact is they would be wrong. The winner in this case – IE8.
All the tests for the Malware Report and the Phishing Report were conducted on plain jane installs of the browsers – no add-on, plugins, or other such fancy stuff. The malware testing was done over 12 days (24 x 7) against fresh live malicious sites. For the phishing test it was conducted 24/7 for 14 days against active sites.
The comparative tests against malware broke down as such
The use of reputation systems to assist browsers in the fight against socially engineered malware is a strong use of cloud technologies. But, not all vendor implementations and daily operations yield the same results.
- Internet Explorer 8 “was by far the best”, thanks to the SmartScreen® Filtertechnology
- Firefox 3 “comes in a distant second”
- Safari 4 presented a declined compared to the previous tests, with two short periods of sever security dips
- Chrome 2 performed very consistently, albeit very poorly
Although Firefox, Safari and Chrome are using the same security API, the results are different. From the report:
“The SafeBrowsing products’ protection rates were showing signs of converging just under 25%. This supports the notion that there are operational differences between the implementations of the API, but that the block lists are the same (or very similar)”
Source: Giorgio Sardo Blog ::Most Secure Browser: Internet Explorer 8
When it came to the phishing tests the results came out as such
- Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3 are clearly responding quickly to block new phishing sites
- Opera had a period during the tests where the protection dropped off significantly
- Chrome was below average
From the report:
“We expected better results given the fanfare about Google’s SafeBrowsing initiative. Additionally, a third-party (Firefox) was able to utilize Google’s API to achieve significantly better protection that Google’s own browser.”
Source: Giorgio Sardo Blog ::Most Secure Browser: Internet Explorer 8
Let the chest beating and name calling commence
As a result of the European Union’s incessant treatment of Microsoft as their personal ATM machine Microsoft had originally agreed to ship a European version of Windows 7 with a browser ballot screen. The idea being that Windows 7 wouldn’t use Internet Explorer as its default web browser but rather would let the consumer select the browser they want to use.
It appears though that European OEM’s really didn’t like this idea and started raising a fuss so Microsoft had to think of other options to make the OEMs and the European Union regulators happy. What they have decided to do is to ship the full Windows 7 version with Internet Explorer installed but will have it display the ballot screen when IE is run for the first time, and I imagine as a Start Menu item.
Apparently this is good enough to satisfy the regulators
The commission had said it "welcomed" Microsoft’s move, also giving the software maker some confidence that it could ship Windows 7 with the browser included. If the commission accepts Microsoft’s proposal, it will fully implement that proposed ballot screen to Windows 7 buyers in Europe.
Source: c|net News :: Microsoft: No browserless Windows 7 after all
IT also makes it easier for Microsoft to market Windows 7 in Europe both as an upgrade from previous Windows versions and as a stand-alone product.
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