Accuvant recently released a study touting the benefits of Google Chrome. According to Accuvant, Chrome has the most and the best security measures. The problem? Accuvant’s study was funded by Google. The study, therefore, is biased at best. Accuvant isn’t upfront about the conflict of interest, either. It says the study was an objective and independent assessment.
The study itself did focus on four important browser concerns: URL blacklisting, IT hardening, plug-in security, and sandboxing. URL blacklisting is meant to protect against bad URLs. Browsers are supposed to detect bad URLs, then blacklist them. IT hardening is a process in which a computer’s system is “hardened” toward security vulnerabilities. The process eliminates as many security risks as possible, usually by removing all non-essential programs and utilities from the computer. Plug-in security refers to the safety of the add-ons that come with browsers, such as plug-ins for email or other applications. Sandboxing is a security mechanism that separates running programs. For instance, if an anti-virus doesn’t recognize a particular program, the anti-virus may “sandbox” it in order to prevent it from corrupting the computer’s system.
All three main browsers of choice - Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer - failed in the area of URL blacklisting. The browsers’ performance varied in the other three categories. Based on those four areas, Accuvant ranked Chrome first, Internet Explorer second, and Mozilla Firefox third.
Of course, Accuvant’s ranking is questionable due to the conflict of interest. What should be remembered is that browsers will need to continue to improve in the areas of URL blacklisting, IT hardening, plug-in security, and sandboxing. Browsers also will need to be kept up-to-date; if they aren’t, their abilities in those four areas decrease significantly and open a computer’s system to potential threats.
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