iOS reaches 1.7% share of the web, Windows 7 hits 20%

Both iOS and Windows 7 were the winners for share of the web, Net Applications found in its December wrap-up. Thanks mostly to an equal mix of the iPad and iPhone, Apple's mobile platform reached 1.69 percent in December, up a relative 24.3 percent from a month earlier. Android's growth rate was faster, at about 29 percent, but its total 0.4 percent share widened the relative lead in web use.

Microsoft simultaneously reached a symbolic milestone on the desktop as just over a fifth, or 20.87 percent, of all web usage. However, most of the gain came almost exclusively at the expense of other versions of Windows, as Microsoft's overall Windows share was down to its lowest point ever, at a still high 90.29 percent. iOS was the only overall plaform to see a major gain in December, as the Mac, Linux and Java were near-flat.

Researchers didn't give a full explanation for the uptick, but gift giving during the holiday likely led to a large number of iPads and possibly iPhones going live after Christmas. Windows computers may also have been gifts in the period and helped people replace older systems using Windows XP.

In desktop web browsers, Internet Explorer kept on its years-long slide and reached a new low of 57.08 percent where Firefox, Chrome and Safari all made gains. Google's browser was the fastest mover and hit 9.98 percent, but Safari moved up briskly to 5.89 percent while Firefox bounced back slightly to 22.81 percent.

Microsoft’s Head of Internet Explorer on Privacy & Losing to Firefox

Microsoft’s Dean Hachamovitch, the corporate vice president of Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer), discussed IE9, the browser market, privacy and more at the AllThingsD event at CES today.

Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal led off with the plummeting market share of Internet Explorer, specifically concerning reports that Firefox (Firefox) has overtaken IE in Europe. Hachamovitch sidestepped the issue by saying that Mirosoft is actually trying to drop the market share of IE6, IE7 and IE8 because it wants people to switch to a more dynamic web with IE9.

The majority of the discussion focused on user privacy, though. It was clear that Hachamovitch wanted to focus on the issue; he wore a shirt with the word “private” emblazoned on the front combined with the IE logo.

The first part of the conversation focused on tracking. Hachamovitch made sure to differentiate between two types of tracking: “expected tracking” and “creepy-stalking tracking.” Some tracking is good, he said, citing Pandora (Pandora) as an example. By tracking what songs you listen to, it can create recommendations and customized playlists, one of the big selling points of the streaming radio service. Microsoft wants to have that type of tracking while giving users the option to opt out of certain types of tracking.

Mossberg and Hachamovitch then dived into the ways Microsoft intends to protect user privacy in IE9. One of those features is a button users can click on almost any webpage that will block tracking and cookies from that website. In addition, companies and users can create do-not-track lists.

“We think it’s important to have people exercise judgement in making those lists,” Hachamovitch said. In addition to the feature, called Tracking Protection, Microsoft is organizing a roundtable of industry leaders with the University of California, Berkeley, to talk about web and browser privacy.

No browser can fully protect from one type of tracking, though: Flash cookies. The only way to stop Flash cookies is to turn off Flash for that specific website, an “extreme move” that many users won’t be willing to do in order to stop tracking.

French Government calls on internet users to abandon Internet Explorer

* France, Germany dump Internet Explorer
* Australians 'should upgrade or switch'
* Microsoft says hackers only hit IE6
* Google attack an "inside job"

AUSTRALIANS have been advised against using Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) because of a security threat.

Local web users have been advised to install security patches or switch browsers, while two countries - France and Germany - have now issued warnings against all versions of Microsoft's browser.

Germany warned users Friday after a malicious code - implicated in recent attacks on Google - was published online, and now Certa, a French Government agency that oversees cyber threats, has warned against using all recent versions of the web browser.

While the Google attacks were designed to exploit Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft has released a security advisory for Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8.

Microsoft said it has only seen a "very limited number of targeted attacks against a small subset of corporations".

"The attacks that we have seen to date are only effective against Internet Explorer 6."

"We are not seeing any widespread attacks and thus far we are not seeing attacks focused on consumers."

The company recommended users upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 - which is technically still vulnerable - and anyone using older versions of Windows XP to upgrade to Service Pack 3.

It is still working on a permanent solution.

Australian alerts

An alert from the Australian Government website staysmartonline.gov.au suggests users try Microsoft's temporary fixes or consider an alternate browser.

But Paul Ducklin, Asia Pacific head of technology at Sophos, says "all browsers have vulnerabilities".

"Even though it's true that IE is exploited more than any other browser, you don't achieve security simply by switching."

"That's security through obscurity, which is merely false security."

"Good security means defence in depth, and in a well-defended network a single unpatched vulnerability in your browser shouldn't really be enough for the bad guys to get in."

Dr Mark Gregory, internet security expert at RMIT University, says any panic rush to another browser would not help protect users.

"Microsoft Internet Explorer is no worse than any other browser, they all have the same inherent flaws in them so a mass panic rush wouldn't do anything other than giving the hackers a new target," he said.

"Microsoft products are no more susceptible to hacking than other products, but because they are the largest they are often the target."

George Kurtz, worldwide chief technology officer of security firm McAfee, said on his blog last week that the Google attack was a fresh threat.

"All I can say is wow. The world has changed," Mr Kurtz said.

"Everyone’s threat model now needs to be adapted to the new reality of these advanced persistent threats."

"In addition to worrying about Eastern European cybercriminals trying to siphon off credit card databases, you have to focus on protecting all of your core intellectual property, private nonfinancial customer information and anything else of intangible value."

What can you do?

- Download an alternate browser: Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Google Chrome are the main alternatives.

- Upgrade from IE6: Internet Explorer 8 is technically still vulnerable, but Microsoft has not advised of any exploits in the wild.

- Upgrade your browser's security: Tips from US security agency CERT.

- Follow Government advice: Online alerts from Stay Smart Online.

Microsoft: Switch from IE and your risk increases Exclusive: IE8 still better than Firefox, says MS

Microsoft's Head of Security and Privacy in the UK has told TechRadar that people who jump ship from Internet Explorer after the recent spate of bad headlines risk ending up on a less secure browser.

With France and Germany both advising a move away from Internet Explorer, things are far from rosy for Microsoft's browser, and although the vulnerability has only been used against IE6, the company has not ruled out that something similar could be used against the later versions.

With Microsoft not prepared to give details of how soon a fix will be released, and advising people to leave the appalling IE6 and its successor for the latest version – IE8 – Microsoft's UK security chief Cliff Evans insists that a non-Microsoft browser is the worse option.

Less secure

"The net effect of switching [from IE] is that you will end up on less secure browser," insisted Evans.

"The risk [over this specific] exploit is minimal compared to Firefox or other competing browsers… you will be opening yourself up to security issues.

"There are broader risks and issues with other browsers."

Not representing

Evans believes that the coverage attached to the problem – which was namechecked by Google as it changed its China policy – is "not representing the situation".

"If you were to ask me 'what's the most secure browser?' I would say Internet Explorer 8 – we're talking about a single vulnerability," he added.

"The reality of the risk is minimal, even if you have IE6; you would have to go to a website running the exploit."

PR disaster

The whole Google IE flaw issue is clearly a PR disaster for Microsoft, with Evans conceding that this particular problem is not likely to afflict IE's rivals.

"I'm not aware that the vulnerability exists in other products," says Evans, "But those products may have other vulnerabilities."

Asked directly when a fix would be ready, Evans states that the rollout might or might not be before the normal upgrade cycle, but has no further details.

"We are working to provide an update to the vulnerability. We are not seeing any attacks on IE8."

In the meantime, the company will be hoping that the knee-jerk reaction of France and Germany is not mirrored elsewhere.

Microsoft issues 10 security patches, including three 'critical' ones

Microsoft released 10 security bulletins today -- three rated "critical," and the remainder rated "important" on the company's severity rating scale. Six of the bulletins address vulnerabilities that Microsoft says could be reliably exploited, including two of the three critical bulletins.

Today's release affects all of Microsoft's Windows operating systems, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, Internet Information Services (IIS) and the .NET Framework.

Eight of the 10 bulletins address client-side vulnerabilities, which can be exploited only if a user initiates an action such as visiting a malicious website or opening a malformed document. The other two vulnerabilities can be exploited against Web servers or client applications without any interaction with the end user.

Internet Explorer 8 Can Be Uninstalled In Latest Windows 7 Build

A complaint of browser developer Opera that Microsoft has undermined competition by integrating its own Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system is currently being investigated by the European Union. If Microsoft is found guilty the company could face hefty fines and be forced to untie Internet Explorer from its next operating system installment Windows 7.

The latest build of the operating system Windows 7 (build 7048) which leaked to the Internet earlier this week apparently contains an option to uninstall Internet Explorer 8. While this uninstallation does not remove the ties of the web browser in the operating system it does remove the Internet Explorer executable from the computer system.

Users should keep in mind that the Internet Explorer rendering engine is being used for various integral parts of the operating system and that it most likely would require a rewrite to untie it completely. It is unclear if the option to uninstall Internet Explorer has been added because of the complaint. It certainly looks that way considering that the option to uninstall Internet Explorer was not available in the beta build of Windows 7.

The real question is if it will be enough to please the European Union. Most end users will probably never make use of this option as it does not make a huge difference for most users. Many experienced users will install an alternative web browser like Firefox or Opera immediately after finishing the installation of the operating system.

Removing only the executable will not have an impact on system performance at all. What’s your take on this? Should Microsoft offer an option to remove Internet Explorer from the Windows operating system?

Govt issues IE security warning

The Federal Government has ramped up warnings about Microsoft's web browser Internet Explorer, which has come under attack from hackers.

The Government is warning that people risk having their computers infiltrated and passwords stolen unless they install temporary fixes from Microsoft or use alternative browsers.

The Government says Microsoft has acknowledged all recent versions of the program are vulnerable.

It also says people should remember to regularly update their security software and change passwords frequently.

The French and German governments have warned internet users in Europe to avoid Microsoft's popular web browser.

The concern follows revelations that hackers used a crack in Internet Explorer to mount an attack on Google and a number of other companies.

Senior lecturer in network engineering at Melbourne's RMIT University, Mark Gregory, says industry and governments are not prepared for the changing threats to cyberspace.

"The digital network is like the wild west. It is unregulated," he said.

"It is being used in ways that it wasn't meant to be used and we need to get organisations, companies and governments ... focused on taking action to make the digital network more secure for the general public."

Bill Caelli, from the Information Security Institute at the Queensland University of Technology, says the Government and regulators must step in to protect internet users.

"How many builders have put smoke detectors in the new homes and houses? How many people have put fences around their pools to protect children?" he said.

"So safety and security has never, ever been market-driven. It's always been driven by regulatory [sic], by society itself, and that's the role of government."

The Government says Microsoft has not solved the security glitch and Australians should use alternative browsers.

Dr Gregory says it is good advice.

"There are other browsers that are available that appear to be being targeted less by the hackers and by these organisations than what Internet Explorer is being targeted," he said.

"I don't think there was any inference in what they said that Internet Explorer was any more deficient in terms of security than any of the other browsers, just that it was being targeted more.

"On that basis you'd have to argue that if security was a principal concern then using another browser would be wise until the incidence is reduced."

Editor's note (19 January 2010): This story has been amended to reflect the fact that web users can install temporary fixes from Microsoft to reduce their risk.