Firefox 10

[TZ350]

Is anyone using Firefox 10 ? I keep getting upgrade requests, etc ( I'm on V3.26 or something close and it doesn't seem to give any problems ) but I recall that some people had issues with the later versions, re banking, etc.

I've got an Acer with Windows 7. Thanks.

[Milo Minderbinder]

Do the upgrade
Its less stable, but not by much - and the security updates are essential

If you are using a V3 Firefox, you are asking to get hacked

[green granite]

I use V11b and V12a and have no problems, the danger of using a very old version is the security vulnerabilities.

[vulcanised]

Currently using 3.5.1 and I've stopped it telling me about updates. It works, so why change it?

[Milo Minderbinder]

because you WILL get hacked

[A A Gruntpuddock]

I'm on 11.0 and it seems ok. In fact, I like it better than the early versions.

[Milo Minderbinder]

There is no advantage in using the V11 / V12 alphas and betas unless you are a software developer.
You're better off sticking to the current release version - fewer bugs

[TZ350]

[quote] Milo Minderbinder
Do the upgrade
Its less stable, but not by much - and the security updates are essential

If you are using a V3 Firefox, you are asking to get hacked [quote]

I'm an IT retard...........when you say it's less stable, what ( can ) happen(s) ?

Re, the hacking, is this what you refer to ? I've just had something get into my hotmail contacts ( for the second time ) and sent different spam messages to each contact. Although this first happened after I opened a message from a known contact that was spam. I have MS Security Essentials and ran CCleaner after. Thanks

[green granite]

Someone has to be alpha and beta testers, it's the only way to ensure a stable release candidate.

[Saab Dastard]

Someone has to be alpha and beta testers, it's the only way to ensure a stable release candidate.

I "served my time" on the FF beta program for versions 4 through 9, but since moving all the PCs in the house to Win 7 I've gone back to the mainstream releases.

TBH, I noticed very, very few problems with the betas, and apart from the feedback and data gathering prompts, I hardly had any signs that it was beta software.

SD

PS - now on FF10, and it's fine. ;)

[Phalconphixer]

F/F these days is about as reliable as Wordpress in terms of version longevity!
Within the space of just a few months we have gone from v3.6.27, to my mind, probably the best and most stable version of F/F ever, to v10.0.2...

Change for change sake? Trying desperately to compete with Chrome or IE9?

I for one, don't believe that F/F 10 is any less likely to hacking than V3... if the bu**ers are going to get you, they will get you anyway...

I asked a similar question the other day on a specialist forum about the multitude of updates to F/F and the best advise I got was to be give it up in favour of Opera or IE9...

Just my two centimos worth....

pp

[Load Toad]

The update takes all of a minute & I've had very very few issues ever with FF & only then when some add on's were not compatible with the latest version.


FF used to update rarely, it then went the Chrome route of putting up dates out every few weeks - as I said, the updates take a minute to install; it doesn't hurt.

[Phalconphixer]

...but why are they necessary?

Just found this... interesting....

Mozilla Plans to Silently Update Future Firefox Releases | Webmonkey | Wired.com (http://www.webmonkey.com/2011/10/mozilla-plans-to-silently-update-future-firefox-releases/)

[Milo Minderbinder]

To answer a few questions
The sudden upsurge in version numbers came about as an attempt to "keep up with chrome". Google used a stupid release numbering system, with each trivial update getting a new version number - so the powers-that-be at Mozilla decided they had to follow the trend or be perceived as being left behind....stupid

As to vulnerability to hacking - the newer versions are much more resistant to known attack vectors. Obviously the crooks are constantly coming out with new hacks, and - the browser will always be one step behind, but the newer the version, the more secure you are.
You can of course increase the security of Firefox by using a bunch of security plugins:. If you use ALL the following: AdBlock Plus, AdBlock Plus popup blocker, NoScript, Ghostery, BetterPrivacy, HTTPS-Everywhere, BrowseerProtect.org along with a decent antivirus program then you've made Firefox close to bulletproof.

Out of the box, none of Opera, Chrome or Safari are as secure as either IE or Firefox, though there is a No-Script plugin for Chrome which helps a bit. Safari is incredibly vulnerable - don't even think of using it. The open-source engine of Safari is as buggy as hell.

TZ350
when I say "hacked" I mean you'll end up with malware of some kind on the machine. Could be anything of keyloggers, trojans, worms or numerous other hazards. They can steal your credentials, you bank details, redirect your browsing, or even rent out processing tim on your computer to third parties
As to you hotmail problem - no that was due to a password hack. A few weeks ago a large number of Hotmail accounts were compromised because somehow the passwords were cracked. You need to change the password to something unguessable, and also make sure the security reset questions are unguessable as well.
No A/V program on your PC would have stopped that Hotmail hack - its almost certainly caused by a weak password. However, your choice of antivirus program isn't great: Microsoft Security Essentials is a bit "slow" at identifying new risks, and also not all that comprehensive in what it does. Its really only useful as a compromise product on older slower machines. If you want a free A/V program that works, then use Avast - it consistently has a malware identification hit rate of around 95% (which puts it in the top two or three programs). If you also install Threatfire then you'vw got reasonable security. The other high-scoring free A/V product is Avira, though that is not as comprehensive in what it does

[Phalconphixer]

Milo... Thanks for the explanations.

pp

[crewmeal]

I use the Firefox Aurora version on my Macbook and it has security updates every day. I'm not sure about hacking or security issues, but I had a spam (malware) email thanking me for purchasing £16 worth of Facebook credits via my paypal. When I looked into my gmail junk file there were 3 other such spam mails.

[TZ350]

Many thanks to all who responded. Definitely sounds worthwhile to upgrade.

And Milo, many thanks for your security plug-ins and AV systems recommendations. But I think I'll wait until I'm in closer proximity to my IT guru before I effect anything too major on the AV front. Last time I ran CCleaner............:O

[Milo Minderbinder]

" Last time I ran CCleaner."
very rare for CrapCleaner to cause any problems. It the only one of the registry optimisation programs I'll touch. I use it just about every day on customers machines.
About the only thing that can go wrong with it is if it deletes the registry entries for the .NET framework in error - but thats only happened to me once in years of use

[TZ350]

I had CCleaner on my old laptop ( WindowsXP 2000 ) and never had a problem.

The first time I used it on my Acer ( Windows 7 ) with the same settings as the old, it lost all the cookies so that everytime I went back to a site ( that I'd ticked the " remember me ", " stay logged in " boxes ) I had to re-enter the PW and before I had always declined the " Do you want FF to remember thePassword for ****** ? "

I'm told I have passionate fingers when it comes to anything IT related...............I fcuk anything I touch...........:\

[Milo Minderbinder]

I would argue that deleting cookies and passwords automatically is a good security move.I usually set machines to wipe all internet traces on closing the browser, AND on rebooting. No-one is going to get a chance to hack my - or my customers - browser cache for passwords or other personal details

[TZ350]

I only tick the " remember me " & " stay logged in " boxes on forums like PPRuNe and motorsport sites. Anything to do with personal details,banking, etc plus all browsing history is deleted on shutdown.

I need to go back to the old laptop and refamiliarize myself with what worked.... :O