Patch/Configuration Management, Vulnerability Management

Mozilla test finds Firefox 2.0 anti-phishing blocks better than Internet Explorer 7

Mozilla this week trumpeted the results of an internal test showing its Firefox 2.0 browser is superior to Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) at blocking phishing attempts.

Mozilla's security chief, Window Snyder, said the organization used test URLs provided by PhishTank through their public XML feed of valid phishing URLs. Snyder said her organization chose PhishTank's URLs in order to provide the fairest test comparison between the two browsers.

"That was our data source for the URLs in the test, so they were completely independent from the list of URLs we use for our blocked URL lists," she said. "We wanted to make sure it was as fair as possible."

The security team used 1,000 URLS to compare each browser's effectiveness with each brand's best anti-phishing filtering turned on. According to Mozilla, Firefox 2 was able to block 81.5 percent of the URLs, while Microsoft's IE7 with Auto-Check On was only able to block 66.4 percent.

"We're really pleased with how effective the Firefox phishing feature was," Snyder said.

Click here to email Ericka Chickowski.

Get daily email updates

SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news

By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.