Microsoft have launched a new website aimed at helping people identify how secure their web browser really is. www.YourBrowserMatters.org will tell visitors in a simple score from 0 to 4 just how secure they are when they go online.
In a blog post today, the company said that 24.4% of all web browsers are outdated and insecure. Of this 15.2% includes Internet Explorer 6 and 7 (it’s odd that Microsoft are suddenly now calling IE7 insecure) and 7.5% are older versions of Mozilla Firefox.
In their breakdown by country the USA appears to be the worst offender with just under 22 million computers using insecure browsers. Brazil is second with just over 7 million, France is third with 5 million, the UK has 4.2 million and China has just under 4 million. I’m not completely sure where this fits with Microsoft’s IE6 Countdown site which states that more than 25% of all browser usage in China is still IE6.
Microsoft’s stats say that this 24.4% equates to around 340 million PCs worldwide. In a statement they said…With that in mind, we’ve partnered with the Anti-Phishing League, Identity Theft Council, and Online Trust Alliance to raise awareness of the critical role browsers play in online security and make it as easy as possible for people to protect themselves.
The new website itself does more than just give your browser a health rating. There is useful information there on what malware is, with a useful video for the uninitiated. There is also information on what modern browsers do to keep people safe when they’re online and also help and advice on how you can stay safer when you’re online.
Oddly, what the browser doesn’t do is bring the latest version of Internet Explorer front and centre, instead relegating it to a small download button hidden away on the website’s last page. This is probably a very good idea given the organisations that Microsoft has formed alliances with for this project.
In a blog post today, the company said that 24.4% of all web browsers are outdated and insecure. Of this 15.2% includes Internet Explorer 6 and 7 (it’s odd that Microsoft are suddenly now calling IE7 insecure) and 7.5% are older versions of Mozilla Firefox.
In their breakdown by country the USA appears to be the worst offender with just under 22 million computers using insecure browsers. Brazil is second with just over 7 million, France is third with 5 million, the UK has 4.2 million and China has just under 4 million. I’m not completely sure where this fits with Microsoft’s IE6 Countdown site which states that more than 25% of all browser usage in China is still IE6.
Microsoft’s stats say that this 24.4% equates to around 340 million PCs worldwide. In a statement they said…With that in mind, we’ve partnered with the Anti-Phishing League, Identity Theft Council, and Online Trust Alliance to raise awareness of the critical role browsers play in online security and make it as easy as possible for people to protect themselves.
The new website itself does more than just give your browser a health rating. There is useful information there on what malware is, with a useful video for the uninitiated. There is also information on what modern browsers do to keep people safe when they’re online and also help and advice on how you can stay safer when you’re online.
Oddly, what the browser doesn’t do is bring the latest version of Internet Explorer front and centre, instead relegating it to a small download button hidden away on the website’s last page. This is probably a very good idea given the organisations that Microsoft has formed alliances with for this project.
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