A recent study by security firm NSS Labs shows that Google’s Chrome browser still has the best detection rate (94%) for spotting phishing URLs, and on average, new malware sites are reported and blocked by all browsers within 5 hours of discovery, a significant improvement over the 16+ hours that same process would have taken in 2009. Firefox showed the best response time to reporting and blocking new sites at 2.3 hours – more than twice as quick as IE10.
What this means for you:
All of the major browsers have significantly improved their ability to protect users, to the point that there is very little statistical difference in their security capabilities. Many of my clients still ask me if one is better than the other, and the answer is always, “It depends on what you need the browser to do.” I still use Chrome for most of my work, but there are still enough times when I’m working with online apps that only work with Internet Explorer. The most important factor to consider is making sure whatever browser you do use is kept up to date, and that you practice safe and cautious surfing whenever working with unfamiliar websites.
