PAX East: Tour Microsoft's N.E.R.D. Cambridge office with us

To be fair, you are using Internet Explorer.

From a technical standpoint, IE is more secure than most other browsers. Certainly more secure than FF. Also doesnt transmit my browsing data back to Google Inc. like Chrome does.

I guess I should be specific and say that "IE 8 is more secure than other browsers" 6/7 truely sucked and I used FF during that time period.

I believe it's just trying to download a javascript file (beacon.js) dynamically from a site that serves ads to Joystiq. Instead of processing the file as it should, it tried to download it.

@R .. where did you get ie8 is more secure than firefox ? What alternate universe have you been travelling in ?

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/25/google-chrome-more-secure-than-firefox-safar-and-internet-explorer/

:) Better than safari yes.. better than anything else ? , hell no ..

http://www.neowin.net/news/safari-firefox-and-ie8-hacked-chrome-left-untested -- If you really want security the answer seems to be chrome.. If your worried chrome is reporting is reporting your browsing habits then use chromium (the open source version which chrome is built on)

http://www.tucows.com/preview/610631

Just fyi if you want to secure firefox use noscript, its about as secure as it gets because you block any scripts from running on a site..

I live in a world where facts> blind hate.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/internet_explorer_8_is_better_than_firefox_3
http://blogs.channelinsider.com/secure_channel/content/web_security/internet_explorer_8_trounces_firefox_chrome_in_security_test.html
http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/internet-explorer-8-is-more-secure-and-why-firefox-fanboys-need-a-security-lesson

No one with a degree in IT would be able to look at you with a straight face and tell you that technologically speaking, FF is more secure than IE8.

(Really need an edit button)

If its your thing, heres what im basing my results off of:
http://nsslabs.com/test-reports/NSS%20Labs%20Browser%20Security%20-%20Socially%20Engineered%20Malware%20Q3%202009.pdf

NSS does a lot of good work and I cite them a lot during the various papers I write for my network security classes.

@R, No offence but pwn2own is a real world test.. Real world test ie8 failed miserably and no one managed to exploit google chrome.. That should be the proof you should be looking for..

Again back to the nss test:

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/081309-microsoft-ie8-browser-security.html?fsrc=netflash-rss

"..though NSS Labs acknowledges Microsoft paid for the tests."

It may have been done by NSS labs, but it was funded by Microsoft do you think MIcrosoft would fund a test that would show that their browser is actually not that secure ?

http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=5855&tag=col1;post-5836

"VANCOUVER, BC — Jumping through a series of anti-exploit roadblocks, Dutch hacker Peter Vreugdenhil pulled off an impressive CanSecWest Pwn2Own victory here, hacking into a fully patched 64-bit Windows 7 machine using a pair of Internet Explorer vulnerabilities." Thats 24th March 2010 ..

Get from this what you want, I hope I'm not coming across as bashing you or harsh in anyway. It makes no difference to me what you run, but don't believe the hype.

Im in school to be a whitehat (good guy hacker). There is no such thing as a "secure internet browser" In fact, I can exploit a system on fully patched chrome, IE, FF, actually pretty much any browser you can name. The college where i work actually has issued several warnings to all staff against using Chrome because of its various vulnerablities (although I think they have all been patched up by now)

Same goes for OS's. Linux has 100s of exploits revealed every year. Mac OS and of course Windows are all very hackable.

What matters is "who has the least" and "which is hardest." In this case the answer is IE.

You can chose to believe it or not, Just like I could believe that the sky isnt blue if I want to.

Also, major LOL at him taking two weeks. Pretty much proves my point. Most of my exploits, I do in one sitting.

I feel the need to add that I am in no way a pro hacker. Most of my hacks are about as undetectable as a man wearing an outfit of bells and screeching alarms through a brightly lite hallway.

I don't think anyone with half a brain could look at an IE8 user with a straight face in discussing browser security. Maybe it is more secure, but it's also a broken web experience. Real internet security isn't cooked in a browser, it's in knowing not to be a dumbass when browsing and alternatively, using third party tools to enhance security (clicktoflash ftw).

If you know how to use your computer to its fullest, be it a Windows PC or a Mac or a Linux flavour, you shouldn't have any trouble whatsoever (use private browsing or reset your damn browser when you're through!). It doesn't take an IT degree to figure that out, and it definitely doesn't take an IT degree to tell you that there is absolutely no justifiable reason to ever launch into any IE version.

Its so broken. My sites load fast, load properly, and load securely.

I really dont know how I make it through the day.

um, i think you guys are all picking on internet explorer for no reason.
IE 8 renders pages well, follows all the web standards you're going to need for everyday browsing (meaning not 'lets break ie' browser test pages' and what not.

personally, ive been using opera for a few years now, and after 10.5 there is now way im switching to anything for another few years. it was of my knowledge that opera has the lowest magnitude of security holes (not sure of if it has the lowest number) but it has served me well, and its features are unbeatable.

but when you bash ie and defend chrome with a link to a test where chrome was NOT EVEN ATTEMPTED does not prove that chrome is more secure. if anything, its less secure because you dont know how badly you can get hacked. what you dont know CAN hurt you.

and also, Microsoft would pay for a test that exploits it's own software. its called making sure you have secure software.

Your avatar is awesome

One would have to assume they did.

Sorry, but what's Sony's pre-E3 lineup look like exactly? They've already shipped Heavy Rain, God of War III, and MAG, all they have left before they make their big announcements is really ModNation Racers, which they may or may not be showing. Microsoft hasn't launched a single retail game this year IIRC, and they've got a few announced titles that are supposed to be coming out before E3 that still need showing off.

Also, Sony practically stole the GDC press with their massive reveals - consider it a tradeoff maybe?

This isn't E3 where everyone brings out their big guns, this is first and foremost a fan convention of sorts where spreading the word is more important than revealing new info. In other words, wait for E3. There will be plenty from Sony, there will be plenty from Microsoft, and there best be plenty from Nintendo.

That did look pretty cool. First row, wearing a headcrab hat, yeah!

I found a site that might be more to your liking.

http://www.photographyblog.com/

Yeah that was pretty bad. I volunteer myself to Joystiq to be their Official Joystiq Press Event Photographer. Blurry shots and accidentally backlit portraits will be a thing of the past. You know where to find me Joystiq. Send a courier with my plane ticket and my $50,000 hiring bonus. See you all at E3.