The Security Level in Mozilla Firefox 2.0
If you surfed the Web in 2007 and 2008 using one of the Mozilla Firefox 2.0 versions, you exposed yourself to a variety of security threats. Mozilla released several versions of its 2.0 browser with each release fixing vulnerabilities that could harm your computer or compromise private data. Learning about these threats may help you understand some of the ingenious methods attackers use to manipulate your computer without your permission.
Other People Are Reading
-
Point Releases
-
When software makers create new programs, they often distribute minor updates that correct problems they discover. They call these updates "point releases." After Mozilla released Firefox version 2.0, for example, they distributed other 2.0 versions such as 2.0.0.1 and 2.0.0.2. Each point release had a higher number and fixed an existing bug. Mozilla still provides point releases for newer Firefox versions as well as major releases such as Firefox 9 and Firefox 10.
Firefox 2.0 Security Threats
-
Mozilla categorizes security threats into four groups: Critical, High, Moderate and Low. Critical-level threats are the most dangerous because attackers can install malicious software on your computer when you simply visit websites. High threats are defined as less severe, but attackers can still steal data in other windows you have open or insert dangerous code into open Web pages. Moderate-level threats are similar except that users must perform certain uncommon actions to cause dangerous events to occur. Low-level threats, such as Denial of Service attacks, are not harmful, but they can be annoying.
-
Firefox 2.0 Critical-level Threats
-
Imagine surfing to a website using Internet Explorer and discovering that your visit triggered a security threat in your Firefox browser. This scenario was possible until Mozilla corrected the problem when it released Firefox 2.0.0.5. Prior to this release, users visiting a malicious Web page using Internet could trigger a program that launched their Firefox browsers automatically and caused them to navigate to the same dangerous page. Another Critical-level threat fixed by Firefox 2.0.0.12 was the one that allowed malicious sites to steal your Firefox navigation history.
Firefox 2.0 High-level Threats
-
Firefox 2.0.0.12 also corrected a High-level threat that could allow attackers to access your private sessionstore.js file that contains information about Web pages you have open. Firefox 2.0.0.4 fixed a problem named "XSS Using AddEventListener." A JavaScript event listener responds to events, such as button clicks, that you trigger while surfing. Before Mozilla fixed this High-level threat, a malicious site could use an event listener to cause the browser to access data residing in another site you might have open. Firefox 2.0.0.17 corrected a Moderate-level threat an attacker could use to read information in your browser's temporary storage area. This threat was moderate because you would have to download multiple files and a shortcut to cause the problem to occur.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images
