“Accuvant LABS has just released some new research that compares the security of three of the most widely used web browsers – Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Google commissioned Accuvant to perform this comprehensive and independently designed security analysis to help advance the discussion of best practices in the security community. Our research findings are extremely thorough and complete, so we decided to create this blog to summarize the results. Malware, spyware and viruses are all too familiar to those who regularly surf the web. These malicious programs can lead to system pop-ups, slowdowns, account takeovers, credit card theft, identity theft, and the theft of personally identifiable information. While antivirus and anti-malware can help prevent an infection, the first line of defense is using a secure web browser. For a person that surfs the internet, comparing and contrasting the security of different web browsers is difficult. Marketing materials are available to the average user, but they often contain direct contradictions and the reader ends up wondering which web browser is the most secure. Our research aims to fix that problem. We compared browsers from a layered perspective, taking into account security architecture and anti-exploitation techniques. Like antivirus or anti-malware software, each provides an additional layer of defense. The nice thing is, when anti-exploitation technology prevents an attack, anti-malware and antivirus aren’t needed. The idea is that it’s a lot easier to keep a fortress with a moat safe than it is to protect a beach shack.”