Now all you Netscape fans aren't going to be pleased with this post but Netscape 8.0's new features to protect Web surfers against online scams may also block unknown browsers from getting to it's home page. The early test version of Netscape (Netscape 8.0 Beta) had nearly 1 million testers. Yet when I visited Netscape.com with Firefox 1.0.2, it said my browser was out of date and urged me to install Netscape 8.0; not good marketing. Security features in the Netscape software have not changed. "Security is the sizzle that will get people to use this new browser," Jeremy Liew, general manager of Netscape, said. "I think the Web has become a more dangerous place. The threats of phishing and spyware have become more and more real." The new Netscape takes aim at two important security risks today: spyware and phishing. While Antispyware software can prevent spyware from accessing your system, the new Netscape stops websites from doing the same. To do this it need two things. First, it uses a list of websites on the black list and white list. The other is it's parent, AOL. It also uses Truste, VeriSign and security software company Paretologic to compile the lists, which will be stored on the user's PC. There are around 150,000 sites on the white list and thousands on the blacklist. However the browser still has it's flaws, said Thor Larholm, a senior security researcher at PivX Solutions. "The new security features in Netscape 8 will help guide users in their choices, but will do little to prevent the recurring code execution vulnerabilities in Web browsers that we have seen over the years," he said.
[Contributed byAMCP Computer Privacy.]
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