Microsoft: IE8 Batted Away 1 Billion Malware Downloads
Microsoft: IE8 Batted Away 1 Billion Malware Downloads
Posted 07/26/2010 at 4:23am
| by Paul Lilly
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In a recent blog post, Microsoft bragged that its Internet Explorer 8 browser has blocked 1 billion attempts to download malware thanks to its SmartScreen Filter, which tattles on potentially dangerous websites and downloads websites by turning the browser red.
"Social engineering attacks like malware are a growing threat on at the Internet and are one of the most common risks to people's safety online," Microsoft wrote. "We introduced malware protection in Internet Explorer 8 as part of the SmartScreen Filter and have talked about it on the Windows Experience Blog a couple of times over the last year."
According to Microsoft, this milestone was made possible by continually investing in its back end service ever since IE8 launched back in March 2009.
"It's this investment that has kept us at the top of the socially engineering malware charts according to NSS Labs and has helped our customers stay safe online," Microsoft added.
Image Credit: Microsoft
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schwit
July 26, 2010 at 1:40pm
I would be truly impressed if they tracked down those responsible and had them publicly beheaded, along with those people that think it's ok to drive while using a cell phone.
kevaskous
July 26, 2010 at 10:20am
You've obviously not been doing tech repair long enough, firefox can be just as bad.
meant for the post below.
scoop6274
July 26, 2010 at 8:18am
of course, what it doesn't count are the 8 viruses/malware I alone have had to clean from work computers that people used IE8 instead of Firefox. Funny how all the Firefox users have not had a single virus/malware attack in that same period of time. Microsoft, I love Win 7, still abhor IE. Please do something about it!
Ashton2091
July 26, 2010 at 11:51am
Guy, I've been a *ACTIVE* technician for 10 years. Meaning I have been out in the field for 10 years. Firefox is now just as bad or worse than IE. Reason...it's the old Windows/Mac effect. Why doesn't Mac get many viruses? Because no one cares to spend time creating a virus for the few percent of folks that use Macs. Now, on the other hand, Firefox does have a lot of users, but it took a while for Firefox to go mainstream. Remember IE has been mainstream since it debuted in a earlier version of Windows. We're talking mid90's. So, basically, hackers have had 15 years to write viruses for IE. Compare that to the time Firefox has been out. I've had SEVERAL cases where Firefox has failed my clients. Most of my clients now use, Google Chrome, IE8, and or Opera. A few still use Firefox but not many. I'm sure there are still many people in general that use it...but in my area...not so many. I personally think that putting all your hopes and dreams on one browser is a mistake. We all know the downsides to each browser. Why not use more than one? I use Google Chrome for general use, IE8 for pages that require it, and Opera if I think I'm treading on dangerous ground. Opera by the way gets no recognition. It's one of the best browsers out there. It's fast, feature full, and hardly ever gets viruses.
Ashton2091
July 26, 2010 at 11:53am
So you see with FireFox's popularity, it was only a matter of time before it was massively attacked.
mikeart03a
July 26, 2010 at 4:30pm
I don't know. I actively support a number of users myself and the majority of the Firefox attacks I've seen were due to problems with plugins (java, flash, silverlight) and javascript exploitations thanks to malicious ads or sites.
I still have more issues with IE users than I do with my FF/Opera/Chrome/Safari users.
Taz0
July 26, 2010 at 8:28am
Of course it dials home, how do you think it knows if a given website is safe or not?
rseding91
July 26, 2010 at 6:17am
I think it does if during setup you select the "I want to help improve Internet Explorer" option.
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