Internet Explorer Leads Again With Over 99% Block Rate for Malicious Downloads; Chrome's Block Rate Increases to 83%
AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - May 13, 2013) - NSS Labs today released the results and analysis from its web browser security comparative evaluating the protection offered by the five leading browsers -- Apple Safari 5, Google Chrome 25/26, Microsoft Internet Explorer 10, Mozilla Firefox 19 and Opera 12 -- against malware downloads (also known as socially engineered malware). While Chrome's malware download protection improved significantly -- rising to more than 83% from 70% in NSS' October 2012 comparative test -- Internet Explorer 10 continues to outperform the other browsers with a block rate of 99.96%. Safari, Firefox and Opera continue to lag far behind Chrome and Internet Explorer with overall block rates of 10.16%, 9.92% and 1.87% respectively.
View the NSS Labs 2013 Browser Security Comparative Analysis Report - Socially Engineered Malware.
Key browser security test conclusions:
Commentary: NSS Labs Research Director Randy Abrams
"Web browsers remain the primary infection vector for most consumers and enterprises. Improving the browser's malware block rate substantially impacts one's security profile," said Randy Abrams, Research Director at NSS Labs. "Both Google's Download Protection and Microsoft's App Rep allow users to override browser protecting, however, Google relies on this less reliable protection mechanism nearly four times as often as does Microsoft. The net result is that IE 10 users are offered superior protection over Chrome users with one quarter the risk of making a bad download decision. Firefox, Safari, and Opera users are afforded little protection at all by their browsers."
The products covered in this test were:
About NSS Labs, Inc.
NSS Labs, Inc. is the world's leading information security research and advisory company. NSS is both an analyst firm specializing in security technologies and a testing laboratory widely recognized as the "go to" company for research and unbiased reporting. We deliver a unique mix of test-based research and expert analysis to provide our clients with the right information they need to make IT decisions. CIOs, CISOs, and information security professionals from many of the largest and most demanding enterprises rely on NSS. The company is located in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.nsslabs.com.
© 2013 NSS Labs, Inc. All rights reserved. All brand, product and service names are the trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of their respective owners.
Contact Information:
Contact:
ReseAnne Sims
Sr. Marketing Manager, Public Relations
NSS Labs
Phone: +1 (832) 741-7373
rsims@nsslabs.com