Don"t go ripping out Microsoft"s Internet Explorer just yet. IE certainly has proven vulnerable to attack in the past, and the constant patching to add the latest security updates can be a nuisance. The CERT coordination center last year even warned people to stop using Internet Explorer. And the Mozilla Foundation"s Firefox has been getting a lot of buzz lately--to the tune of 25 million downloads in fewer than 100 days on the market.
But our testing of both browsers shows that choosing one is not an easy decision--particularly in an enterprise environment. IE"s vulnerability to attack might in part be because it"s rich in features and thereby presents a larger "attack surface." On the other hand, Firefox"s perceived edge in security comes with a price: fewer features and a possible inability to access some Windows-based Web applications. So before you make a decision about ditching IE, weigh the trade-offs. One compromise to consider is using IE internally and Firefox for pure Web browsing.