The Mozilla Foundation released Firefox 2.0 on Tuesday, adding protection against phishing attacks, the ability to clear private data with a single click, and other security features.

The release of Firefox 2.0 comes a week after Microsoft updated its own browser, Internet Explorer, with a host of security features. Security researchers have found flaws in both browsers in the past, and a number of attacks have targeted Internet Explorer.

Mozilla's Firefox has gradually increased its share of the market in the past two years, accounting for 12 percent of unique visitors in September compared to 8 percent a year ago, according to the HitsLink Market Share service run by Web software firm NetApplications. Microsoft's Internet Explorer fell to 82 percent of the market in September, down from 87 percent a year ago, according to the data.

Firefox 2.0 also has improved its search and tabbed browsing features as well as added inline spell checking. The Mozilla Foundation recently hired Window Snyder, a former Microsoft security manager, as its chief security officer (though the official title is "Chief Security Something").



securityfocus.com