TS | Thomas
Posts: 1,318 +2
No doubt many of you have heard of or even read "Firefox Myths". The purpose of this (ongoing) thread is to debunk several of the claims made - as backed up by multiple reliable (& as recent as possible) sources - along with highlighting the misrepresentation of sources & other errors;
(Mis)Quotes
"...Good stuff - give it a read." - Asa
Actual comment - "Robert Accettura has a nice response to the poorly constructed & mostly worthless article Firefox Myths. Good stuff - give it a read".
"...all web sites are IE compliant, use a browser with IE engine & tabs, & a fully patched system = 100% security." - FreewheelinFrank (MrFlibble)
Actual comment - "This includes 1 of Mastertech's typical phrases designed to suggest he is not the author ('Makes interesting reading') but then goes on to use the first person. Strange- that would be the first time for Mastertech. The notions are his: all web sites are IE compliant, use a browser with IE engine & tabs, & a fully patched system = 100% security."
"I'm not a big fan of evangelism or hyperbole, so when a page called "Firefox Myths" entered my radar recently, I was very interested." - Tre
Actual comment - "I’m not a big fan of evangelism or hyperbole, so when a page called “Firefox Myths” entered my radar recently, I was very interested. Then sadly disappointed. Rather than a balanced analysis of some of the folklore surrounding Firefox, it is merely a stream of weak arguments against imaginary “myths” supported by misquoting or deliberate misreading of sources. I’m not even going to reference the page".
"It's an interesting read..." - Robert A. (Mac User)
Actual comment - "Someone looking for their 5 minutes of fame (obviously not worth 15 minutes) decided to post some Firefox Myths. It’s an interesting read, though has a few oddball statements, that really don’t make sense".
"The sources & data are convincing..." - Ryan J. (Editor note - this should start "...the sources")
Actual comment - "Even though the sources & data are convincing, I see nothing pro-Firefox there - notice no links about IE's insecuity I wonder why."
"...your web pages are actually pretty good: I personally link to Secure XP" - MrFlibble (FreewheelinFrank)
Actual comment - "What is clear is that Mastertech has unbelievable energy for incessantly persuing the same arguments over & over & over again, he is entirely incapable of admitting that anybody else has a valid point of view, let alone might actually have anything to add to the discussion that might contradict his pre-set notions, & will never give up until he has the last word on this subject, or until he finds the last internet forum on the planet to post in again & start up the whole argument again. Mastertech, I personally don't care if you have a bee in your bonnet about Firefox. I don't care if you see yourself as some kind of "Master Technician" come to save us from falacy. Personally I think you are becoming the "laughing stock of the internet." I don't care how many forums you post your articles/blogs/web pages in. Just know that you have attracted a lot of attention now, so posting 1 of your articles & talking about the author in the third person isn't going to work anymore. Admit authorship for what you write & post. Anybody Googling you past postings can see you have been dishonest. Some of your web pages are actually pretty good: I personally link to Secure XP, but as far as I am concerned you are a busted flush".
"Mozilla Firefox is a great web browser, but its praise is not without its share of exaggerations. ...Internet Explorer typically starts up faster than Firefox... Firefox is by no means perfectly safe. Users still have to use reasonable caution when downloading files & plugins from untrusted websites. Firefox ... does not yet have complete support for the current CSS, DOM, or even HTML standards." - David H. (Linux User)
Actual comments - "Internet Explorer typically starts up faster than Firefox the first time you double-click on the program icon. This is mainly because the core Internet Explorer engine is actually loaded into memory as your computer is starting up. Furthermore, not all components of the web browser are in memory when the browser window comes up. Some components, such as the favorites manager, are only loaded into memory when you access them, while Firefox loads everything at once.
Something as complex as a web browser will almost certainly have security vulnerabilities crop up from time to time. No major web browser has a perfect security record. There are some fundamental differences between the architecture of Firefox compared to Internet Explorer with regard to security, & Mozilla has shown a much better record than Microsoft at fixing its browser's vulnerabilities, as shown in this security summary, but Firefox is by no means perfectly safe. Users still have to use reasonable caution when manually downloading files & plugins from untrusted websites.
No web browser is 100% standards compliant. The web technology standards are very extensive & it often takes many years to implement all of the features of a standard, plus additional time to fix the bugs. In addition, the standards are always evolving & becoming more & more robust. Firefox (along with Opera, Safari, & Konqueror) is certainly a leader in the field of standards support, & is quickly adopting new emerging technologies, but it, like the others, does not yet have complete support for the current CSS, DOM, or even HTML standards. More information is available in this standards support summary".
"Any browser is more secure by not supporting... Firefox. All Browsers have vulnerabilities... No Browser can claim... to be 100% standards compliant" - Thomas (Editors note - This is actually me)
Actual comments (i.e. this thread) - "Any browser is more secure by not supporting ActiveX, not just Firefox.
All Browsers have vulnerabilities (& more will be discovered); what's more important than the number of vulnerabilities is how quickly they are patched & in that regard Firefox has a proven record of being quite secure much of the time, Opera also proved extremely responsive in this regard.
No Browser can claim (Or ever has claimed for that matter) to be 100% standards compliant. However, both Firefox & Opera clearly have made significant movement in this area while IE 6 lags well behind in all but 1 area".
"I'm tired of all of these Firefox fanboys who try to brush off the facts on your page... This is laughable. Your Firefox Myths page clearly says that it's dealing only with Windows versions of Firefox... Of course the fanboys refuse to look at the sources... I want to shove that... into their faces... This would be excellent ammo against the fanboys." - David H. (Linux User)
Actual comment - "Hey, guess what? It seems Mastertech has been watching this thread (a loophole in the ban system). I have removed him from all topic watch lists, so he should no longer be receiving notifications of new posts on these forums.
I also sent him the following e-mail:
Subject: Firefox fanboys spouting more lies
I'm tired of all of these Firefox fanboys who try to brush off the facts on your page. Someone on my forums tried to tell me that Firefox on Windows has never had an extremely critical vulnerability. This is laughable. Your Firefox Myths page clearly says that it's dealing only with Windows versions of Firefox, & it plain as day lists "1 Extremely Critical" vulnerability for Firefox, directly linking to Secunia's advisory page as the source. Of course the fanboys refuse to look at the sources, but I want to shove that vulnerability into their faces. I went to the source and started looking for the vulnerability, but I can't seem to figure out the Secunia website. Could you please give me a link to the extremely critical vulnerability Secunia lists for Firefox on Windows? This would be excellent ammo against the fanboys.
Thanks in advance!
I'm looking forward to his response. Wink
(& for historians who might wish to dig up this post, the contents of this e-mail are very much sarcastic & are purely intended to point out flaws in his article.)"
Quotations used have been severely distorted & taken completely out of context. What is shown as complimentary on Firefox Myths are in fact critical & contradictory when read in full.
(Mis)Quotes
"...Good stuff - give it a read." - Asa
Actual comment - "Robert Accettura has a nice response to the poorly constructed & mostly worthless article Firefox Myths. Good stuff - give it a read".
"...all web sites are IE compliant, use a browser with IE engine & tabs, & a fully patched system = 100% security." - FreewheelinFrank (MrFlibble)
Actual comment - "This includes 1 of Mastertech's typical phrases designed to suggest he is not the author ('Makes interesting reading') but then goes on to use the first person. Strange- that would be the first time for Mastertech. The notions are his: all web sites are IE compliant, use a browser with IE engine & tabs, & a fully patched system = 100% security."
"I'm not a big fan of evangelism or hyperbole, so when a page called "Firefox Myths" entered my radar recently, I was very interested." - Tre
Actual comment - "I’m not a big fan of evangelism or hyperbole, so when a page called “Firefox Myths” entered my radar recently, I was very interested. Then sadly disappointed. Rather than a balanced analysis of some of the folklore surrounding Firefox, it is merely a stream of weak arguments against imaginary “myths” supported by misquoting or deliberate misreading of sources. I’m not even going to reference the page".
"It's an interesting read..." - Robert A. (Mac User)
Actual comment - "Someone looking for their 5 minutes of fame (obviously not worth 15 minutes) decided to post some Firefox Myths. It’s an interesting read, though has a few oddball statements, that really don’t make sense".
"The sources & data are convincing..." - Ryan J. (Editor note - this should start "...the sources")
Actual comment - "Even though the sources & data are convincing, I see nothing pro-Firefox there - notice no links about IE's insecuity I wonder why."
"...your web pages are actually pretty good: I personally link to Secure XP" - MrFlibble (FreewheelinFrank)
Actual comment - "What is clear is that Mastertech has unbelievable energy for incessantly persuing the same arguments over & over & over again, he is entirely incapable of admitting that anybody else has a valid point of view, let alone might actually have anything to add to the discussion that might contradict his pre-set notions, & will never give up until he has the last word on this subject, or until he finds the last internet forum on the planet to post in again & start up the whole argument again. Mastertech, I personally don't care if you have a bee in your bonnet about Firefox. I don't care if you see yourself as some kind of "Master Technician" come to save us from falacy. Personally I think you are becoming the "laughing stock of the internet." I don't care how many forums you post your articles/blogs/web pages in. Just know that you have attracted a lot of attention now, so posting 1 of your articles & talking about the author in the third person isn't going to work anymore. Admit authorship for what you write & post. Anybody Googling you past postings can see you have been dishonest. Some of your web pages are actually pretty good: I personally link to Secure XP, but as far as I am concerned you are a busted flush".
"Mozilla Firefox is a great web browser, but its praise is not without its share of exaggerations. ...Internet Explorer typically starts up faster than Firefox... Firefox is by no means perfectly safe. Users still have to use reasonable caution when downloading files & plugins from untrusted websites. Firefox ... does not yet have complete support for the current CSS, DOM, or even HTML standards." - David H. (Linux User)
Actual comments - "Internet Explorer typically starts up faster than Firefox the first time you double-click on the program icon. This is mainly because the core Internet Explorer engine is actually loaded into memory as your computer is starting up. Furthermore, not all components of the web browser are in memory when the browser window comes up. Some components, such as the favorites manager, are only loaded into memory when you access them, while Firefox loads everything at once.
Something as complex as a web browser will almost certainly have security vulnerabilities crop up from time to time. No major web browser has a perfect security record. There are some fundamental differences between the architecture of Firefox compared to Internet Explorer with regard to security, & Mozilla has shown a much better record than Microsoft at fixing its browser's vulnerabilities, as shown in this security summary, but Firefox is by no means perfectly safe. Users still have to use reasonable caution when manually downloading files & plugins from untrusted websites.
No web browser is 100% standards compliant. The web technology standards are very extensive & it often takes many years to implement all of the features of a standard, plus additional time to fix the bugs. In addition, the standards are always evolving & becoming more & more robust. Firefox (along with Opera, Safari, & Konqueror) is certainly a leader in the field of standards support, & is quickly adopting new emerging technologies, but it, like the others, does not yet have complete support for the current CSS, DOM, or even HTML standards. More information is available in this standards support summary".
"Any browser is more secure by not supporting... Firefox. All Browsers have vulnerabilities... No Browser can claim... to be 100% standards compliant" - Thomas (Editors note - This is actually me)
Actual comments (i.e. this thread) - "Any browser is more secure by not supporting ActiveX, not just Firefox.
All Browsers have vulnerabilities (& more will be discovered); what's more important than the number of vulnerabilities is how quickly they are patched & in that regard Firefox has a proven record of being quite secure much of the time, Opera also proved extremely responsive in this regard.
No Browser can claim (Or ever has claimed for that matter) to be 100% standards compliant. However, both Firefox & Opera clearly have made significant movement in this area while IE 6 lags well behind in all but 1 area".
"I'm tired of all of these Firefox fanboys who try to brush off the facts on your page... This is laughable. Your Firefox Myths page clearly says that it's dealing only with Windows versions of Firefox... Of course the fanboys refuse to look at the sources... I want to shove that... into their faces... This would be excellent ammo against the fanboys." - David H. (Linux User)
Actual comment - "Hey, guess what? It seems Mastertech has been watching this thread (a loophole in the ban system). I have removed him from all topic watch lists, so he should no longer be receiving notifications of new posts on these forums.
I also sent him the following e-mail:
Subject: Firefox fanboys spouting more lies
I'm tired of all of these Firefox fanboys who try to brush off the facts on your page. Someone on my forums tried to tell me that Firefox on Windows has never had an extremely critical vulnerability. This is laughable. Your Firefox Myths page clearly says that it's dealing only with Windows versions of Firefox, & it plain as day lists "1 Extremely Critical" vulnerability for Firefox, directly linking to Secunia's advisory page as the source. Of course the fanboys refuse to look at the sources, but I want to shove that vulnerability into their faces. I went to the source and started looking for the vulnerability, but I can't seem to figure out the Secunia website. Could you please give me a link to the extremely critical vulnerability Secunia lists for Firefox on Windows? This would be excellent ammo against the fanboys.
Thanks in advance!
I'm looking forward to his response. Wink
(& for historians who might wish to dig up this post, the contents of this e-mail are very much sarcastic & are purely intended to point out flaws in his article.)"
Quotations used have been severely distorted & taken completely out of context. What is shown as complimentary on Firefox Myths are in fact critical & contradictory when read in full.