How secure is IE6 in WinXP SP2?

[WorknMan]

Just installed WinXP SP2 over the weekend and noticed that IE is now
blocking popups and ActiveX controls by default.
Is IE6 SP2 secure enough where I can drop it (and Maxthon) on grandma's
computer without worrying about her?
I have been installed Firefox for several friends and family members since
Firebird 0.6, but I'm tired of having to update it and the routine phone
calls I'm getting with site xyz doesn't render properly (plus it's had
security problems of its own lately, albeit nowhere near as bad as IE). But
I don't want to recommend IE to them unless/until I know it's at least
reasonably secure.

 

[C. A. Upsdell]

Just installed WinXP SP2 over the weekend and noticed that IE is now
blocking popups and ActiveX controls by default.
Is IE6 SP2 secure enough where I can drop it (and Maxthon) on grandma's
computer without worrying about her?
I have been installed Firefox for several friends and family members since
Firebird 0.6, but I'm tired of having to update it and the routine phone
calls I'm getting with site xyz doesn't render properly (plus it's had
security problems of its own lately, albeit nowhere near as bad as IE).
But
I don't want to recommend IE to them unless/until I know it's at least
reasonably secure.

Well, SP2 is surely more secure than SP1, but hardly secure enough to ignore
security issues once it is installed.

You still need to have a virus scanner, and to keep it up to date, and to
run it regularly. You still need to have spyware scanners, and to keep them
up to date, and to run them regularly. And the SP2 firewall is not as
comprehensive as commercial firewalls. And finally, Grandma has to stay
alert, e.g. to avoid being fooled by an email or a web page into doing
something which proves to be dangerous.

As for Firefox: what it really needs is an option to automatically check
for updates, and possibly automatically install them, similar to what
Windows update can be made to do. But then, IMO, all browsers should have
such an option.


..

 

[Guest]

firefox .10.1 has an update feature ,but has been
experiencing bugs in this version on the way to being a
finished project.