September 28, 2006 11:37 AM PDT

Microsoft: IE 7 phishing shield rocks!

After leaving Internet Explorer untouched for years, Microsoft is now busily talking about how great the next version of its Web browser is.

A Microsoft-sponsored study into Web browser's phishing shield shows that Internet Explorer 7 offers superior protection against the prevalent data-thieving scams, according to Microsoft.

The study was done by a company called 3 Sharp. It compared IE with seven other phishing shields provided by EarthLink, eBay, GeoTrust, Google Safe Browsing (Firefox), McAfee SiteAdvisor, Netcraft and Netscape, Microsoft said.

"We are pleased to see that Internet Explorer 7's Phishing Filter finished at the top of 3Sharp's list as most accurate anti-phishing technology," Tony Chor, a group program manager for Internet Explorer at Microsoft, wrote on a corporate blog.

In the study, 3Sharp tested the products' ability to catch 100 known phishing Web sites over a six-week period earlier this year, Microsoft said. 3Sharp did not use the same sources used by Microsoft for the IE 7 protection to obtain the phishing links, it said.

"They worked hard to build large enough sample sizes of actual phishing sites to draw meaningful conclusions," Chor wrote.

IE caught nearly 9 out of 10 phishing sites and it did not show warning or block errors on the 500 legitimate Web sites tested, according to Chor.

Still, Chor wrote, the phishing threat is ever evolving as are the tools to protect users. "This set of results represents only the relative performance during that period. We know we need to keep working to keep up with the changes in the attacks," he wrote.

Recent posts from News Blog
Swiss secret sauce to power green choppers
iLink to deliver answers to military online communities
Vonage names new CEO
T-Mobile 'Gekko' officially reveals itself as T-Mobile Sidekick
Alcatel-Lucent CEO, chairman stepping down
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement
  • About News Blog

  • Recent posts on technology, trends, and more.

Add this feed to your online news reader
Google
Yahoo
MSN

Most popular stories

  1. Google's search secret: It gets rid of you

  2. Developer creates copy-paste tech for iPhone

  3. Will Wright on the origins of 'Spore'

  4. Palm Treo Pro: Not digging it

  5. American Airlines launches in-flight Wi-Fi

Latest tech news headlines

Featured blogs

Beyond Binary by Ina Fried

Coop's Corner by Charles Cooper

Defense in Depth by Robert Vamosi

Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman

Green Tech

One More Thing by Tom Krazit

Outside the Lines by Dan Farber

The Iconoclast by Declan McCullagh

The Social by Caroline McCarthy

Underexposed by Stephen Shankland

Resource center from News.com sponsors
Aligning CIO & CEO visions
What CIOs need to know

It's a simple truth. The closer you and your CEO see things, the greater your chance for success. Our exclusive report can help you get there—and help your business grow. To get the report, featuring the views of 765 CEOs on innovation. click here

Click Here!
What CEOs think: Innovation Insights for CIOs

Learn How CIOs can deliver strategic success for their enterprises

The New CIO: Beyond Technology

Learn how CIOs become heroes

Podcast: Chris Gorog of Napster

Learn about the impact of technology in strategy execution

The future of the Enterprise

Read more about tomorrow's organization

advertisement
On The Insider: No More Trouble in Paradise?
Advanced
search
Advanced
search
Visit other CBS Interactive sites