This sneaky Linux malware has been operating under the radar for years
Linux malware strain manages to evade detection for years and researchers are unaware about its intention.
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Firefox is great, so why has it lost almost 50 million users?
Reddit user nixcraft noticed in Mozilla's own Public data Report that Firefox has lost 46 million users over the last three years. As PC Gamer reports, Firefox is still sitting pretty with 198 million active monthly users, but this number was much higher at the end of 2018 at around 244 million.
The internet is an ever-evolving beast of course, so while Firefox accounted for around 30% of all browser usage back in 2008 (trailing behind Internet Explorer's impressive 60%), Mozilla's once-popular browser now sits at under 3%. We currently have Firefox ranked in first place on our list of the best web browsers, but if it's so much better than the competition, why are people moving away from it?
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Out-muscled by Google
There are a few reasons why the migration is happening, and why Chrome is mostly benefitting. Many websites are best optimized for Google's web browser, with faster loading times and allows for easier access to other products within its ecosystem such as Google Sheets and Google Meet.
Many businesses use G Suite too, which makes downloading Chrome preferable over other available browsers. Chrome also has the advantage of being the default browser across Android devices, and of course Google is happy to nag you to download Chrome if it catches you using its services on another browser like Edge.Â
Speaking of which, Edge is now based on Chromium and offers more compelling benefits than Microsoft's now-retired Internet Explorer, with instant web compatibility and support for Chrome extensions.
Firefox has its own Add-ons of course and long-time users will often reference its advantage in privacy protection, but recent updates have felt a tad lackluster and it's noticeably slower than Chromium-based browsers. Many users will also take the path of least resistance, and given Google and Microsoft's annoying ad campaigns that push you towards using their products it's understandable that folk will eventually concede to get some peace.
The anti-competitive approach that Google has over browsers is cause for concern, but Firefox isn't going to disappear overnight, even with it being strangled by rivals based on Chromium. ItsFoss, who originally reported on nixcraft's Reddit thread recommends downloading Firefox for use as a secondary browser in a bid to try and fight back against Google's quest for domination, and it's hard to argue against but we doubt that this will work in practice.
Mozilla needs to improve its performance to match that of Chromium if it wants to remain a viable alternative because all the enhanced security and customization in the world won't help if it takes forever to load your favorite websites.Â
- Our Firefox review
Date
06 Aug 2021Sources
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Cloudflare freebie will help customers shield against the next Log4j
Read MoreCloudflare has announced that its WAF (Web Application Firewall) Managed Ruleset is coming to all users, completely free.
The company’s firewall, described as the “core component” of the Cloudflare platform, is one of the most used products in its portfolio, blocking more than 650,000 malicious HTTP requests per second (to a total of 57 billion cyber threats a day).
Those Cloudflare users on the free plan are already being protected, the company added. In the coming weeks and months, all of the free zone plan users will also be allowed access to the Cloudflare WAF user interface in the dashboard, and will be able to deploy and configure the new ruleset.
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Keeping up with updates and patches
Those interested in accessing the broader set of WAF rulesets (such as Cloudflare Managed Rules, Cloudflare OWASP Core Ruleset and Cloudflare Leaked Credential Check Ruleset), or advanced WAF features, will still need to upgrade at least to the PRO plan.
“Small application owners and teams don’t always have the time to keep up with fast-moving security-related patches, causing many applications to be compromised and/or used for nefarious purposes,” Cloudflare’s Michael Tremante said in a blog post announcing the change.
“High profile vulnerabilities have a major impact across the Internet affecting organizations of all sizes. We’ve recently seen this with Log4J, but even before that, major vulnerabilities such as Shellshock and Heartbleed have left scars across the Internet.”
Read moreWhile the ruleset is deployed on all new Cloudflare zone by default, it is “specifically designed” to reduce false positives as much as possible, Tremante further claims, adding that customers will be able to disable the ruleset, if necessary.
Further configuration, and filtering, are also made possible. For starters, the ruleset comes with these rules: Log4J rules matching payloads in the URI and HTTP headers; Shellshock rules; Rules matching very common WordPress exploits.
When a rule is matched, the service will generate an event, viewable in the Security Overview tab.
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