Discuss About The Three Reasons Browsers Difficult To Secure?

Popular web browsers and the challenges they face during attacks

Question:

Discuss About The Three Reasons Browsers Difficult To Secure?

Today everyone knows about the web browser and its usage. To use web browser no need to do so much by a user. After installing web browser through its executable file, an icon appears on the screen and by clicking on that icon browser will open and user can use that accordingly. While using web browsers, a user has to face some security related issues that are critical enough to control. In next segment of report, I will discuss main challenges, problems, appropriate technologies to resolve issues and unclear areas of web browser attacks.

The very popular web browsers are Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari. These all browsers have to encounter problem of web attacks and these attacks are conducted by using social engineering, cross-site scripting and client-side exploits. Due to these attacks of web browsers, following challenges have to face by users.

According to analysis, it is found that near about 45% of people those are surfing internet are not using most secure version of web browser and facing following challenges.

1. The first challenge is of security patches applied to web browsers. If a web browser is not equipped with appropriate security patches than web browsers can result in vulnerable attacks. Moreover, security patches cannot work without proper patching of browser plug-ins (Zeltser.com, 2017).
2. Another challenging factor is poor coding of web applications and vulnerabilities that are found in software solutions connected with web browsers. These weak factors of web browsers are necessary to overcome at developers’ end because hackers are taking advantage from these weak factors.

Therefore, these above discussed challenges of web browsers attacks are required to control by developers by using advanced techniques at priority basis. Otherwise, issues of data lost and virus attacks will be increased.

Due to above challenging factors of web browser attacks, various problems have raised for people who use web browsers that are listed as below:

1. The first problem is that due to lack of security on web browsers, hackers can easily hack them and can access information about saved login, cookies, cache and visited websites.
2. Another problem is of addition of harmful programming scripts into browsers by hackers. These scripts are vulnerable enough and redirect the users automatically to unknown websites without any knowledge of users (Shema, 2012). Those websites may have some malicious programs that can enter into computer’s system of user and can cause damage.
3. Another problem is related to alteration of web browsers by malicious attacks from hackers’ side. These alternations lead to weird activities of web browsers that users are unable to understand (Lifewire, 2017).

Web browsers can be protected from vulnerabilities by using appropriate technologies. Following are some relevant technologies that can be used to manage web browser attacks:

1. The configuration of web browser should be done properly. While configuring browser, it is necessary to follow-up every instruction and security patches and plug-ins should also be installed properly. These plug-ins are helpful to protect web browsers from unknown entities (Us-cert.gov, 2017)
2. Another relevant technology is to update browser regularly and also install third party solutions like ad-blocker to restrict harmful online advertisements to enter into the system. The advertisements so much injurious for system that these can slow down the system and can corrupt its boot files. Ad blockers are useful enough to stop these types of advertisements and other unknown entities.
3. Web browsers have security and privacy options and with the help of these options web browsers can become more secure. For example, by hiding saved login passwords, by clearing caches and cookies that are not required at regular basis and by clicking checkbox options those are related to privacy of web browser content and its display.

The application area of these technologies is wide enough and these can be used to protect different versions of web browsers. Most of the web browser developers are using these relevant technologies to protect their browsers from unknown vulnerabilities (Howtogeek.com, 2017).

Web browser attacks are common among people but there are some vague areas about which people must have knowledge. The first thing that is not yet cleared about web browser attacks is that why programming languages are not so strong to restrict vulnerable browser attacks. At developers’ end this thing must be cleared that how programming languages can be more protective and strong to stop hackers to mischief web browser. Moreover, an appropriate solution for protect web browsers from hackers is also not properly found yet (Thorpe, 2017).

Problems raised for people who use web browsers

While analyzing problem of web browser attacks, some common research questions are found that are required to discuss here in this report.

Question 1: What is the best way to get prevention from Web Browser Attacks?

Answer: The most appropriate way to get prevention from web browser attacks is its periodical updates. Regular updates provides strength to browser to cope up with vulnerable objects (Computing & Browser, 2017).

Question 2: What is the main reason of Web Browser Attack?

Answer: The entrance of any third party application or any other entity into web browser without knowledge but with permission of users, is the main reason of web browser attacks (Its.ucsc.edu, 2017).

To know about the main issues of Web browser attacks I have selected a forum and according to that forum the main issues of web browser attacks are violation of security of users’ information such as cookies and login information, entrance of virus into system through web browser and slow performance of web browser as well as computer system. These issues put bad impact on users’ activities that they perform by using web browsers. This available information in forum is accurate and users of web browsers must have knowledge about these issues and must use appropriate security techniques to resolve these problems (SearchMidmarketSecurity, 2017).

All the mentioned issues in selected forum about web browser attacks are relevant. But another issue that is not addressed in this forum is that downloading content from different websites by using web browsers can also be harmful for users if it will not be scanned properly before downloading into system (Adams, 2017). This content may have some attached virus entities that enters into web browser easily and also try to corrupt the main files of browser. Due to this, browser does not work properly and also becomes slower than its normal speed. This issue is important to discuss here because nowadays, downloading rate of movies, audio and other content have become so higher and people do not care while downloading content and click on links that are harmful (Happyhamstercomputers.com, 2017).

The above discussed issues and challenges of web browser attacks have bad impacts on users of web browsers. This is because due to these attacks their computer systems, its content and web browser related information are at high risk. From the first day after installation, it has become essential for them to protect their web browsers by using secure software solutions that are especially made to get prevention from web browser attacks. If these software solutions will not be used then overall problem of web browser attacks can get worse. At developers’ end, due to improper management of security and privacy of web browsers, hackers are trying to get into browsers to violate them (Searchsecurity.techtarget.com, 2017).

First of all I got to know that security and privacy of web browser is mandatory to maintain at users and as well as developers’ end. Moreover, users must not allow any unknown entity to enter into system through browser and to do this, appropriate third party software solutions should be used. On other side, while developing web browsers, developers must use secure programming languages and all security patches and plugins should be configured properly (Google, 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is right to say that without web browsers it is difficult to access data from different websites and to explore other internet sources. But security should be maintained at priority basis and everyone should have knowledge about possible challenges and risk factors of using web browsers and how these can be overcome by using security tools.

References

Securing Your Web Browser. (2017). Us-cert.gov. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://www.us-cert.gov/publications/securing-your-web-browser

How to avoid attacks that exploit a Web browser vulnerability. (2017). SearchMidmarketSecurity. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://searchmidmarketsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/How-to-avoid-attacks-that-exploit-a-Web-browser-vulnerability

Three Web Attack Vectors Using the Browser. (2017). Zeltser.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://zeltser.com/web-browser-attack-vectors/ 

Computing, H., & Browser, W. (2017). What is a Web Browser?. WhatIsMyIPAddress.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://whatismyipaddress.com/web-browser

Thorpe, E. (2017). Three reasons why browsers are so difficult to secure. IT PRO. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://www.itpro.co.uk/security/29077/three-reasons-why-browsers-are-so-difficult-to-secure

Do You Know What a Web Browser Actually Is?. (2017). Lifewire. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-browser-446234

7 Ways to Secure Your Web Browser Against Attacks. (2017). Howtogeek.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://www.howtogeek.com/228828/7-ways-to-secure-your-web-browser-against-attacks/

Web browser security news, help and research - SearchSecurity. (2017). Searchsecurity.techtarget.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/resources/Web-Browser-Security

Google, i. (2017). 20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web. 20thingsilearned.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://www.20thingsilearned.com/en-GB/all/print

Shema, M. (2012). Hacking web apps. Amsterdam [u.a.]: Elsevier/Syngress.

Web Browser Secure Settings. (2017). Its.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://its.ucsc.edu/software/release/browser-secure.html  

Adams, D. (2017). 11 steps to reduce the risk of web attacks - Patriot Technologies, Inc.. Patriot Technologies, Inc.. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://patriot-tech.com/blog/2011/02/04/11-steps-to-reduce-the-risk-of-web-attacks/

Understanding Web Browser Attacks | Get Certified Get Ahead. (2017). Get Certified Get Ahead. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://blogs.getcertifiedgetahead.com/understanding-web-browser-attacks/

The 2 Main Types of Web Browser Attacks | Happy Hamster Computers. (2017). Happyhamstercomputers.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017, from https://happyhamstercomputers.com/computer-repair-tips/the-2-main-types-of-web-browser-atta