Firefox 2.0 bug hunt getting into gear

Chicago (IL) - Microsoft had to deal with the first security issues of Internet Explorer 7.0 on the first day of the browser's release. Firefox appears to be ok as of now, but Italian website Pianeta PC, claims that a security hole that was already patched for 1.x versions of Firefox is resurfacing in 2.0 - and allows malignant programmers to create Javascript code that causes the browser to crash.

According to ZDNet, however, Mozilla claims there is no cause for alarm. "The exploitable issues are fixed. There is a crash, but it is a denial of service. We're going to look at it and make sure there is really nothing there," said Window Snyder, Mozilla's security chief, who said all minor security rumors for 2.0 at this point have been "just noise."

ZDNet also reported on a possible flaw in 2.0 that could be manipulated by hackers to create an open avenue for identity theft, mainly through phishing, even though Mozilla has said that Firefox 2.0 has strong protection against phishing scams. Snyder claims there's not enough evidence to prove an actual problem. "We don't have enough information to identify it. If we get more information, then we will investigate," she said.

The release of Firefox 2.0 on Tuesday came after a several-month process of previewing early builds of the site and an exhaustive process of finding bugs and fixing them, as well as letting users search for security holes and reporting them to the development team. "We fixed more issues than we ever have before. All empirical and anecdotal evidence so far shows that this is one of the most solid and stable Firefox releases," said Mike Schroepfer, Mozilla's vice president of engineering.