5 Most Popular Browsers - Which Are the Most Secure?

The Internet browser is one of the most used applications for most users on their computer or mobile device. With the flood of aggressive problems, it is very helpful to realize which Internet browser is the best for keeping your data, identity, and network safe. Let's look at the five most popular Internet browsers found on desktop and laptop computers and decide which are the most reliable.

The Cybersecurity Industry
Since the landscape of the Internet is stacked with threats, the risks a business faces by not doing all they can to protect their information systems presents significant organizational issues. As a result, the Internet security industry has grown so much that it will achieve annual revenues of over $170 billion by 2020, with the Internet of Things providing an ongoing security issue for most businesses.

For one measure that reveals just how risky the Internet is for a business, check out how much money is being spent on securing computers and networks. To address the countless threats, cybersecurity markets have started to pop up for gadgets, appliances, cars, and other regularly utilized goods. Furthermore, cybersecurity insurance is now being offered by major insurers; PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that $7.5 billion will be spent on data insurance by 2020.

More proof that cybersecurity is prioritized by many organizations is how major financial institutions address these risks. Businesses like J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, with their range of risk-averse financial services, spend upwards of $1.5 billion per year on cybersecurity.

Become Familiar with Browser Security
The browser is usually the end point where the data stored on the Internet is circulated to users. As a result, small businesses who, unlike major financial organizations, don’t have the financial resources to spare, have come to rely on their browser’s built-in security features to do a lot of the work in their cybersecurity strategies. By understanding which browser gives you the best opportunity to succeed, you can be ahead of the game as opposed to consistently placing your data and network at risk.

Browsers
The most popular browsers are the most utilized. Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Microsoft’s new Edge browser are currently the most used browsers on computers that run Windows or macOS, while Chrome, Safari, and UCBrowser are most utilized on mobile. Let's take a look at some of these browsers and their security features to help you determine whether or not a specific browser will work for your needs.

The best protection comes from producing secure connections. In the browser, any site that has a secure connection will feature the protocol “https://”. By encrypting data sent and received via the browser, it keeps the transmission of data from being stolen ,leak, or intercepted. In encrypting the exchange of information, it highlights the two factors that need to be present for secure browsing: identification and privacy.

Let's take a look at the most utilized browsers to see what they offer users in the terms of security and privacy:

Google Chrome
Google Chrome is the most utilized Internet browser on the planet. For security’s sake, it features a powerful “sandbox”, which is an encrypted environment that attempts to keep the communication between the user and the website separate to offer an additional layer of security. Google also has the quickest response time to security vulnerabilities. One security issue users get into when using Chrome is if they use Chrome apps. The Chrome apps themselves may not be a vulnerability, but the more endpoints that potentially expose users, the higher the risk is.

Privacy in Google Chrome is another issue. Google’s plan is to know as much as possible about each of their users, so privacy isn’t significant in that scenario. The complete lack of privacy you have in Chrome does provide some value to the user in the way of targeted advertisements, content, and more; but, if you are looking to stay off the grid, using Google Chrome isn’t going to help that strategy at all.

Mozilla Firefox
Firefox’s effectiveness is coming into question because of age. Firefox’s lack of a “sandbox” becomes a much bigger deal as more threats develop, and more browsers utilize the technology. Firefox’s JavaScript plugins all share the same namespace, which can expose users that utilize them. In order to best use Firefox, understanding industry best practices and utilizing them is recommended.

However, privacy in Firefox is the industry standard. Since it is open source software, and not tied to some large corporate entity, the not-for-profit’s software makes a point to secure the privacy of its users by not tracking or collecting much data at all.

Apple’s Safari
Apple had tried creating Safari for other platforms, but they just couldn’t gain traction, so you can only find it as the default browser on Apple products. For years, Apple’s claims that their products were the most secure was true, but today’s malware developers don’t ignore Safari anymore. Since macOS has become a target like any other computing platform, Apple has been remarkably good at supplying timely patches and updates.

Apple, like Google and Microsoft, is tracking everything that you do in their software to help supply a better service. This obviously isn’t perfect for personal privacy, but on Apple’s devices, Safari is still the most effective and most feature-rich browsing experience.

Opera
Developed before Microsoft created Internet Explorer, Opera is the oldest browser on this list. Before it was retired, developers overhauled the browser and, in 2013, they scrapped the proprietary engine that had run the software for the same engine that Chrome and other browsers use, Chromium. By adding the layer of security that comes with the Chromium sandbox, Opera has been able to maintain itself, and offers users security through obscurity.

Because of its uncertain nature, privacy is less of a problem as well. They have a very conservative data collection policy which, despite the software not being open-sourced, does provide users who have privacy concerns with some peace of mind.

Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge
Because so many computer users have Windows, Microsoft's browsers generally are utilized, albeit with significant frustration most of the time. The new Edge browser has replaced Internet Explorer and has upgraded security substantially. Time will tell if Microsoft’s browser will be a reliable option for users, but currently Edge’s market share is middling. From a security point of view the Edge browser utilizes the sandbox technology that the Chromium browsers do, and like Chrome, offers apps inside the software. Edge’s reliability and overall usability has yet to be determined.

Privacy in Microsoft's browsers is not a priority as they have clinged to the increasing trend of collecting every piece of data that they can get their hands on. There are options to make it less transparent, but users should be thankful that Edge isn’t IE.

Security in your browser is something you can't live without, but you will have to choose between open source software that keeps your user information private, or a more utilized and transparent software that will enhance the usability of the product. For more information about Internet browsers, contact Macro Systems at 703-359-9211.