Off Topic – Web Malware and Isolated Tabs


Legitimate websites are getting injected with malware at a discomforting rate. A couple of weeks ago it was The New York Times (the NYT initially tried to blame the security breach on their advertiser Vonage, but quickly fessed up to being duped directly). This morning it is NJ.com – the website I go to for New Jersey news.

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Both breaches “feature” the same malware, which pretends to be a virus scanner. The malware sends the visitor into an infinite loop with no way out other than to kill the browser instance (with all tabs). Which brings up my two points:
  1. Why didn’t NJ.com learn from the breach at NYT.com?
  2. When will Firefox come up with isolated tabs, so a bad website can’t take down all my sessions?
I know Chrome has isolated tabs, which have allegedly turned it into a “Memory ‘Pig’”. I’d rather stick with Firefox, for a variety of reasons. But what’s the point of tabbed browsing if I’m better off with a number of application instances instead?

Posted by Atanas Entchev at 10/4/2009 9:17 AM
Categories: news, Open Source, Firefox, New York, New Jersey, Google, NJ, Chrome, NYT, Software, New York Times, Technology, IT
Tags: news Open Source Firefox New Jersey Google NJ Chrome NYT New York New York Times Technology IT Software
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  • 10/5/2009 8:43 AM Donny V wrote:
    I'v been using Google Chrome from the beginning and I have to say its very good when things like this happen. It may use more memory because of and instance per tab but it manages memory and threads way better then any of the other browsers. Thats why its the fastest one out there right now.
    1. 10/5/2009 9:43 AM atanas entchev wrote:
      I tried Chrome and I uninstalled it (ditto Safari for Windows) -- not because I didn't like them, but because I don't feel like running multiple browsers. Firefox is my primary browser, but I also run IE because, well, we know why.

      So if I were to switch to Chrome, I would totally dump FF. Which I am not ready to do just yet.
      1. 10/5/2009 2:38 PM atanas entchev wrote:
        My previous taste of Google Chrome -- an early beta -- was not a keeper. The current version, however (3.0.195.24), is. I am a convert now.
  • 10/24/2009 8:04 AM atanas entchev wrote:
    While I like Chrome, I can't help mentioning that it spawns off a separate instance for each new tab. Is this the only way to run isolated tabs? What is then the difference between Chrome's isolated tabs and running multiple windows (instances) of FF, instead of tabbed sessions in a single instance? Am I missing something?

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