Firefox downloads boosted by new release and Internet Explorer security scare. Mozilla's open source browser experienced a healthy boost in popularity last week on the back of a new release and security concerns about Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

In an interesting twist on browser-based security issues, security researchers said they have found a flaw in which Microsoft's Internet Explorer can cause Mozilla's Firefox to execute remote malicious code. Security firm Secunia released an advisory Tuesday, ranking the flaw as highly critical. The vulnerability is confirmed on Firefox 2.0.0.4 on a fully-patched version of Windows XP SP2.

The debate rages over whether open source browsers such as Firefox and Konqueror provide better zero-day attack protection than proprietary browsers such as Microsoft's Latest News about Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Opera Software's Opera browser.

A claim is being made that Internet Explorer prevents downloads of Firefox

As browser competition continues to heat up, 2010 looks like the year when the market was repeatedly disrupted. Internet Explorer has not managed to gain share for a third month in a row. Firefox is leveling out while Chrome and Safari continue to grow. Opera? It's hanging on to relevance. Between July and August, Internet Explorer dropped 0.34 percent, a drop smaller than June's or July's gain.

While Microsoft continues its dominance in the world of browsers, competitors weight as Firefox, Opera and most recently the Google Chrome occupy increasingly users. Now we will define the strengths and weaknesses of two popular browsers.

One of the biggest complaints a Firefox evangelist encounters is "it doesn't act or feel like browser X." Internet Explorer users complain that Firefox doesn't look like what they're used to. Opera, Safari, and Netscape users complain that it's missing many of their favorite features. And the social networking gurus point to the powerful social networking features Flock boasts and Firefox lacks.

A noted security researcher disclosed four new zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft and Mozilla's browsers, including a critical flaw in Internet Explorer (IE) and a major bug in Firefox.

Jeffrey Jones, a researcher and the Security Strategy Director at Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group, recently posted a report [in which] Jones came to the conclusion that, contrary to popular belief, Internet Explorer has experienced fewer security vulnerabilities than Firefox over the same periods of time.