Netscape Releases Security Update

daria42 writes "Less than 24 hours after releasing Netscape 8, Netscape has released a security patch bringing the browser up to version 8.0.1. The patch address security vulnerabilities in version 1.0.3 of the Firefox code on which Netscape is based. The update comes amid online criticism from Firefox developers that the browser was insecure."

No thanks

i prefer to get my browser from the organ grinder [getfirefox.com], not the monkey [netscape.com]

software and bridges

Don't you think it is wiser to wait 24 hours longer (or maybe a week or so) and then release a quality product rather than issue patches. Imagine if civil engineers started doing the same with buildings and bridges.

Re:software and bridges

That's the luxury software developers have that civil engineers don't. Its not exactly possible to go back and fix a mistake you made while building a multi-million dollar bridge.

That's what you think. New structures are found to be unsound all the time, which usually requires that the structure be patched in some form or another.

Take the case of the London Millennium Bridge [wikipedia.org] which suffered from Resonant vibration (a common problem with suspension bridges). It wasn't planned for because it was assumed that such vibrations couldn't happen from mere pedestrian traffic. The solution was to retrofit 37 fluid-viscous dampers and 52 tuned mass dampeners.

In short, don't think that engineering is that much different from software. They're quite similar, to the point of being frightening.

Netscape ?

huh ? Netscape ?

What's Netscape ?

Netscape's Original 8.0 Release

ZDNet Australia [zdnet.com.au] has a scathing report [zdnet.com.au] on problems with Netscape's original 8.0 release, which shipped with known critical security bugs. ZDNet notes that several key Mozilla devs have lashed out at Netscape, including Firefox lead developer Ben Goodger [mozillazine.org], who posted a live exploit [mozillazine.org] of the known vulnerability. Gervase Markham [mozillazine.org], another Mozilla employee found Netscape's claim that Firefox 1.0.4 is "outdated" ridiculous [mozillazine.org]. Ali Ebrahim [ebrahim.org], another contributor commented that Netscape's claim of "more security choices" is based on a false premise [ebrahim.org]. To their credit, Netscape has since released Netscape 8.0.1, based on Firefox 1.0.4 which plugs the most severe known issues, though the question still remains as to why they released 8.0 in the first place if it contained such severe security issues.

Why didn't they wait?

I did not understand why it was based on 1.03 anyway; were they completely unaware of what was going on at the firefox project?

I don't get it.

What is the deal with Netscape 8? It sounds like they basically downloaded the source code for Firefox, recompiled it, and then distributed it as something new.

First, why isn't Firefox going after Netscape and second, why would anyone start using Netscape when Firefox knows their own code better and fixes it faster?

I think I might get the Firefox code myself and create a browser called LOL-I'm-Really-Just-Firefox. It will be huge.

Re:I don't get it.

As long as you abide by the license of the code, you can do that. Open source and all that...

Re:I don't get it.

The big deal with Netscape 8 is that it offers the choice of using the IE or Firefox/Gecko rendering engine on different pages. For instance, you can have it set to display /. using the Gecko engine, while using the IE engine to render your company's intranet page (you know, the one that requires that you use IE for "full functionality"). The main reason for it, however, is for the brand recognition that AOL gets out of it. Of course, the dual-rendering ability will only complicate matters for Joe Sixtooth.

3 != 44

There were only 3 bugs fixed in 8.0.1, not 44! See the Release Notes [netscape.com] for yourself.

Show offs!

Netscape just wanted to show off how they can produce patches faster than Microsoft and Firefox.

The promo goes like this: "Miscrosoft leaves holes unpatches for weeks, maybe months. Firefox sometimes takes a few days. But *we* can produce a patch in less than 24 hours! Na na!"

Before the first day was out, no less!

And for most of NS8's official first day, anyone not using NS8 were redirected to this "alert" page [netscape.com], even users of Mozilla Firefox 1.0.4! "Your current browser is outdated," my tail.

It's so Not A Good Thing(TM) that a commercial product needs a security upgrade on the first day of going official.

Hmmm

The patch address security vulnerabilities in version 1.0.3 of the Firefox code on which Netscape is based.

Was this vulnerabilty already known and patched in Firefox? And if so, why the heck did they release a program that had a known security hole with a known fix?

In other news...

Netscape released a statement saying that people who downloaded the browser labeled 8.0 actually got a mis-labeled copy of 7.9.9.9.9. The new version 8.1 will actually be 8.0 and the following patches labeled 8.1.1, 8.1.2, and 8.1.2.1, which will be released daily starting tomorrow, will be relabeled as 8.0.1, 8.1.0, and 8.1.2, respectively. ***NO CARRIER***

We apologize for the above post. Those who were responsible for sacking those who were just sacked, have been sacked.

If it were Microsoft...

Proof positive AOL/Netscape != Microsoft:

If this were Microsoft:
We'd wait several months while they verified the problem, then a few weeks while they fixed it, a few weeks for them to pretent to test the fix, then wait up to 4 weeks more for the next patch day.

Huh?

Why did Mozilla release Netscape 8, based on Firefox 1.0.3, AFTER they had released the fix? (1.0.4) Why wouldn't they just wait an extra day? Now there will be vulnerable Netscape 8's floating around if people aren't consciencious enough to check for updates daily.

Re:Huh?

> Why did Mozilla release Netscape 8...?

Um, Mozilla didn't release it -- AOL did.

No Linux Version?

Just been to Netscape's website and no Linux version available. Some web site will work only with IE or netscape. I still prefer Netscape over IE anyday.

Rather embarassing

Regardless of the reasons why - For a software company to release a patch for a product they released 24 hours ago is , to say the least embarassing.
I would imagine there are quite a few red faces around netscape today

Reminds me of an old joke

Internet Explorer rinses and uses paper towels in the bathroom.
Netscape washes thoroughly and uses the automatic air dryer.
Firefox doesn't piss on its hands.

Really a patch or complete download?

I'm really curious if this is indeed an incremental patch or Mozilla's idea of one--namely a complete download of the product.

Netscape is patetic

It's patetic what Netscape turned into.
The website is some kind of news/portal site, with nothing interesting just bullshit like "How to Handle an Angry Woman" or "Top searches: American Idol", and hidden between all that "All New Netscape Browser 8.0", it is a shame (not to mention it's firefox with other GUI).
I think it's time for Netscape to dissappear and leave their browser as the legend it was years ago not the piece of crap it's today.

Automatic updates

I installed Netscape 8 the day it came out for testing purposes. I saw this story, went to Netscape with their default skin and found they had nothing similiar to the Firefox's red ! to alert me that updates were necessary. I went to Tools->Advanced->Software Update and found Automatically Download and install updates was checked by default, so I checked my UA string to find it was still Netscape 8.0. Went back to Software Update and ran Check Now and it did not find any updates. Switched to their other theme (I do appreciate it coming with two themes provided for users to choose from) and found no icon next to that throbber either (as one might expect). Will this be turned on/fixed in the future, or was the functionality for this in the 17 MB minimum hard drive space system requirements [netscape.com] difference between it and Firefox [mozilla.org]?

This coupled with the fact that Firefox themes/extensions do not work and the fact that it has twice the recommended system requirement for processor speed and memory (which seems accurate as it seems slower than Firefox and I am somewhere in between Firefox and Netscape's recoomended CPU speed) are just a few of the reasons I will not switch back.

Short review of Netscape 8

I just briefly used Netscape 8, so I'll write up my impressions.

The interface is very cluttered with "potentially" useful information, like movie theater show times, weather, news, etc. If you prefer Yahoo's front page portal to the simplicity of Google's front page, this browser is made for you. Otherwise, stick with Firefox.

The browser renders all "unknown" sites as Firefox, which was annoying to me because the only purpose for me trying this out was to test out some IE-only web pages. Luckily, it took little effort to set most of them to display in IE.

The rendering engine switch is very fast and seamless. I thought speed would be a major issue here, but it is not and issue at all.

This pretty much sums up any immediately noticable differences between this browser and Firefox. I uninstalled it because, for my normal browsing, Firefox works well and is un-cluttered. If I use Netscape 8 just because it has IE rendering, it would be no different than what I do now when I just open up an IE window whenever I need to view a banking website or things of that nature that are not compatible with Firefox.

Also, upon installation, the Import Wizard crashed, but that didn't matter much to me since I wasn't going to use the thing as my default browser anyway.

Favorite Poll Question

Reminds me of my favorite slashdot poll of all time: "Netscape 6 is out. Do you care?" The resounding winner was "no," as I recall.

Well I can't find it in the poll archives. I was pretty sure it was a slashdot poll. Funny anyway.

RP

Re:Browser boys are back

Are the browser wars really back? Has anyone tried the new Netscape? Given that they pretty much peaked around 4.7 or something like that, or earlier depending on who you ask, I just don't see any reason to even try it. What is Netscape likely to give me that Firefox can't?

Re:Browser boys are back

As I recall from yesterday's news [slashdot.org], one thing Netscape will give you that Firefox does not is "a toggle which allows switching between Mozilla and Microsoft's rendering engines as needed." The Best of Both Worlds(TM)