Independent security testing organisation NSS Labs has found that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) 9 is by far the best Web browser against socially-engineered malware (SEM).
NSS Labs announced the release of its latest Web Browser Security Comparative Test Reports against Socially-Engineered Malware for the third quarter of 2011.
The company carried out two tests were carried out; one global test and one Asia-Pacific specific test.
The reports examine the ability of five different Web browsers to protect users from SEM, which remains the most common security threat facing Internet users today, claiming one third of internet users as victims.
Browsers tested in the report include: Apple Safari 5, Google Chrome 12, Windows Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) , Mozilla Firefox 4, and Opera 11.
The reports showed that though browsers can offer an additional layer of protection beyond antivirus, results varied from Q3 2010 test, with IE9, Chrome, and Opera showing improvement, while Firefox and Safari decreased in protection.
However the winner was Microsoft’s IE9, which achieved over 99% in protection results with the new Application Reputation feature.
NSS Labs said, "It became obvious from these recent tests, in comparison to NSS Labs’ earlier global tests, that Microsoft continues to improve their IE malware protection in IE9 through its SmartScreen Filter technology and with the addition of SmartScreen Application Reputation technology."
"With a unique URL blocking score of 99.9% and over-time protection rating of 99.2%, Internet Explorer 9 was by far the best at protecting against socially-engineered malware."
