Comments on: The 16 Most (Potentially) Dangerous Applications on your Network

By: Fatima Jenkins

Fatima Jenkins — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:50:46 +0000

The Adobes are known for their insecurities and vulnerabilities against (I think) almost all types of malwares. Take for instance Adobe Reader. According to ZDnet, in 2010, among the most commonly used document-based software (Adobe Reader and MS Powerpoint, Word, & Excel), it is the most targeted application.

Even frequent updates could not stop viruses from attacking the Reader. In fact, there are times when this software is exploited once a month.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:50:17 +0000

I remember back in 2009, Adobe was hit pretty hard with the Gumblar attacks – so I’m still weary of running Adobe products on my Windows box because I don’t believe they ever actually fixed the issue. For those that don’t recall Gumblar, it’s that nasty virus that stole user FTP login credentials through sniffed network traffic and local FTP clients, resulting in the defacements of millions of websites.

By: Ed Fisher

Ed Fisher — Tue, 31 May 2011 02:08:20 +0000

You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it useful.
Ed

By: Ed Fisher

Ed Fisher — Tue, 31 May 2011 02:07:51 +0000

Good points Justin, though many times what is not included with Windows has more to do with licensing than anything else.

By: Ed Fisher

Ed Fisher — Tue, 31 May 2011 02:06:23 +0000

Absolutely. Keeping your apps up to date is the best way to stay secure in the long term.

By: Ed Fisher

Ed Fisher — Tue, 31 May 2011 02:05:28 +0000

GameMan1983,
I think you miss the point. IE is not in this list because it is patched with Windows Updates, WSUS, or SCCM. All of the apps listed above are third party, which means that clicking the box to automatically download and install updates doesn’t cover them. Yes, both FF and Chrome, as well as practically all of the rest, have an update functionality, but it must be manually set by the user and cannot be controlled by the admin without third party software.
Ed

By: GameMan1983

GameMan1983 — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:02:48 +0000

Hi Ed,

Why is Internet Explorer not here? Is it safer than Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari? I don’t think so. In fact, it’s the least secure Internet browser.

I’ve used several browsers before, sometimes 2 at a time. My current web browsers now are Firefox 4 and IE 9. I’m just using IE 9 because I don’t want my kids to see and access my Firefox bookmarks.

On a head to head match, Firefox 4 will win on the feature category and IE 9 will have the upper hand in the design. Which one would you choose, functionality or design?

By: CDG_IT_Guy

CDG_IT_Guy — Thu, 05 May 2011 08:28:38 +0000

Applications can only be dangerous when they’re not updated. Take for instance Firefox. For me, it’s the safest browser available today. But if you’re stock with Firefox version 3.XXX, then prepare for the worst.

Even if you have the latest and the most powerful paid anti-virus software, you should still update to the latest stable version (not beta of course) of all your applications.

By: Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:51:22 +0000

There is always a risk adopting these kinds of helpful “universal applications” in a corporate environment. I don’t see why since Windows adopted built-in compression/decompression of .zip files why they don’t continue to add support for .rars and .7zs, as those become more widespread.

Essentially, the scenario here is even if you put a security system in your house, if your kitchen window doesn’t lock correctly, burglars can still get in. You’re only as secure as your most vulnerable program, and I think if a piece of software hasn’t updated to be appropriately patched for security, it should be discontinued from use inside of your company.

By: Rita Rogers

Rita Rogers — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:49:30 +0000

Thanks for this nice list. I will use it as reference. I never bothered to remember which of these popular applications need to be updated manually and which are smart to check for updates automatically but now when this list is compiled, this will be of great help. I sometimes get update notifications from Firefox but I haven’t paid attention if these are notifications that a new Firefox version is available, not that one of the extensions has a new version. Next time I get such an update, I will take the time to read it more carefully.