Attitude of the developers matters when tackling security flaws in web browsers
The developers of the Firefox web browsing software application were the first one to realize that the most powerful weapon in the war to combat security flaws in web browsing software applications is the attitude of the developers. Even today, the developers of the Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browsing software application treat security flaws as an embarrassment. They do their level best to ensure that knowledge of the presence of the security flaw does not leak out. They resort to all sorts of permutations and combinations to get rid of the security flaw without bringing the same to the notice of the end user of the web browsing software application. Of course, nine times out of ten, they get caught and they lose their credibility.
On the other hand, the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application have adopted a different approach. The developers of the Firefox web browsing software application are very realistic and pragmatic as far as the issue of security flaws is concerned. The developers of the Firefox web browsing software application know that security flaws shall exist. There is no way one can get rid of security flaws permanently. Trying to get rid of security flaws in the web browsing software application is no different than trying to get rid of crime or poverty. Each and every system must have a flaw and a system that does not have any flaws cannot exist. The developers of the Firefox web browsing software application were the first to understand and assimilate this truth. That is the reason why the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application have established a fantastic mechanism to tackle security flaws as quickly as possible.
Rather than just preventing security flaws, the developers of the Firefox web browsing software applications try to not just prevent but also get rid of the security flaws before any serious damage is done. On the face of it, this approach of the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application may seem to be a defensive one. It may seem that the developers of the Firefox web browsing software applications are merely trying to bypass the problem instead of solving the same. However, as time goes on, one realizes that the problem of security flaws in web browsing software application is not something that can be solved in one go.
Each and every improvement in the web browsing software application increases the probability of a security flaw being created in the web browsing software application. Even if one creates the perfect the web browsing software application that has no security flaws whatsoever, the interaction of the web browsing software application with various other systems and the interaction of the web browsing software application with the World Wide Web shall be sufficient for the security flaws to come into existence.
Since the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application acknowledge that security flaws are inevitable and since the developers of the Firefox web browsing software application are not ashamed of accepting the same in public, there is no scope for embarrassment or shame when security flaws are found. As far as the end users are concerned, the presence of security flaws is worrisome. However, the fact that the developers of the Mozilla Firefox web browsing software application encourage the end users to discuss about the flaws themselves helps the end users control the uncertainty and makes them feel as if they are part of the solution.
In case of other web browsing software applications, the developers the exclude the end users from the development process and this contributes to the anxiety of the end users.
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