Remember, software products are only as secure as the environment in which they operate. You might also want to check out other Internet security sites, such as The WWW Security FAQ , The Computer Security Information Page at the NIH's Department of Computer Research and Technology , or The National Computer Security Association . Microsoft has prepared a document entitled Review Criteria for Internet Browsers . There is an excellent section on browser security in it. Bugs are different from design flaws, as design flaws aren't defective code.
Design flaws allow programmers to exploit vulnerabilities within an operating environment.
Design flaws are different than bugs, in that the code itself does not crash, produce inaccurate results or perform some other action indicative to bugs only. Design flaws can leave openings to critical and sensitive system and data files, which can be exploited by programmers. Internet Explorer is a safe browser in many ways. To see if you have the 128-bit version of Internet Explorer, go to the Wells Fargo Bank site and take their browser test. This handshake results in the client and server agreeing on the level of security they will use and fulfills any authentication requirements for the connection.