Firefox against drive-by download attacks

Among the innovations that Mozilla is working on to improve Firefox, there is one concerning security and in particular the blocking of downloads automatically started by elements included in iframes with sandbox attributes. The attack is known among insiders as "drive-by download".

Firefox 82 with protection for drive-by download

In the intentions of the software house this will help to limit the spread of malware through malicious pages created and put online for this purpose. The feature will make its debut in version 82 of the browser with an update which is expected to arrive by October.

Over the years the teams working on Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox itself have implemented various tricks with the aim of hindering this type of dynamics (also passing from the use of sandboxes), but without ever succeeding 100% if not risking compromising some functions related to navigation and due to the appearance of new methods through which the bad guys manage to crack the defense systems.

Now Mozilla tries again, in an attempt to improve the browser and push its spread. At the moment the market share is just over 4% (to be precise 4.09%) globally, down by about 0.20% in the last month (source StatCounter).

Source: ZDNet