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Firefox Reaches 25 Million Downloads By Elizabeth Millard February 22, 2005 10:49AM     "It's ironic that people are turning to Firefox because it's secure," says ankee Group analyst Jim Slaby, "because the moment it becomes really successful is when hackers begin exploiting it more diligently. When it gets more market traction, it will be targeted."   Related Topics firefox-open-source-browser Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social Open source Web browser Firefox has topped the 25 million download mark as of last Friday. According to the Mozilla Foundation, developer of the browser, it has only been about 100 days since Firefox was released, a fact that highlights how quickly it has spread across the Web and around the world. As Firefox succeeds, it is chewing into Internet Explorer's dominating market share, which is 92.7 percent, compared to Firefox's 4.8 percent. Browser watchers are waiting to see if Firefox can maintain its momentum into the next release, scheduled for April, and garner more downloads past that. Security Force Part of the reason for the robust adoption rate for Firefox has been security , said Yankee Group analyst Jim Slaby. Security reports about Internet Explorer have prompted many individuals and some universities to go with Firefox over IE. But as Firefox becomes more popular, it is likely that it will become a more attractive target for malicious hackers, Slaby said. "It's ironic that people are turning to Firefox because it's secure," he said. "Because the moment it becomes really successful is when hackers begin exploiting it more diligently. When it gets more market traction, it will be targeted." Some Doubts As Firefox draws more devotees, some analysts have warned that the open source darling is not yet ready for the corporate space, and have urged caution in making it the default browser for a company. In early February, Gartner posited that Firefox usage is being driven by factors that are not inherently sustainable. The research firm added that Firefox usage will grow until Microsoft chooses to respond. Most likely, companies and individuals could opt for a mixed browser environment until IE is revamped. Strong Appeal Despite concerns over security and Firefox's ability to maintain its popularity, for now it seems that the underdog browser has quite a bark. Recent reports on two Scandinavian Web sites have implied that Nokia may have switched to Firefox from IE, despite assurances from Microsoft that it would be refreshing the browser design some time this year. "No matter what Microsoft might do, you'll still see a lot of people kicking the tires of Firefox and checking it out," said Slaby. "There are many indications that Firefox could get wider adoption than many people have anticipated."   Advertisement  Linux/Open Source 1.   Chrome OS Team Aims for Speed 2.   Chrome OS Will Focus on Security 3.   Motorola's Droid Appears Strong 4.   Nokia Launches Critical N900 Phone 5.   Webmail Features Come To Desktop Motorola's Droid Appears Strong Early estimates put sales at 250,000. Average Rating: Firefox Revived the Browser Market Microsoft's IE dominance was broken. Average Rating: Chrome OS Team Aims for Speed User experience will be different. Average Rating:  Random Bytes Motorola's Droid Appears Strong EU Objects To Oracle's Sun Takeover Second Firefox 3.6 Beta Fixes Bugs Chrome OS Will Focus on Security

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Network Security Spotlight

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Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

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