How does Firefox stop viruses and spyware being installed on my computer?
The main entry point of Viruses, Spyware, Trojan horses, Adware, etc. on to a Windows Computer is Internet Explorer. This is because it is vulnerable software that has many unpatched security holes; some websites or programs exploit these to install their own software on to your machine. Firefox has the benefit of not using certain interfaces that are present in Internet Explorer, and is not tied into the Windows operating system like Internet Explorer. Because Firefox blocks ActiveX and VBScript, it does not present the entry points that many malware websites attempt to use; because of this, no software can automatically install itself on to your computer just by your viewing of a web page that you believed harmless.
Firefox also blocks another harmful Microsoft component – the Microsoft Java VM; this has a history of various security flaws and vulnerabilities that still carry on and allow malicious software to run on your computer. By installing Firefox and setting it as your default browser, you can prevent your computer being bombarded with such malware that can track your computer usage, slow down your system, and cause many errors.
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