Mozilla has just released Firefox 3.0.5. The latest version patches 8 security holes, 3 of which are rated as critical.

Two of these attacks allow malicious websites to run code on another website, potentially stealing your personal information. This is done using common cross-site scripting attacks.

Mozilla has also rolled out Firefox 2.0.0.19 with security patches. This will be the last update for Firefox 2.

“Mozilla is not planning any further security and stability updates for Firefox 2, and recommends that you upgrade to Firefox 3 as soon as possible” said Mozilla engineer Samuel Sidler.

Current Firefox users should automatically be updated in the next few days, or can use the links below to download the updates below:

Download Firefox 3.0.5
Download Firefox 2.0.0.19

Users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could be at serious risk, with criminals hoping to be able to steal users banking passwords and other personal data.

The risk presents itself when users visit particular websites with infected code.

Security firm Trend Micro said that it has found the exploit on several websites, which until now has mostly been used to steal computer game passwords.

Microsoft has only confirmed that Internet Explorer 7 is at risk, and is yet to determine if other version of its popular web browser are affected.

A patch is in the works and we will update you when it is released.

Update: A patch has been released and should be pushed out to users with automatic updates turned on, or alternatively users can go to Windows Update and get the patch.

Opera have updated their browser to version 9.63. The latest release fixes 7 security risks, and is a highly recommended update from Opera.

A full list of changes can be found in the changelogs, and you can download the latest version using the links below:

Download Opera 9.63 for your OS

Password management is a part of all major web browsers, and it just may be helping thieves steal your personal data, from banking logins to Facebook accounts.

Chapin Information Services conducted 21 security tests on Opera 9.62, Firefox 3.0.4, Internet Explorer 7, Safari 3.2, and Google Chrome 1.0. The results were not good.

Opera and Firefox fared the best, both passing 7 tests, with Internet Explorer 7 passing 5 tests. Both Safari and Google Chrome only passed 2 tests each.

It looks like browsers makers have a lot of work to do. Full results and details on each test can be found on the Chapin Information Services website.

Google has finally taken Chrome off its training wheels and removed its beta tag. The move comes after Google says the browser has met strict performance and reliability requirements.

Released just over 100 days ago, the beta version has been downloaded roughly 10 million times and taken around 1% of the browser market. Far shy of Microsoft’s 70% for Internet Explorer.

The latest release doesn’t include any new features, and is still only available for Windows, but does fix a few of the remaining bugs.

Users already using Chrome will have their browser automatically updated in the next few days, or alternatively you can download the new version from the Google Chrome website. Happy browsing!

Microsoft has just released the IE Cumulative Security Update for December 2008.

The security update is rated critical and fixes four privately reported vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution when users view web pages with malicious code.

The security patch fixes IE 5.01, IE6 and IE7 on all versions of Windows, and the update is available on Windows Update.

Mozilla has just released Firefox 3.1 Beta 2. The new version comes with plenty of bug fixes and a final set of features which are expected to be in the final release of Firefox 3.1.

New features include:

• Private browsing mode
• Gecko 1.9.1 rendering engine
• Tear off tabs to new browser windows
• Support for HTML5 elements <video> and <audio>

A full list of features can be found in the Mozilla Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 release notes. Users already using Beta 1 will be automatically updated, while new users can download Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 here.

The desktop team over at Opera have just released a version 10 alpha release of their popular alternative web browser.

Opera 10.1 Alpha includes many new features, including the long awaited auto-update, an inline spelling checker, and scores a perfect 100/100 in the Acid3 test.

A full run down can of other new features can be found on the Opera Desktop Team’s blog. You can download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 using the links below:

Download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 for Windows
Download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 for Windows Classic
Download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 for Macintosh
Download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 for Macintosh (Intel-only)
Download Opera 10.1 Alpha 1 for UNIX

Google Chrome is to get the same level of customisation as Mozilla’s Firefox, with a new effort launched to make it possible for developers to create plugins for the popular browser.

Third party applications or addons are attributed to the huge success of Firefox, and is currently the number one most requested feature from Chrome users.

Aaron Boodman and a few others from the Chromium project last week released a design spec detailing their plan for developers.

The document also lists some extensions that the company would like to support, including both an ad and flash blocker – both of which are top addons for Firefox.

Google is yet to give a release date on the feature, but at least work is under way. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

It has been a good month for the ‘underdogs’ in the browser wars this month, with Firefox, Safari and Chrome all gaining ground.

Firefox has hit a fantastic milestone, now with over 20% of the web browser market, up 4% from last month. Apple’s Safari has climbed to just over 7%, up 8.5% from last month.

Even Google’s Chrome has crawled back some ground, after a steady drop off rate from the browsers first month. Chrome gained around 12% during the month, taking it’s total share to just under 1%.

The losers this month were both Opera and Internet Explorer. Opera lost 5% of it’s market, and is now 5th in the race, behind Google Chrome. November also saw Internet Explorer’s market share plummet below 70% for the first time since 1999.

You can view the full report at the Market Share website. Historical data can be sourced from Wikipedia. The browser wars are really firing up.