Netscape fixes holes in 'security' browser

The update -- which takes Netscape to version 8.0.1 -- was released amid criticism from developers that the initial release of the browser was susceptible to two critical vulnerabilities. The problems were unearthed in version 1.0.3 of the code used to create the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox open source browser and on which the new Netscape version is based. Firefox itself was updated in mid-May to version 1.0.4 to fix the vulnerabilities.

Netscape 8 builds on Firefox by adding features aimed at stopping online scammers and giving users the ability to use Internet Explorer (IE's)'s HTML rendering engine.

The update notification on Netscape's Web site notes version 8.0.1 of Netscape "includes all Firefox security patches up to 1.0.4", and initially listed 44 security advisories. However the company later clarified this to say 41 of those advisories had been addressed in the initial 8.0 release of the browser.

Netscape's general manager Jeremy Liew said upon the browser's release that its key selling point was its security features.

"Security is the sizzle that will get people to use this new browser," Liew said. "I think the Web has become a more dangerous place. The threats of phishing and spyware have become more and more real."

A Netscape spokesperson was not available for comment at the time of print.