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From: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2961989">http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2961989</a><br>
<br>
The latest issue of Computer Active has "<b>Software YOU MUST
UNINSTALL NOW! The 12 worst programs EXPOSED! page 50.</b>"
splashed on the cover. One of those programs is Thunderbird.
Supposedly its the UK's best-selling computer magazine.<br>
<br>
<i>Let Thunderbird fly</i><i><br>
</i><i>Mozilla’s email program Thunderbird needs so many security
fixes it’s no longer worth using</i><i><br>
</i><i>52 16 – 29 September 2015</i><i><br>
</i><i><br>
</i><i>Email program Thunderbird used to be almost as popular as its
sister browser Firefox, also made by Mozilla. But while Firefox is
holding its own (just) against stiff competition, poor old
Thunderbird has been shot down and is full of holes. Look at
Mozilla’s list of security advisories for Thunderbird (</i><i><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17815"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17815">http://www.snipca.com/17815</a></a></i><i>),
and check back regularly if you’re a Thunderbird user. It makes
for an alarming read. ‘Arbitrary file overwriting’, ‘Miscellaneous
memory safety hazards’, ‘Privilege escalation through Web
Notification’ (a flaw that gives any passing hacker more
privileges than you) – and all this in only the past few months.
Worryingly, some flaws keep reappearing despite regular fixes.
Really, is it worth it? We don’t think so. If you use Thunderbird,
export any data you want to keep and switch to a new email
service. It’s a sad story. A few years ago, Thunderbird was
considered a safer alternative to Microsoft’s Outlook Express,
which had more patches than a Victorian quilt. Thunderbird was
also faster, more innovative and – quite frankly – cooler. But
while Outlook has evolved into a cross-platform tool whose free
online version successfully borrows the best elements of Gmail,
including seamless integration with online tools such as Office
Online and Google Drive, Thunderbird is stuck in the past. Some
antivirus (AV) tools, including the excellent Norton Security (</i><i><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17817"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17817">http://www.snipca.com/17817</a></a></i><i>)
have even identified Thunderbird as a Trojan (</i><i><a
class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17826"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.snipca.com/17826">http://www.snipca.com/17826</a></a></i><i>).
This is a false-positive – Thunderbird itself is not malicious.
However, it’s so full of vulnerabilities that perhaps these
over-zealous AVs are wise to block it.</i><i><br>
<br>
</i>Perhaps somebody could write a letter to the editor explaining
how to correctly interpret the security advisories, mention that
most of them are due to vulnerabilities found in Firefox (shared
code), document why we think that rather than dropping, that the
number of Thunderbird users continues to grow, and pushback on the
idea that Thunderbird is stuck in the past.<br>
<br>
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