Firefox tops 25m downloads

Firefox has topped 25 million downloads as it continues to eat into Microsoft`s Internet Explorer (IE) dominance, reports TechWeb.

Downloads of Firefox 1.0 reached 25.24 million as of last Friday - just over 100 days since its release - according to the Mozilla Foundation, developer of the browser. As of January, IE`s market share had fallen to 92.7%, while Firefox`s share had risen to 4.8%. Browsers such as Netscape and Opera accounted for the rest.

Analyst Robert Learner says although Firefox is gaining lots of attention, the open source browser is not expected to overtake Microsoft in the foreseeable future. "That`s not going to happen, but, over time, there may be pressure placed on Microsoft. Firefox is gathering steam and gaining traction."

A preview release of Firefox 1.1 is scheduled for April.

Google is being criticised by various bloggers after launching a controversial service that modifies Web pages and directs users to sites chosen by the search engine.

According to TimesOnline, AutoLink, which is included on Google`s popular desktop Toolbar, automatically inserts links in Web pages. This means that an address could be linked to a map supplied by Google or a book`s ISBN number to the page on Amazon.com, where the product is available to buy.

Several bloggers have argued that it sets a worrying precedent, with publishers losing control of their work and users losing control of their desktops.

Bloggers have been quick to draw comparisons between Google and Microsoft, which are fierce rivals. Microsoft recently launched its own search engine, going head-to-head with Google in the lucrative paid-search advertising market.

THE SHA-1 algorithm, a method of encryption that has been in common use for the last nine years, has allegedly been broken, The Inquirer reports.

Encryption expert Bruce Schneier claims in his blog that a three-person Chinese research team, mostly from Shandong University in China, has been circulating a paper about having broken the algorithm, which is used to create digital signatures.

He said the attack "pretty much put a bullet into SHA -1" as a hash function for digital signatures, even though it is beyond the scope of most criminals to exploit.