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The free toolbar, released Tuesday, was downloaded more than 60,000 times within hours of its release, according to Netcraft Internet Services Developer Paul Mutton. By comparison, the company’s antiphishing toolbar for Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer (IE) browser has been downloaded around 100,000 times since its release earlier this year, he said.“There’s no other browser as popular as Firefox right now,” Mutton said. The open source browser, offered by the Mozilla Organization, has nowhere near the market share of IE, but has been steadily gaining users. As of Feb. 18, IE had a market share in the U.S. of 89.9 percent, down from 92.9 percent in November, according to analytics firm WebSideStory Inc.

Firefox, meanwhile, had grabbed 5.7 percent of the U.S. market as of February, up from 3 percent in November. Internet companies have taken note of its rising popularity. Yahoo Inc. began offering a toolbar for Firefox earlier this year, and Google Inc. has snapped up one of its key developers. But with success has come a downside: Security researchers are reporting an increase in threats aimed at the alternative browser.

Full Article: http://www.thestandard.com/internetnews/001324.php