With 2009 fast approaching, details for IE Mobile 6 have started to appear. The latest mobile Internet browser from Microsoft should bring a positive change to the web browser market.

Currently, there are still no screenshots available, as Microsoft has made all beta testers and OEM’s sign NDA’s, but details on the new browser are starting to emerge. Here are some of the key features for IE Mobile 6.

• A full HTML rendering engine (unfortunately based on IE6).
• Support for Adobe Flash Lite 3.1, something still not found on Apple’s iPhone.
• AJAX and JScript 5.7 support.
• Support for touch, including scrolling and zooming.
• Ability to switch between full and mobile versions of websites.

With these unique, and some innovative features, IE Mobile 6 may make up some ground in the mobile browser market, but is it enough to entice Opera Mobile or even iPhone Safari users?

Your next PC could very well come loaded with Google Chrome. Google is in talks with PC vendors about the possibility of including Chrome with both desktops and laptops.

Manufactures such as Dell, HP, Acer, and Toshiba are all showing interest in shipping Chrome as the default browser. Currently, the majority of PC’s ship with Internet Explorer as the default browser, as it is included with both Windows XP and Vista.

Google Chrome currently has about 1% of the browser market, while Internet Explorer has around 70%.

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