Microsoft has released a software update for Internet Explorer that will patch security flaws — but should you switch to a different browser?  It’s been a worrying week for computer users. Internet Explorer, the world’s most popular web browser, was found to have a serious security flaw that could have put millions of computer users at risk from cyber criminals and hackers.  The browser is thought to be the weak link that allowed hackers to carry out a sophisticated and highly targeted cyber attack against Google earlier this week, which resulted in the search giant reconsidering its operation in China.

It also sent entire nations in to a spin. The governments of France and Germany warned their citizens not to use Internet Explorer, and to switch instead to a different browser. The British government declined to follow suit.

Microsoft has now released a “patch”, to plug the hole in the browser’s code and protect it against the vulnerabilities that allowed Chinese hackers to break in to the Google email accounts of dissidents and human rights activists, and compromise the security of other large corporations.

But many computer users are wondering whether they should consider using a different web browser, such as Mozilla’s Firefox or Google Chrome.

“The patch should resolve the current problems with Internet Explorer, but the big question is, will people install it?,” asks Graham Cluley, a security expert with Sophos. “Some people can be very lackadaisical about installing these software updates, but they really need to start to get in to the habit of updating their computers – companies such as Microsoft release these updates for a good reason.”

Cluley says that Internet Explorer 6 is the most vulnerable web browser, yet it is still used by big government agencies such as the Ministry of Defence. This is a hangover from the early days of the web, when IT departments wrote systems and software that was only compatible with Internet Explorer 6, making it tricky and expensive to migrate to more stable and secure versions of the browser further down the line.

“If you’re using Internet Explorer 6 at home, you should upgrade to internet Explorer 8, the latest and greatest version of the browser,” advises Cluley. “It’s also worth considering a different browser altogether. The new version of Firefox is very good at updating itself to keep web users protected. It will do a much better job of securing the whole web experience.”

Despite the global dominance of Internet Explorer – it accounts for 63 per cent of the whole browser market – there are plenty of alternatives available to computer users. One of the most popular is Firefox, which has a 25 per cent share of the browser market worldwide, but is attracting lots of new users in Europe, accounting for 40 per cent of that search market, just five per cent less than Microsoft.

Indeed, while Graham Cluley says that no web browser is completely secure, he thinks diversity in the browser market benefits everyone. “Internet Explorer is attractive to hackers and virus writers because it dominates the market,” he says.

“Encouraging a bit of variety makes it harder for hackers to impact lots of people.”

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Notes: Is this a new trend for search?  If this is a trend,  search engine optimization firms have lots of thought.  Do search engine optimization firms need to get their clients listed in those vertical portals?  and different clients should get listed in different vertical portals?  How search engine optimization firms ensure clients with local focus get top rankings?  Please read on.

We’ve noted before how the Seattle area — for whatever reason — has become a hotbed of innovation when it comes to finding recipes on the Internet. And now one of the region’s tech giants is entering the virtual kitchen, looking to help consumers cook up everything from chili to cheese tortellini.

The Microsoft search engine Bing unveiled a new way for people to search for recipes, pulling those creations and more from sites such as MyRecipes.com and Microsoft’s own Delish.com. The search results include photos, ratings and nutritional information. They also allow cooks to search recipes by season or special occasion, allowing someone to find green chili cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving or a deep dish apple pie for Fourth of July. If someone actually wants to locate the instructions to make a specific dish, they must click through to the partner Web sites.

The move is yet another example of how Microsoft is looking to segment search results by trying to go deeper than Google in certain niche categories. (Travel and shopping are two other examples).

I asked Steve Murch — a former Microsoft marketing executive and current CEO of online recipe site BigOven.com — for his take on the move. BigOven’s 170,000 recipes are not yet indexed in Bing, though Murch said he’d welcome the opportunity to distribute his recipes through the search engine.

“It’s great that Bing is focusing additional resources on helping cooks find great recipes faster and in a more consistent manner,” said Murch. “It’s one of many examples of various key verticals in search getting more structured over time.”

Of course, having so much recipe information residing in Bing could prevent cooks from clicking through to the partner recipe sites.That means a cook could spend more time perusing Bing than say AllRecipes or other recipe sites.

“While that trend will adjust the economics a bit for those companies that rely exclusively on advertising revenue, those that have structured data and productivity, publishing and grocery list tools like BigOven.com end up with a great vehicle for awareness and search engine optimization,” he said.

That’s good news for companies like BigOven, which last November became the first major cooking site to open the vault on its recipe database to outside developers. But Murch also noted that the move could challenge food writers and old media content producers.

“Over time, it’s our belief that those who take a more platform-based approach, that have the most comprehensive data, let users put data into the platform and then fetch it from anywhere and manage it using complementary productivity tools, generally stand to benefit as the search engines continue to structure their search,” he said.

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Microsoft and Apple are reportedly discussing the possibility of changing the iPhone’s default search engine from Google to Bing, which experts say could be a significant change in the fast-growing mobile search marketplace.

BusinessWeek quotes anonymous sources as saying that “talks have been under way for weeks,” and that Microsoft was a “pawn” in the deepening feud between Apple and Google. The competition has been growing fiercer since Google began competing with Apple in the mobile market with its Android OS and Nexus One smartphone.

Additionally, BusinessWeek says that Google is in danger of suffering financial losses if the rumored move to Bing is made, since AdMob reports that most mobile advertising in the U.S. is viewed on iPhones and iPod Touches. The iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the U.S., so any changes to its default programming are likely to produce measurable shifts in mobile search figures, according to analysts.

So, is there any new opportunities for mobile search engine optimization (SEO)?  I think search engine optimizer and SEO company should think about this especially if their clients want to get exposure in mobile phones.

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