web browsers (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

During the four zero-day exploits at Pwn2Own, Firefox proved to be a non-secure web browser.

Pwn2Own 2014 is a computer hack convention that is held in Vancouver. During this convention, Firefox proved itself to be the least secure major web browser. During the hack fest, all four web browsers were tested. They included Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. An $850,000 award to a successful researcher was dangled in front of the software hackers. During their testing, Firefox was shown to be the least secure and had vulnerabilities. If you visited a special site with this browser, a hacker would be able to do almost anything, which is a serious safety issue.

Why are there security flaws? The browser lacks a sandbox, or a firewall that keeps other programs from running on your computer. Safari, Chrome, and Internet Explorer all have a sandbox. A hacker who finds enough vulnerability will be able to access all areas of the computer, which gives them control to do anything with your data.

Luckily, the information found since Pawn2Own 2013 has been reported to the browser programmers so that improvements can be made and security can be tightened. It's likely that the reason Firefox doesn't have a sandbox is because it was created during a time period when security wasn't as big of an issue as it is today.

While the Pwn2Own shows shows serious security flaws, it helps to teach the browser creators and individuals about the serious dangers that exist. With time and skill, programmers will be able to make improvements that can allow for safer browsing and less security concerns.