Mozilla wants to secure your browser

Even if it's not Firefox

Mozilla has released an updated version of its browser plug-in security checker, and now it also works with non-Firefox browsers.

The organisation said the web-based tool now supports Safari 4, Chrome 4, and Opera 10.5. Support for Internet Explorer 7 and 8 is also partially complete.

"Outdated plugins are a major source of security and stability risk for web users, and some studies have put the proportion of users with older versions as high as 80 per cent," director of Firefox development Johnathan Nightingale blogged.

Browser plugins, which allow web pages to support technologies such as Java or Flash, are frequently found to contain vulnerabilities that malicious hackers can use to compromise computers.

The best ways to avoid being hacked are to either disable the plugin or ensure you're running the latest version. Mozilla's new web page helps you with the latter.