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I'm not sure you understand how many entities are trying to get into your computer to track you/steal data/mine bitcoin/etc. These are active attacks against yo
by hueving 8y ago
I'm not sure you understand how many entities are trying to get into your computer to track you/steal data/mine bitcoin/etc. These are active attacks against your computer every day if you are a regular user clicking viral shit on Facebook, random ads for things, etc.
Look at how many 3rd party JS libraries get loaded from remote sites for metrics, frameworks, tracking, ads, etc for something like a newspaper site. There are probably 15 servers involved, most of which run by companies with limited security expertise (if any) so frequently they end up compromised to inject garbage into visitors' browsers.
There is absolutely no lack of availability of guns or people attempting to use them on you in this analogy. The bullet proof vests are good, but that doesn't mean there isn't someone attempting to shoot you in the chest every time you go out.
Look at spectre/meltdown. Arbitrary code execution is not safe. Not in a browser sandbox, not in a kernel namespace, not in a hypervisor. You're protected from common thugs most of the time, but your bullet proof vest will fail if someone with a powerful gun takes aim.
There is a reason the CIA doesn't use the same AWS servers as the public and it's the same reason you can't view Facebook from inside a secure military network. Sandboxes are just a protection mechanism from well-understood attacks, they don't provide anything near the level of real isolation that Internet companies would love you to believe.
- diminoten 8y agoAnd I'm not sure how secure I am against those entities. There are active and unsuccessful attacks against my computer every day, and none of those attacks rely exclusively on running JavaScript in a browser sandbox.