Insider Information from Deepnet

Thursday, June 22, 2006

We are pleased to announce the first user designed skin for Deepnet Explorer. Many thanks to Yanike who has designed the new skin, which is similar to the default layout, but he has implemented his own icons, which we think are very crisp, modern and original.

To preview the skin, please click here.

If you are interested in designing skins for DE please click here to download the instructions or contact us at support@deepnetexplorer.com

We hope to see more skins developed by our users in the future.

posted @ 3:19 PM

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

We’ve updated and redesigned our website. Our new-look site has improved navigation, a brand new help guide and a new comprehensive FAQ.

We also now offer RSS feeds/OPML from our forum, so that you can keep up-to-date with the latest threads, without having to constantly visit the forum.

We hope that our new look website improves the user experience and has all the information you need. Please tell us what you think of the new site and what new things would you like to see on www.DeepnetExplorer.com in the future?

posted @ 4:57 PM

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

We are pleased to introduce a new feature skins - that many users have been requesting. Deepnet Explorer is now skinnable and we are hoping that some of our users are talented designers that will help us by developing different skins. Shortly you will be able to submit these to the Deepnet website, the best will be uploaded for other users to download and naturally the designers will receive credit for them.

Another key improvement is that Deepnet is now nearly bug free. We have spent a lot of time and effort in trying to fix all the bugs that have been reported to us. It was in fact the Content Filter that caused the majority of the crash problems, so we have completely rewritten that feature. We have conducted extensive stress testing internally in which Deepnet browser visited over 50,000 websites without crashing.

Click here to read the release notes and here to download DE 1.5.2 BETA.

We hope that you enjoy the new features. As always, we value your feedback, so please do get in touch with us.

Kind regards,

The Deepnet Team

posted @ 5:21 PM

Friday, August 12, 2005

BBC’s technology show, Click Online, has a feature this week on the ‘Browser war’, discussing how alternative browsers are implementing new features ahead of Microsoft’s IE 7, and thereby winning support.

The show features an interview with our CEO Yurong Lin.

To see the item on the ClickOnline site go here, where you can also read a transcript of the report.

Enjoy!

The Deepnet Team

posted @ 12:50 PM

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Our Software Development Team has a vacancy that we are looking to fill with an exceptional individual. Do you have what it takes to join our talented team?

Applicants must have excellent VC++/ATL programming skills, proficiency in GUI design & extensive experience in Microsoft VC.NET environments and networking technologies.

Technical Skills Required:

  • VC++, ATL and COM
  • IE Programming
  • Knowledge of SQL and UML
  • HTML, VB Script and Java Script

Qualifications & Experience:

  • A computer science degree or a similar IT related degree
  • A least 4 years programming work experience
  • Deepnet Technologies is an exciting, innovative company, specialising in development of browser, newsreader and anti-phishing applications. Our office is based in trendy Islington, in Central London.

    Join us at this exciting moment of accelerated business growth!

    Please email your full CV to hr@deepnettechnologies.com.

    We look forward to hearing from you!

    posted @ 11:44 AM

Monday, July 18, 2005

We got an email from the Softpedia labs confirming that DE 1.5 is 100% clean of spyware and adware that we thought we would share with our readers...

Ian Buchanan,

Web Editor

Deepnet Technologies

Hello,

Your product "Deepnet Explorer 1.5" has been tested by the Softpedia labs and found to be completely clean of adware/spyware components.

We are impressed with the quality of your product and encourage you to keep this high standards in the future.

To assure our visitors that "Deepnet Explorer 1.5" is clean, we have granted it with the "100% FREE" Softpedia award. Moreover, to let your users know about this certification, you may display this award on your website, on software boxes or inside your product.

More information about your product's certification and the award is available on this page: http://www.softpedia.com/progClean/Deepnet-Explorer--beta-Clean-17411.ht ml

Your product review page is located at: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Browsers/Deepnet-Explorer.shtml

Please feel free to link to us using the URL above. If you choose to link to the awawrd page for your product, you may use the award graphic or a text link such as: "100% FREE award granted by Softpedia"

Don't hesitate to contact us for more information.

Sincerely,

The Softpedia Team

posted @ 4:23 PM

We would like to thank those of you that have responded to articles in this blog. Sadly spammers have also tried to use this blog to promote various websites.

To allow the smooth operation of this blog we are temporarily suspending the ability to read and post comments.

We are working on a security system that will allow legitimate comments to be posted.

When this system is in place all old comments will be visible.

In the meantime if you wish to contact us you can do so on mailto:support@deepnetexplorer.com.

Thank you for your patience,

The Deepnet Explorer Team

posted @ 3:46 PM

Friday, July 15, 2005

This release is all about Anti-Phishing! Our new, improved AntiPhishing solution is powered by a unique Behavior Inspection technology that uses a predictive engine that detects new phishing sites in real time, unlike other solutions on the market that rely on a black list of known phishing sites.

So how does it work?

The new Behavior Inspection engine examines over 100 elements of a web site, including the site’s URL, content, images, links and its history. It then cross references its key features with other sites, and determines if they are indicative of a spoof.

In our internal lab environments, the new Behavior Inspection engine successfully detects more than 99% of previously unknown phishing sites. We have compared our results with other anti-phishing solutions available, and found that our new software offers the best protection available on the market today!

How can I determine if a site is fraudulent?

You will be alerted automatically when the software detects a potentially fraudulent website. Colour coded warnings will allow you to easily asses the scale of any identified risk. You can also find out details of website ownership and geographical location which will help you determine if the site is safe or not.

What else is new?

We have developed a feature called Quick Find that we hope will make the way you search whilst browsing even more efficient. Basically, you can easily search for a term within the page you are visiting, in your default search engine, or you can go directly to the page if the term you search for is a Internet Keyword. It is easy to use, as soon as you press any key, as search box is displayed at the bottom of the page. Why not try it now?

You can read the release notes here.

We hope you enjoy the new version of Deepnet Explorer!

posted @ 12:10 PM

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Today we celebrate the 1st anniversary of Deepnet Explorer, the browser was officially launched exactly one year ago. Since then it has gained over 1,000,000 users and 3,000-5,000 new users download the browser daily.

We decided to research the blogsphere to see what some of our users say about us. We found quite a few blog posts talking about our browser and comparing it to others in the market place. One blog, The Lanes, wrote that Deepnet is the best browser ever" . Another blog called the Firewall rates us 10/10. And finally ‘Into the Void’ stated ‘I've found this kick-ass browser. No it is not Firefox. It is Deepnet Explorer’. These are just a few examples of the positive comments people have been making about Deepnet Explorer.

In the last year we have introduced many new features to DE including the latest addition, our new Anti-Phishing Technology helping to protect users from fraudulent websites.

We rely on feedback from our users to help us keep DE at the forefront of browser technology so if there is a feature you want to see in DE or you have a comment or question please let us know via email or in our forum.

We would like to thank all our users for their comments and suggestions over the last year and we look forward to delivering you the best in browser technology in the future.

The Deepnet Explorer Team

posted @ 1:54 PM

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Several popular Web browsers, including Firefox and Internet Explorer, contain a vulnerability that could be used by cyber criminals to steal personal data, security company Secunia has warned.

The flaw would allow a phishing attack in which a malicious JavaScript pop-up window appeared in front of a trusted Web site. This could trick a surfer into revealing data such as a password, according to News.com.

To take Secunia’s browser test, go to: http://secunia.com/multiple_browsers_dialog_origin_vulnerabi%20lity_test

The good news is that the latest version of Deepnet Explorer, 1.5 Beta 3, protects users from phishing scams exploiting this vulnerability. Deepnet’s new Behavior Inspection Technology, detects the Phishing scam and the pop-up window only displays our Phishing Alarm, warning users that this is a potentially fraudulent website. As a result DE users would not fall victim of this phishing scam.

Deepnet Explorer's advanced anti-phishing security with Behavior Inspection Technology is the only browser so far proven to protect surfers from being duped.

posted @ 5:16 PM

Monday, April 11, 2005

Another great feature hidden within Deepnet Explorer is the ability to scale pages.

Making a web page bigger is great for people who have bad eyesight, it makes it easier for them to read web sites and navigate the internet. Conversely some people like to have as much information as possible squeezed into their monitor.

A certain amount of control over text is given in the View > Text Size menu, but this doesn't give you full scalability and doesn't change the size of images.

To make the text and images any size you want you can use the following keyboard shortcuts.

Ctrl / Increases the page size to 200% of the original size.

Ctrl * Returns the page to the original size.

Ctrl - Makes the page 20% smaller than the current size.

Ctrl + Makes the page 20% bigger than the current size.

One great use of this is when you print web pages. We all know how annoying it is when you try to print a web page and you lose content on the right hand side.

For example visit the BBC News website. If you use the Ctrl - function twice to shrink the page you are viewing by 40% and then choose File > Print Preview you can see that you don't lose any content at the side of the page. Then it's just a case of printing and admiring a printed webpage as it was meant to be.

Please note that for some pages you may have to decrease the page size more than 40%

I'll be back soon with more tips from inside Deepnet Explorer,

Ian Buchanan

Deepnet Web Editor

posted @ 4:33 PM

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

I thought I would use this blog space and share some cool tips on how to get the best from Deepnet Explorer.

Many people like using Gmail ( http://www.gmail.com ) and they also like using a Gmail Notifier so that they get the best of both worlds - a web email application with a desktop email notifier. There are several Gmail Notifiers around, but I wonder how many people know that you don't actually need a third-party app? You can use the Deepnet Explorer NewsReader!

Here is how you can get DE to work as a Gmail Notifier:

  1. Create a new channel for Gmail, and subscribe to this URL: https://gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atom
  2. Right click the Gmail channel and select "Properties" from the popup menu.
  3. Click the "Advanced" tab, and tick the check box: "Alert me immediately on receiving news in this channel"
  4. You can also change the Auto Update frequency if you like.

And that is it! No third-party software, just a built in controllable notifier!

Enjoy!

Ian Buchanan

Deepnet Web Editor

posted @ 3:43 PM

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

I recently met Paul Durman, the City Editor of the Sunday Times and we had an interesting chat about the browser market and how alternative browsers are gaining market share on the expense of Internet Explorer. The interview resulted in a feature titled Browser upstarts eat into Microsoft which was published in The Sunday Times on March 27.

According to Net Applications, a webmonitoring company, IE’s market share is now down below 90%. Firefox is gaining a lot of users, and they have received an impressive 25M downloads. Surely this has raised alarm bells within Microsoft and that is why they have decided to launch IE 7 this summer. With the exception of Microsoft, the demand for better browsing has been obvious to everyone in the business for over two years now. Next generation browsers like Deepnet and Firefox appeal to internet users because they offer the latest features as soon as they become available, not when Microsoft decides they should have them.

But on another note, our business has never been about competing with IE head to head, it's been about developing the most sophisticated technologies to protect users from online scams. With the predictive anti-phishing detection technology that is due for release shortly, we are confident we will be able to retain a leading position in the secure browser and anti-phishing market.

Yurong Lin, CEO

posted @ 5:31 PM

Friday, March 11, 2005

We, the developers of Deepnet Explorer, believe that one of the most important issues is the growing number of internet users falling victim to phishing, identity theft and other online scams. Our mission is to combat this growing threat, by providing a secure web browser, Deepnet Explorer, that protects users from being victim of online fraud. We are writing this letter hoping that together we, and all browsers, can unite by implementing anti-phishing features and standards that will help users defend against phishing scams and online identity theft. Let me explain…

Most commercial web sites rely on a relatively weak form of password authentication: the browser simply sends a user's plaintext password to a remote web server. As you know, this form of password authentication is vulnerable to phishing scams.

In phishing scams, users are typically directed to spoof web sites where they are asked to enter their usernames and passwords. By masquerading as a legitimate site, a phishing site obtains the user's plaintext password for the legitimate site.

This is why we urge you to join us in the fight against phishing by implementing Password Hashing, which provides a simple yet very effective way of defending against phishing scams. Rather than send the user's plaintext password to a web site, browsers that supports password hashing, such as Deepnet Explorer, send the hash of the user's password combined with the domain name of the web site. The hash data is not only cryptographic; it is also specific to the web site itself. In other words, password hash received at the phishing site is not useful at any other site.

Deepnet Explorer has taken the initiative by introducing a new attribute to the INPUT element in HTML form. The new attribute is named “PROTECT”, and it can be applied to the password input as well as any other input that requires protection, such as the credit card number, social security number etc. The result is that any type of input data, not only the password, can be protected. Currently, Deepnet Explorer 1.4 supports two hashing algorithms, MD5 and SHA1. Following is a piece of example code:

<INPUT name=”password” protect="”md5”">

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

or

<INPUT name=”password” protect="”sha1”">

We believe that our latest step towards combating phishing is effective, yet simple. We urge all browser developers to implement the same feature in order to put pressure on financial institutions and e-commerce website to follow suit.

Furthermore, we should all implement password hashing to the same standard, ensuring that websites that enable password hashing are compatible with all browsers.

Together we can make a difference.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Yurong Lin

CEO