America Online  on Feb. 17 plans to release the first public test version of a new Netscape browser that is designed to protect users from scams and malicious code while surfing the Web.

With the release, AOL is taking aim at Microsoft's dominant Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser, which has been the subject of many security vulnerabilities. Also, AOL is looking to piggyback on the popularity of Firefox, the open source Web browser that was released in November and has since been downloaded nearly 22 million times.

Using a list of known malicious Web sites, the new Netscape 8 browser will automatically adjust security settings to protect the user. A blacklist of Web sites will be stored on the user's PC and updated frequently. AOL is currently in negotiations with various security companies to supply the information, sources close to AOL said.

While browsing the Web, users will be alerted with a red check mark in the browser tab to sites known to be part of a phishing scam or that distribute spyware or other malicious code. Browser technologies such as JavaScript, cookies and ActiveX will be disabled.

Phishing scams are a prevalent type of online attack that typically combine spam e-mail messages and Web pages that look like legitimate e-commerce sites to steal sensitive information such as user names, passwords and credit card numbers.

Netscape 8 will identify sites known to be trusted, such as banks, online services and online stores, with a green check mark. These sites by default will be displayed using the IE rendering engine, with most browser technologies enabled to maximize compatibility. The trusted sites list will come from organizations such as Truste, sources said.

Unknown sites will be coded yellow. Users can change settings on a per-site basis through a menu that is easily accessible from the browser tab.

Netscape 8 is based on Firefox, but also supports the IE browser engine. AOL released a preview version of the browser to a select group of testers in late November. The Netscape browser doesn't include the IE engine, but uses the engine that is part of Windows. As such, the Netscape 8 browser only works on Windows computers.

IE is part of Windows and is used by most Web users. Many Web sites have been designed specifically to work with the Microsoft browser and may not work correctly in browsers using other engines, including the Gecko engine in Firefox. For example, movie site Movielink.com and tax Web site HRBlock.com don't work well in Firefox.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.