Generally speaking, Google does well when it comes to lists.  It’s often labeled a favorite employer, most trusted brand, or dominant competitor.  Unfortunately for the company, Chrome earned the number one spot on a list titled "Top Vulnerable Applications – 2010" today.

Bit9, which created the list, did so by pulling statistics from U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s official vulnerability database, so the results are a little hard to argue with.  Also, we must point out that Chrome came in first by a significant margin, with 76 reported vulnerabilities to second-place Safari’s 60 problems.

(Firefox had 51 vulnerabilities, by the way, and Internet Explorer had 32.)

Still, Bit9 noted in an official statement, "In most cases, vendors on the list have issued patches to repair identified vulnerabilities."

Also, since Chrome is by far the youngest piece of software on the list – and since Google is actively bribing people to seek out vulnerabilities – it’s perhaps easy to understand how some extra issues could have come to light.

Maybe Google will do better the next time Bit9 releases its "Top Vulnerable Applications" list.  In the meantime, do yourself a favor and make sure whatever browser you’re using is up to date.