safari

Safari bug could lure iOS 5 users to malicious Web sites

iOS 5 users, beware a security flaw in Safari that can be used to trick you into visiting potentially malicious Web sites.

Discovered earlier this month by Germany security firm MajorSecurity, the vulnerability could allow cybercriminals to spoof the URL displayed in the browser, trapping users at the wrong sites.

"The weakness is caused due to an error within the handling of URLs when using javascript's window.open() method," explained David Vieira-Kurz of MajorSecurity. "This can be exploited to potentially trick users into supplying sensitive information to a malicious Web site, because information displayed in the … Read more

Google faces new investigations over Safari tracking

Google has found itself in the middle of another privacy probe.

The Web giant is under investigation by U.S. and European regulators for bypassing user privacy settings in Apple's Safari Web browser, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. In a practice it has since ceased, Google used special code to get around Safari's privacy controls in order to track users on computers and mobile devices.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reportedly looking into whether the Google's action violated a 2011 settlement agreement between the agency and the company over privacy concerns … Read more

Troubleshooting Safari update problems

Like most software updates, the latest Safari update (version 5.1.4) causes changes to the system's configuration that will undoubtedly result in problems for some people's setups. Typically, even if no outstanding issues crop up in the software after an update, some people may find certain Web sites will not work or load correctly, and plug-ins might show odd behavior when displaying content.

If you have updated Safari on your Mac and are experiencing problems after updating, then here are some things to try that may fix them.

Reset Safari Often problems with Safari happen when temporary … Read more

Safari 5.1.4 update addresses PDF errors among other bugs

Apple has released version 5.1.4 of its Safari Web browser, which addresses a number of bugs in the browser in OS X Lion, Snow Leopard, and Windows. The update should be available via Apple's Software Update utility, but can also be downloaded from the Safari Web site.

The update will be between 36MB and 48MB in size depending on the platform you are using, and will require the latest versions of either OS X Snow Leopard or Lion to install; the Windows versions require Windows XP SP2 or later.

Safari 5.1.4 for Mac Safari 5.1.4 for Windows … Read more

Danish firm outlines two unpatched Safari vulnerabilities

The Danish IT security firm Secunia has released an advisory today regarding two unpatched vulnerabilities in Apple's Safari 5 Web browser. These vulnerabilities are so far are not known to be actively exploited; however, if done, they could allow an attacker to run malicious software and conduct spoofing attacks on those using the browser.

The first vulnerability is in Safari's plug-in handling system, where in some instances when interacting with the plug-in (such as by accessing its settings or contextual menus), if you navigate to a new page, the plug-in may be unloaded in a way that allows … Read more

Add a 'pull to refresh' gesture to Chrome, Safari

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The "pull to refresh" feature that is now a staple of any great iOS app has found its way to your desktop via a Chrome and Safari extension. There is one caveat, however: you will need to be using OS X Lion in order for it to work.

Originally covered by Lifehacker, but brought to my attention by Twitter follower @StephToThe, the pull to refresh browser extension only takes a few seconds to install and set up.

Head on over to the developer's GitHub page. Download the ZIP file containing the Chrome and Safari extension. … Read more

Mobile Safari's default cookies settings changing randomly

Earlier this week it was found that Google had been overriding privacy settings for several Internet browsers, including Apple's Safari and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, in order to display its Google+ buttons in advertisements.

Now, according to a couple Apple Communities support forum threads (one, two), using Google products on Mobile Safari may be related to a bug that changes a user's "Accept Cookies" settings.

But, despite reports from many users saying the problems with Mobile Safari were in relation to the use of their Gmail accounts and the odd coincidence that Google is in the … Read more

Google getting around IE privacy settings?

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Microsoft: Google bypasses privacy settings Pinterest's opt-out option SkyDrive app for Windows 8 Nook Tablet 8GB for $199 BlackBerry PlayBook update Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Microsoft: Google bypassed IE privacy settings too

In the wake of reports that Google had sidestepped privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser, Microsoft announced today it had discovered that the Web giant had done the same with Internet Explorer.

"When the IE team heard that Google had bypassed user privacy settings on Safari, we asked ourselves a simple question: is Google circumventing the privacy preferences of Internet Explorer users too?" IE executive Dean Hachamovitch wrote in a blog post this morning. "We've discovered the answer is yes: Google is employing similar methods to get around the default privacy protections in IE and … Read more