Comments on: Apple Safari vulnerable to multiple attacks

Researcher warns that read- and write-access violations could crash the browser and another vulnerability could spoof the address bar in Windows.

[amandachuck]

Crashing the browser is a good thing?

If someone attacks my computer with a malicious site, or just
creates such a **** poor site it would take up too many
resources on my machine, I'm happy to have the browser crash
as a defense. What's the problem? You just, you know, reload
the browser and move on?

Now, if it crashed the whole computer, I'd be pissed. And that
would happen in some cases if the browser wasn't smart enough
to crash first. We'll see if that happens in the real world.

But the only thing that ever crashes my Mac completely is faulty
network disk access, a problem with OSX since 10.0 that has
been mitigated in 10.5, but is still there.

[amandachuck]

don't get me wrong though

I'd rather not have it have to crash, and I'd rather not have
malpunks out there causing trouble, but crashing the browser isn't
the end of the world. destroying my HD, rewriting all my word files
with "Paul for President", etc., that would be much worse.

[mjm01010101]

crashing the browser is not a good thing

Generally speaking, browsers and internet facing apps should never crash. They shouldn't crash because crashing implies a point of weakness where memory can be controlled, injected, manipulated, etc.

Most crashes I've seen in a browser were directly due to a plugin like javaRE or activex control like flash.

[rcrusoe]

Interactions are a problem,

crashes are not.

If they were, you would spend all your time reporting on Flash and Silverlight "attacks".

[k2dave]

Crashes are acceptable to Mac users?

From the comments posted so far it seems like Mac users are satisfied with the response of their web browser crashing at the fist sign of trouble. I think it's good as a stop gap measure till a fix is out, but far from acceptable.

[catch23]

Mac users

will accept anything in defense of Apple.
Yet if the same thing happened on a Windows box, they would use it as 'proof' of MS's ineptness.

Apple fans start with the premise that Apple is never wrong, then warp the 'facts' to fit. At times like this, it is pretty funny to watch

[krosavcheg]

"From the comments posted so far it seems..."

"From the comments posted so far it seems..."

Huh? There are only four comments posted before yours, from
three people. Only one commenter says that she prefers the
browser crashing than getting the machine compromised.

So, for you, a sample of one is enough to support your claim?

[Gomphos]

Dedicated Mac user...

...and not apologetic. Of course Apple needs to fix this, and fast.
But I'd still use Mac over any version of Windows.

[Melekai]

Safari for Windows

Sounds like an Windows problem, not a Mac problem.

[Igiveup2]

Oh really?

Then why was a Safari vulnerability used to pwn a MacBook in less than two minutes at CanSec West? And why was an iTunes vulnerability so effective an attack vector against OSX at CanSec West the year before? The wireless stack in OSX is alsofull of exploitable flaws. Apple's response to that fact was to try to cover it up by blaming the messenger. When malware writers want to target OSX, they will. And Apple's lax response to security issues suggests that they could succeed spectacularly.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Safari is a joke gone bad...

Mr.Turtle Neck`s version of an April Fools joke.