Apple Safari 5.0.1 has been released, alongside Safari 4.1.1 fixing last weeks auto-fill vulnerability.
Safaro 5.0.1 also enables extensions for the browser, with Apple also releasing a gallery with some of the early Safari 5 extensions.
Apple has also released a security bulletin explaining the vulnerabilities that have been fixed.
Safari 5.0.1 can be downloaded from the Apple website, while extensions can be downloaded from the new Safari Extensions Gallery.
A new security vulnerability has been found in Apple Safari’s Autofill feature, which can allow malicious websites to extract users personal information from their Address Book.
“All a malicious website would have to do to surreptitiously extract Address Book card data from Safari is dynamically create form text fields with the aforementioned names, probably invisibly, and then simulate A-Z keystroke events using JavaScript. When data is populated, that is AutoFill’ed, it can be accessed and sent to the attacker” wrote security researcher, Jeremiah Grossman.
Grossman submitted the vulnerability to Apple on 17th June, but Apple is yet to comment on the issue. Grossman has also released proof-of-concept code illustrating how the vulnerability works.
The vulnerability affects both Safari 4 and Safari 5 on Mac computers, with no patch in sight from Apple.
Mozilla’s answer to Firefox Sync for Apple ‘i’ products has been approved in the Apple App Store.
Mozilla’s description explains it all:
“Firefox Home provides access to your desktop history, bookmarks and open tabs on your iPhone. It’s not a Web browser itself, but with it you can get up and go and have everything waiting for you on your iPhone. Firefox Home is secure from end-to-end so your data is always safe. And, of course, it’s free.”
Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users can download Firefox Home from the App Store today.
Apple’s Safari Extensions Gallery may be nearing launch, with Apple today sending out an email to registered developers reminding them to submit their Safari 5 extensions for inclusion in the gallery.
We’ll soon be launching the Safari Extensions Gallery, a new destination that provides you with an opportunity to increase the visibility of your Safari extension beyond your website.
The Safari Extensions Gallery will feature selected extensions that offer an innovative user experience. And a one-click installation process will allow users to seamlessly install extensions from a developers website without ever having to leave the Gallery.
Have your extension considered for the Safari Extensions Gallery. Submit your extension download URL and supporting metadata today.
While some extensions for the browser are currently available, Safari 5 users must manually enable extensions for them to work in the browser. A comprehensive list of early Safari 5 extensions can be found in the Safari Extensions blog.
Interested developers can submit their Safari 5 extensions at the Safari Dev Center.
Rumors are starting to circulate suggesting that extensions might be on their way for Apple’s Safari browser, bringing it into line with other browsers such as Firefox and Chrome.
Technology enthusiast and blogger John Gruber has alluded that such an announcement might be made at this years Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
“The other big thing that’s missing (compared to both Chrome and Firefox) is a proper extension API. If only Apple had an imminent developer conference where they could unveil such a thing” wrote Gruber.
While not exactly confirmation, the possibility of an announcement at this years WWDC is entirely plausible, and would be a very welcomed addition to the Safari browser.
We will keep you updated if this story continues to develop over the coming weeks.
Details have emerged of a new high risk vulnerability discovered in Apple’s Safari web browser.
The exploit could allow a malicious user to execute arbitrary code on a remote system and is rated highly critical by Secunia.
“The vulnerability is caused due to an error in the handling of parent windows and can result in a function call using an invalid pointer. This can be exploited to execute arbitrary code when a user e.g. visits a specially crafted web page and closes opened pop-up windows” says the Secunia security advisory.
The vulnerability affects both Mac OS X and Windows versions of the browser. Apple is yet to release an update to close the flaw.
Opera has entered the Adobe Flash vs HTML5 debate, siding with Apple stating that “flash as a video container makes very little sense”.
Phillip Grønvold, Product Analyst at Opera gave an interview with TechRadar this week and shared his thoughts on the debate.
“Today’s internet content is dependant on Flash, if you remove Flash you do not have today’s internet. We are trying to give the best internet experience for our users therefore we need Flash – there is no way to beat around that bush.”
“But at Opera we say that the future of the web is open web standards and Flash is not an open web standards technology” continued Grønvold.
Grønvold believes that Adobe will need to change, and embrace HTML5 technologies or face more embracing war-of-words like we have seen between Adobe and Apple’s Steve Jobs.
For more details be sure to read the full interview at TechRadar.
In its first 24 hours since approved by Apple, Opera Mini for iPhone has been downloaded over one million times.
The number was so great that Opera Mini was the most downloaded application across all region app stores.
“Today iPhone users have a choice, and, as the numbers show, they are eager to explore new and faster ways to surf the Web on the iPhone – especially during heavy Web traffic,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.
Opera Mini can be downloaded for free for the iPhone and iPod Touch from Apple’s iTunes App Store.
Opera have announced that Opera Mini is heading to the iPhone and iPod Touch today, after Apple approved the app for the devices.
This comes 20 days after Opera submitted the browser to Apple for approval.
“Opera Mini […] enables fast mobile Web browsing by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the device, resulting in significantly improved page loading. Users of the app will notice an uptake in speed, especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network. Surfing the Web with the Opera Mini App on iPhone and iPod touch will also help users save money because of its data compression capabilities” said a press release from Opera.
“We are delighted to offer iPhone and iPod touch users a great browsing experience with the Opera Mini App,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “This app is another step toward Opera’s goal of bringing the Web to more people in more places.”
The browser can be downloaded for free now from the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch users.
The WebKit team have announced WebKit2 is on it’s way, the popular rendering engine found in Apple’s Safari, and Google’s Chrome web browsers.
“WebKit2 is designed from the ground up to support a split process model, where the web content (JavaScript, HTML, layout, etc) lives in a separate process” wrote Anders Carlsson and Sam Weinig. This is similar to what the Chrome team have done, but it allows other developers to use this model right from the framework without having to add an extra application layer.
WebKit2 can currently be compiled for both Mac OSX and Windows users. More information can be found in the WebKit wiki.
No word yet on when this will make its way into the Safari browser, of if Google will be interested in this method over it’s own for Chrome.