The latest version available is 5.1.7 from May 2012. It is no longer getting security updates and therefore you shouldn’t use it on Windows. On Mac, it’s another story. Safari is still a good choice if you’re using OSX. It has a good reputation for security and is one of the earlier adopters of new features. Safari 14: New privacy and security features. This post was originally published on this site. Apple has released Safari 14, which features many functional. Mobile Safari—the web browser on your iPhone and iPad—has a number of privacy features you might not be using, like blocking all cookies and preventing cross site tracking. Let’s look at what options are available and how to enable them. You’ll find Safari’s various Privacy and Security features in one place.
Qualitative Score: Firefox gets a D, Safari an F, and IE a D. Security Features: All three browsers offer some rudimentary security controls in the way of being able to allow or disallow broad categories of content, such as Javascript, Java, or ActiveX. But by default, these features are so broad in their “all or nothing” approaches as to.
This post was originally published on this site
Apple has released Safari 14, which features many functional improvements, a Privacy Report that shows all the trackers the browser has neutralized, and and does not support Adobe Flash anymore.
New features
Safari Browser Security Settings
Safari 14 sports a redesign of the tab bar, which now displays site favicons by default and previews of the contents of some pages (when the user hovers over a tab), and a customizable start page.
It also features improved extension support, as Apple has already put things in motion to allow app developers to easily convert their existing extension into a Safari web extension or build a new one, and support for.
But on to the Safari 14 privacy and security additions:
Privacy Report
The Privacy Report shows the cross-site trackers that Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) prevented from accessing identifying information, and how many and which trackers the visited websites sport. It also shows which entity is behind each tracker.
ITP uses on-device machine learning to identify and block the trackers, and known trackers are independently verified by DuchDuckGo. Safari blocks trackers only if the “Prevent cross-site tracking” option is turned on, and the Privacy Report can only be compiled if users have turned ITP on.
The report is accessible through the “Safari” tab, via the start page, and via the shield-style icon to the left of the browser’s address bar.
Secure password monitoring
Safari 14 will notify users when one of their saved passwords in iCloud Keychain has shown up in a data breach (iCloud Keychain has to be enabled, of course).
It will also allow them to immediately change the password by pointing them to the correct page for each website (if the admin has specified the page’s URL in the web server’s .well-known directory).
Removed support for Adobe Flash for improved security
Adobe Flash has been a thorn in security-minded users’ and cybersecurity professionals’ side for many years, as its vulnerabilities were often exploited by attackers.
Three years ago, browser makers have announced that they would drop Flash support by the end of 2020, and now the time has come for the move. Adobe Flash will reach end-of-life on December 31, 2020.
Fixed vulnerabilities
Apple has fixed four WebKit vulnerabilities in Safari 14. All can be triggered by the browser processing maliciously crafted web content and three could lead to arbitrary code execution.
More information about and a PoC for the one discovered by Marcin “Icewall” Noga of Cisco Talos can be found here.
Safari User Guide
Safari Security Settings
In the Safari app on your Mac, use Security preferences to turn security warnings on or off. Also enable or disable JavaScript. To change these preferences, choose Safari > Preferences, then click Security.
Safari Security Features For Windows
Option | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warn when visiting a fraudulent website | Safari warns you if the site you’re visiting is a suspected phishing website. Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to steal your personal information, such as user names, passwords, and other account information. A fraudulent website masquerades as a legitimate one, such as a bank, financial institution, or email service provider. Before you visit a website, Safari may send information calculated from the website address to Google Safe Browsing to check if the website is fraudulent. If you have China mainland set as your region in the Language & Region pane of System Preferences, Safari may also use Tencent Safe Browsing to do this check. The actual website address is never shared with the safe browsing provider. These safe browsing providers may also log your IP address when information is sent to them. | ||||||||||
Enable JavaScript | Allow JavaScript, which websites use for buttons, forms, and other content. Some websites can’t work properly if you disable JavaScript. | ||||||||||