For iOS users out there, here’s an interesting question for you: if Google was not the default search engine when you use Safari, would you be bothered to navigate over to Google’s website or use the Google app, or would you just use whatever was the default search? Loyalists might actually bother to go to Google’s website, but that’s a chance that Google can’t afford to take.

It appears that the next version of Apple’s Safari browser is going to ditch the “Do Not Track” feature. The release notes for Safari v12.1 mention that this version is going to remove “support for the expired Do Not Track standard to prevent potential use as a fingerprinting variable.”

When Apple introduced Touch ID on their MacBook Pro laptops, it seemed like a good idea and a faster way to log into the laptop as well as authorize payments. However apart from that, it didn’t really do anything else. However that could change as Apple seems to be expanding on the feature’s functionality.

It was recently revealed that Microsoft is working on a major overhaul for its Edge browser where they would be adopting Chromium, Google’s rendering engine for websites, and thus ditching EdgeHTML in the process. It seemed like a smart idea with regards to compatibility, but it seems that Microsoft might have been forced into the matter.

As technology gets more sophisticated, so do the tools used for hacking, which means gone are the days when a simple username and password combination was enough to protect our online accounts. These days we’re starting to see the use of two-factor authentication, biometric security, and also physical USB security keys.

Apple has always boasted how the privacy of their customers is of utmost importance to them, which is why some have questioned the company’s decision to accept billions of dollars from Google so that Google can remain the default search engine on Safari, and this is something that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has since addressed.

One of the features that Apple introduced in iOS 12 is Screen Time. This basically lets users see how much time they’ve spent on an app (or apps), and it also allows users to set restrictions for themselves or if they’re a parent, for their kids. Unfortunately this is a feature that Apple should probably have worked on a bit more.

These days hackers are getting better at trying to trick users into giving away personal information. Take for example ads where back in the day, it was common to find ads designed to look like Windows popups, thus tricking users into clicking it and potentially install some spyware or malware in the process.

Search engine providers have a history of paying substantial sums of money to popular web browsers just so they can be the default search engine on them. Yahoo’s $300 million deal made it the default search engine on Mozilla’s Firefox but it was later outbid by Google. Safari, even though it’s only for Apple’s devices, is a widely used browser given the sheer number of products Apple has shipped. Google […]

It is rare if not impossible that software is completely invulnerable to hacks or exploits, which is why updates are important and why companies reward developers who discover bugs or possible hacks. In fact recently at the Pwn20wn 2018 event, several Safari exploits were demonstrated.

Back in 2016 a bug was discovered in which it allowed attackers to send a malicious text message to iPhone users in which it could cause their phones to crash. Now it seems that a new malicious link has been discovered that can pretty do much the same thing, where clicking on it will cause Apple’s Messages and/or Safari app to crash.

One of the new features that Apple introduced in iOS 11 was an update to its Safari mobile browser, where the company added an “Intelligent Tracking Prevention” tool. This tool was designed to prevent ads and websites from tracking users across the entire internet, meaning that whatever tracking is being done can only be done on the website you are visiting.

A lot of companies and developers will you that your privacy is of the utmost importance to them. This is why companies such as Apple have baked in security settings in their apps like Safari designed to protect a user’s privacy, like blocking cookies from third-parties and advertisers by default.

While Google’s Chrome browser is feature rich and packed with functionality, it is a bit of a memory hog, or at least that’s the reputation that it has gotten over the years, although to Google’s credit they have been improving it on that front. However if you’re a Mac user looking for a relatively light browser, going native could be a good idea.