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Inside Safari 3.2's Anti-Phishing Feature
MacWorld is running a piece from MacJournals.com's for-pay publication detailing how the Safari browser's anti-phishing works. The article takes Apple to task for not thinking enough of its users to bother telling them when Safari sends data off to a third party on their behalf. For it seems that Safari uses the same Google-based anti-phishing technology that Firefox has incorporated since version 2.0, but, unlike Mozilla, tells its users nothing about it. "Even when phrased as friendly to Apple as we can manage, the fact remains that after installing Safari 3.2, your computer is by default downloading lots of information from Google and sending information related to sites you visit back to Google — without telling you, without Apple disclosing the methods, and without any privacy statement from Apple."
Apple lawyers will issue a takedown deman to Macjournal.com and /. in 3... 2... 1...
Truth is only in what you can read now.
Bad Apple. Shame on you. That said, Microsoft did the same thing with Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, and Windows Search. Firefox enabled it by default. Many, many companies auto-update and send information back to their servers without their users explicit permission -- and no, I don't think burying it in the EULA counts. Many applications have options to disable this, some don't. Many of us have software firewalls to block these kind of accesses -- It's sad when you need a firewall to keep legitimate software on your system from phoning home, but I know people do it.
Apple has an even bigger attitude than Microsoft of "Everything we do is to make the user's life easier." So they turn on anything that can be justified as "protecting" them or making their life easier. It's condescending, but most people aren't literate enough to notice or care so it's a business model that works. Barring some government regulation to put an end to this, which honestly won't happen, I don't see this pattern of thinking in our industry changing... If anything, I see it getting worse.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
"Is there any particular reason this is modded +5 Insightful?"
Don't worry. Apple's minions will take care of that shortly!