LayerX Labs, a security firm, has uncovered an advanced phishing campaign that has shifted its focus to Mac users following the implementation of enhanced browser protections that diminished the success of its Windows-based attacks. Initially, the attackers employed fake Microsoft security alerts to target Windows users, but they have since modified their approach due to new anti-scareware measures introduced in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers earlier this year. Tim Hardwick for MacRumors: ‎ According to LayerX, the original campaign relied on compromised websites that would display fake security warnings claiming the user’s computer had been “compromised” and “locked.” The malicious code would then freeze the webpage, creating the illusion that the computer was locked and prompting victims to enter their…

iOS 18.4 includes a new Safari feature that puts your searches front and center, showing your recent search history whenever you open up a new Safari tab and tap into the search field. When the feature first came out in the iOS 18.4 beta, there was no option to disable it, but Apple rectified that with the fourth beta update. In the Safari section of the Settings app, there is now a "Show Recent Searches" option that can be toggled off. Disabling Show Recent Searches returns the Safari search interface to its iOS 18.3.2 behavior, where recent searches are not shown when tapping into the search window of a new tab. Apple appears to have added the option to toggle…

With iOS 18.4, Apple made a small tweak to Safari that could be polarizing because it puts your search history front and center. When you open up a new Safari tab and then tap into the search field, Safari shows your recent search history. In iOS 18.3.1, opening up a new tab and then tapping into search does not show your history, and the view remains on the personalized Safari home page. iOS 18.3.1 has no clear view of prior searches at all, except that a recent search will show up in your suggested results if you search for the same thing again. As noted by 9to5Mac, having Safari search so visible may not always be desirable if you're ever…

OpenAI today updated the ChatGPT app to add a new Safari Extension that allows ChatGPT to be used as the default search engine for searches made through the Safari search bar. After updating to the latest version of the ChatGPT app, the ChatGPT Search Extension can be enabled in the Safari section of the Settings app. Turning it on directs all queries typed in to the Safari search bar to ChatGPT Search instead of Google or whatever your default search engine is set to. Turning on this extension will direct queries you type into the Safari search bar to ChatGPT Search, making ChatGPT Search your default search engine in Safari. The same policies that govern your use of ChatGPT apply.…

Apple has told UK’s competition regulator that some of the remedy options proposed by the watchdog to address concerns in the mobile browser market would stifle the company’s incentive to innovate. Reuters: ‎ The responses from Apple and Google to the regulator’s investigation in the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices in the country were published on the government website on Wednesday. With respect to remedy options on providing feature access, Apple said it would “not be appropriate” to mandate that access to future WebKit or that iOS features in use by Safari be provided free of charge, adding that developing features is a time and…

There are several ways to search the web in Apple's Safari browser. In this article, we're going to highlight a way of searching specific websites using a lesser-known Safari feature called Quick Website Search. The option is designed to work with sites that have a built-in search field, like the one you can find at the top of the main page at MacRumors.com. Here's how it works. Let's say you want to look up articles on MacRumors that mention device benchmarks. You might do this by typing "macrumors benchmarks" into Safari's address bar to get results from whichever search engine the browser is configured to use. If you're a bit more search savvy, you might even type "site:macrumors.com benchmarks" to…