Apple’s Safari was introduced in early 2003 as a test browser and has since become Apple’s default browser. Starting from just a beta platform, Safari has developed into one of the most well-known browsers in the world. Even with it having the prestige of being created by Apple, it has some downfalls. These differences shall be explored below along with the importance of maintaining Safari updates for the best user experience.

Advantages of Safari

One of the biggest pros to Safari is that it’s free and comes automatically installed in Apple products. Apple has done Safari a great deal of justice in improving its security mechanisms. Later versions of Safari are designed so that third party sites can’t easily obtain user’s information, if private browsing is enabled. Along with private browsing comes the option of no tracking. With no tracking, Safari does just that – it doesn’t cache or save visited sites in its history if the user doesn’t want it to. Later versions of Safari also come with built-in protection against malware. When Safari was available to Windows PCs, the additional virus protection was welcomed considering most computer viruses are written for Windows based computers. The design of Safari is very appealing and many reviews have applauded the browser for being one of the most attractive ones around. Safari will allow users’ bookmarks and favourites to be imported into it as well as an RSS feed. One of the most prized advantages to Safari is its reading list. This mechanism allows a user to save pages they’ll read at a later time. Additionally, tabs that aren’t being used are put in low-power mode to save energy.

Disadvantages of Safari

Negative reviews chime in about the slow start up of Safari, stating it’s one of the slowest on the market. Safari 6 has impressive speeds but still lags with competitors. Safari doesn’t come with auto updates either, unlike competitors. While Safari boasts of many security features, that too lags in comparison. According to a 2012-2013 study with NSS Labs, Safari received the most complaints with protecting users against malware.

Importance of Security Updates, Extensions and Add-ons with Safari

As with any computer software, maintaining Safari is imperative for optimal performance. As other software is updated for compatibility and stability with other platforms, Safari also needs to stay updated. If software gets phased out and only certain browsers can be used with it that means browsers must be updated to operate with the software. This also ensures a user’s browsing experience is secure. If a browser is out of date, so are its security functions. Add-ons and extensions allow Safari to be more customisable for user experience. For example, a popular add-on or extension would be a theme to change its appearance or include quick access icons to Amazon or eBay. It’s important to keep these add-ons up to date as well. If a browser is unstable, obviously its functions will be as well.

Do you use Safari? Comment Below.

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