14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has rolled out Safari 5.1.4 for Mac OS X and Windows platforms, improving JavaScript performance on OS X Lion in particular, and adding several new enhancements and tweaks in the Snow Leopard version of the browser, as well as on Windows.
In addition to improving JavaScript performance on OS X 10.7, Safari 5.1.4 improves responsiveness when typing into the search field after changing network configurations or with an intermittent network connection, according to the release notes.
The updated browser further addresses an issue that could cause webpages to flash white when switching between Safari windows. Some errors that prevented printing U.S. Postal Service shipping labels and embedded PDFs have been resolved as well.
Other changes (affecting all versions of the browser, including that for Windows PC customers) include:
- Preserve links in PDFs saved from webpages - Fix an issue that could make Flash content appear incomplete after using gesture zooming - Fix an issue that could cause the screen to dim while watching HTML5 video - Improve stability, compatibility and startup time when using extensions - Allow cookies set during regular browsing to be available after using Private Browsing - Fix an issue that could cause some data to be left behind after pressing the “Remove All Website Data” button.
As always, Apple also included numerous security fixes in Safari 5.1.4. All but one vulnerability affected Mac OS X. A flaw involving look-alike characters affected only the Windows version of the application.
Notably, there are 5 different cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in WebKit (the heart and soul of Safari), and around four dozen WebKit issues that could lead to arbitrary code execution.
Safari 5.1.4 requires OS X Lion 10.7.3, Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8, Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.