Surfers urged to ditch Safari

Surfers who use Apple's Safari web browser have been urged to dump it in favour of a browser that offers better anti-phishing protection.

Anyone going online with Safari is leaving themselves open to attack, according to American magazine Consumer Reports.

The magazine said because the browser doesn't include tools to warn when a website is, or might be, dangerous, surfers using Safari are more exposed.

"The browser of choice for most Mac users, Apple's Safari, has no phishing protection," said Consumer Reports.

The magazine surveyed more than 2,000 American households with internet access and found that those with Macs were just as likely to fall foul of fake sites as those with Windows-based PCs.

However, the report suggested that until Apple adds anti-phishing tools surfers should opt for Firefox or Opera, which warns when you are about to visit a site infected with malware.

"Mac users think that they don't need to worry about viruses and spyware," said Jeff Fox, technology editor with Consumer Reports.

"But email is the weak vector on the Mac," he continued.

Do you use the Safari browser? Let us know in the Web User forums.

www.consumerreports.org