Apple users alert: Bug strikes iPhones, iPads

 

Apple is warning users that a website link is quickly spreading across social media and text messages that can cause iOS devices to crash.

The link to CrashSafari.com can cause the web browser on an iPhone to go black, forcing users to restart their devices. It can also affect iPads and iPod Touches that use the latest version of iOS. In addition to Apple's native browser by default, Safari, it can also strike through other browsers, such as Google's Chrome or Mozilla's Firefox.

Users may not even know that they've clicked on a bad link. The website recently went viral on social media, and some pranksters use URL shorteners like Bit.ly to hide the corrupted link.

Global News reports that the URL "overloads the browser with a complicated string of code, causing the browser to freeze and ultimately crash."

The site does not contain malware, so it shouldn't create lasting problems on devices, however.
Apple says it's working on a fix. iMore editor-in-chief Rene Ritchie recommends that iOS users long-press on a link to see the full URL before pressing to open it. Those on an Apple device should hover the mouse over the text link to view the full URL before clicking.

Reprint courtesy and copyright the following. Source: "Apple Admits to Safari Problem Causing iPhones to Crash," Forbes.com (Jan. 27, 2016) © Copyright 2016 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD The original article appeared here: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=4&id=333237