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Safari Beta on Windows Upgraded -- Already

That didn't take long.

Just three days after releasing its first-ever browser to work on Windows, Apple Inc. has issued a patch to close some vulnerabilities.

Today Apple released an update of its beta, version 3.0.1, for its Safari browser. It fixes three security holes discovered almost immediately after the Windows XP/Vista version was made available. CEO Steve Jobs announced the beta during his keynote Monday, during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

Within hours of the announcement, at least three researchers -- Dave Maynor, Thor Larholm and Aviv Raff -- discovered multiple bugs. Maynor alone found six; four of which could lead to denial of service attacks, and two remote execution vulnerabilities.

The new version fixes three of the discovered bugs, leaving several vulnerabilities still unpatched.

The announcement of Windows-capable Safari was considered the biggest revelation at the show, and it's been at the center of controversy; first, for the bugs, and also because Jobs said that it will be the only development platform available for software writers looking to develop for the much-anticipated iPhone. Apple is not opening up the iPhone OS to developers, but will allow for building Web-based applications that launch from within Safari.

About the Author

Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.