Why no 128-bit encryption support in Safari?

Question

Level 1

8 points

Why no 128-bit encryption support in Safari?

All the banks and Credit Card web sites require a browser that supports 128-bit encryption. When will Saqfari catch up so Mac users can stop having to use IE as their browser?

G5,12" PB, 17"& 15" IMac Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on May 1, 2006 10:21 AM

Answer 1

Yang

Level 6

9,135 points

May 1, 2006 10:33 AM in response to Paul Linton1

Hi Paul,

I was under the impression that Safari was capable of both 40- and 128-bit encryption. On Apple's Safari website, it says that..

"Safari also uses strong 128-bit encryption when accessing secure sites such as your bank or an online store, so you can transmit account and payment information with confidence.

shrugs

Admittedly, I am missing something here. 😟

Yang

Answer 2

Paul Linton1 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 1, 2006 11:22 AM in response to Yang

That's what I thought but neither Capital one nore Bank of America will allow me access using Safari. The Capapital one site says the browser does not support 128 and directs users to use IE as their Mac Web browser. see the notice I copied from Capital One below.

Thanks for the response. BTW any thoughts where I can find a software that will open my old pictures talen with the Apple Quicktake 100 and 150 Cameras" File type was an applePICT file format. I have hundreds of old family pictures I can't open. Any thoughts?

Capital One Login Requirements;

If you experience difficulty logging into your online account or going to the registration page, you may need to update your Web browser.
Recommended browsers for PC users:
• Netscape, version 6.1 or higher
• Internet Explorer, version 4.0 or higher
Recommended browsers for Macintosh users
• Internet Explorer version 4.5 or higher

Answer 3

May 1, 2006 12:34 PM in response to Paul Linton1

Use Firefox.. I would stay away from IE as it is the plague! It is a problem with thier server not knowing what safari is plain and simple. What you do to have Apple (hopefully) work with them is to go to the site where they ask you to log in and send Apple a bug report (from the Safari Menu). If you can't get FireFox to work complain to Capital and explain that IE is a SECURITY RISK and hasn't been updated, except for a small security patch, for some 4 years or so (check the date in the finder) and ask them to get CURRENT. They must have some lazy coders.

pict files... I thought Preview would open them.. but get, try, and buy GraphicConverter X it will hook you up.

User uploaded file

Answer 4

K.S.

Level 4

3,700 points

May 1, 2006 12:39 PM in response to Paul Linton1

You can test Safari's encryption here:
http://www.cia.gov/employment/resume.html

You need to scroll down to the box containing "128-bit Browser Encryption Test"

Answer 5

Yang

Level 6

9,135 points

May 1, 2006 12:43 PM in response to Paul Linton1

Hi Paul,

Perhaps you could try changing your user agent to 'Windows MSIE 6.0' to see if that will work. It could be the case that the website is locking users out simply based on the browser ID being reported, and not 128-bit encryption capability.

Enable the debug menu by quitting Safari and entering the following line in Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities/)..

defaults write com.apple.Safari EnableDebugMenu 1

Launch Safari and under the 'Debug' menu, change your 'User Agent' accordingly.

BTW any thoughts where I can find a software that will open my old pictures talen with the Apple Quicktake 100 and 150 Cameras" File type was an applePICT file format. I have hundreds of old family pictures I can't open. Any thoughts?

Have you tried importing them into iPhoto or maybe using GraphicConverter (shareware)?

Yang

Answer 6

Paul Linton1 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 2, 2006 9:43 AM in response to Yang

Hi Yang, thanks for that but I must not be doing something correctly. I ran terminal with Safari down and pasted in "defaults write com.apple.Safari EnableDebugMenu 1" and hit ENTER as you instructed, with terminal still open (I tried it both open and closed) I re-launched Safari but could no DEBUG menu choice. What did I do wrong?

Your instructions said
"Launch Safari and under the 'Debug' menu, change your 'User Agent' accordingly."

BTW none of the suggestions that have been posted work to open an ApplePICT photo file. I have been seeking an ApplePICT to JPEG converter for years w/o success.

Again Thanks for your time and effort

Answer 7

andyBall_uk

Level 7

20,576 points

May 2, 2006 9:56 AM in response to Paul Linton1

Paul

try http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030110063041629

Answer 8

Yang

Level 6

9,135 points

May 2, 2006 11:16 AM in response to andyBall_uk

Eeesh, thanks Andy. My bad! 😟

defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1

Yang

Answer 9

Jpfresno

Level 4

3,020 points

May 2, 2006 2:13 PM in response to Paul Linton1

That's what I thought but neither Capital one nore
Bank of America will allow me access using Safari.

Welcome to Apple's Users Help Users Forums.
Hi Paul,

B of A works fine for me. FWIW

Message was edited by: Jpfresno XXX to Paul

Answer 10

Jul 10, 2006 10:55 AM in response to Jpfresno

I've been using Safari and B of A online for years without a problem, but today I tried to apply for a business checking account online and got the no-128-bit encryption nonsense. I added the debug menu and switched to user agent Windows MSIE 6.0. It worked--not perfectly, but it worked. The application pages froze two or three times, but I did get through it.

Intel iMac and iBook G4 1Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.7)