Safeer Browser 1.0.129 · Safeer OS 0.4.87 (Safeer Control 2.1.84)

Safeer Browser for Linux 1.0.129 · Safeer OS 0.4.87 (with Safeer Control 2.1.84)

Searching the web from the magnifier works again. In 1.0.128, searching the web from the Safeer OS magnifier could open »This page can't be opened right now« instead of the results, most often after Splet had been hidden for a minute. The cause was ours: to save memory, Safeer stopped WebKit's network process while web pages that were kept ready for new tabs still depended on it, so the next page failed. With our patched libsoup (which no longer leaks memory) the network process now keeps running. Splet and Safeer Browser also retry an interrupted page by themselves (twice, after 0.4 and 1.5 seconds) before showing an error, and the error page now names the cause. Only ordinary page loads (GET) are retried – a form you submitted (login, payment, order) is never sent again, also when the page contains frames. A connection that broke after the request may already have been sent is retried only on search engine result pages. Known limitation: the AppImage still carries the system's libsoup, so in a very long session its network process can grow in memory; Safeer no longer stops it (that is what broke the search). The AppImage gets our libsoup in the next release.

Results while you type. The magnifier now shows the first three results of your search engine while you type the third letter onwards, right under »Search the web«, next to your programs and files – click one to open it in Splet. The results are read in a hidden Splet page with your own settings and the same Shield protection as your tabs (ad and tracker filters, Global Privacy Control), so nothing new is installed and no other service is asked. A short note under »Search the web« names the search engine that received what you typed. Folder paths and file names (with an extension) you search for on your computer are not sent. If you prefer that your search engine sees the query only after you press Enter, turn off Live web results while typing under Customise desktop.

One file per download. Our WebKit is now built into every .deb: Safeer Browser, the Safeer OS desktop environment and the new Safeer OS app (Safeer OS in a window, without changing your Cinnamon desktop) are each one file you install with a double click. The separate safeer-webkit package from 1.0.128 is replaced automatically; programs share one copy of WebKit on disk. The desktop environment and the app replace each other, so you never have two Safeer OS or two Safeer Control on one computer.

Safeer Shield keeps working when the desktop doesn't. The Shield now runs in its own process under the supervisor, which holds its network ports: if Safeer OS freezes or crashes, ads stay blocked (on the test PC a frozen Safeer OS used to stop the Shield for about 22 seconds). A frozen desktop is replaced in 8 seconds (was 19), a frozen Shield in 5. Many connections from one local program can no longer silence the Shield.

Stability. Settings and lists are saved atomically and flushed to disk, the Library and Messages databases use write-ahead logging, a stuck certificate tool no longer stops Safeer Link, and Safeer Browser now records a trace when it crashes. An update installs the same kind of Safeer OS you have (app or desktop environment), never the other one.

Fixes found by independent reviews. The Shield's counter in the Media Center counts everything again, our sandbox settings no longer leak into programs you open, Python helpers ignore packages in your home folder, Safeer Link handles damaged saved data without stopping, text files are read as UTF-8, and the JBL add-on sends a command only after the sound bar has proved it is the same device.

Smaller things. Splet supports navigator.storage (sites that check their storage quota work), and its buttons (new tab, downloads, close tab, mute, bookmark, back, forward, reload, home) have names for screen readers. Program search in Programs looks through all categories and keywords; a program installed while Safeer OS runs gets its icon at once; the notification count in the panel always matches the list; the Safeer Link and Messages chips follow the edge of the search field; the »new version installed« note closes after the automatic restart.