Advertisement
Promo

Become a member of the ZDNet UK community

Resources Downloads

Download Now

Autocomplete Always On! 1.0


License Free
Requirements Mac OS X 10.3 through 10.5.x. (Will probably work with later versions of the OS, provided Apple doesn�¢����t change the location or format of the WebCore file. This program checks the file before attempting to patch it, so it should be safe to try).
Downloads 8 Limitations None
Publisher Magic Publications File Size 83k
Date added 08 Apr 2006 Check your speed

This script patches WebKit (MacOS X's HTML rendering engine, used by Safari), to ignore the "autocomplete" flag (a non-standard HTML extension of IE). This flag is used by some (but not all) banks and other web sites to disable a browser's AutoFill feature on certain web pages.

The bad news is that Apple often makes changes to WebKit, which overwrite this patch (e.g. many system and security updates will do this), but the good news is this script is fairly resilient the way it is written, and is likely to work long into the future, even with newer versions of Mac OS.

How the patch works: Only two bytes are changed in the WebCore file. Two lookup table entries for the word "autocomplete" are altered by changing the "A" character to an "x". This effectively disables checking for the "autocomplete=off" flag, so the flag is ignored. A one-line perl search-and-replace call makes the patch. This simple technique should allow the script to function well into the future over many different versions of WebKit and Mac OS.

This script is an open source AppleScript application.

About security: While the "autocomplete=off" gimmick might increase security for a malware infested OS like Windoze, the opposite is true for a secure OS like MacOS X. Use of this flag is actually a security risk for the Mac user because it encourages users to use weak passwords, or to save them on disk as a plaintext file. Passwords are far more secure sitting encrypted in the Mac's Keychain (which Safari uses to store this kind of information). If you don't have to remember and type in the password manually, you are far more likely to use a strong password.

Download Now

Did you find this download useful?
5 out of 10 users found this download useful


Broadband Deals? Powered by Top 10 Broadband

150+ broadband packages

Compare 30+ mobile broadband deals

Mobile Broadband »

Download

Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Advanced

Trend Micro™ Worry-Free™ Business Security Advanced and Standard 6. #1 for Small Business Security

  • Downloads: 1,166
  • Requirements: Processor: Intel™ Pentium™ or AMD™. RAM: 256MB-1GB (operating system dependant). Disk space: 350MB. Web Browser: Microsoft™ Internet Explorer 6.0 or 7.0.
  • License:
  • Publisher:
  • Size: 0

Download Now

Google Chrome Special Report

All roads lead to Chrome

All roads lead to Chrome

Comment With its new browser, Google has finally taken its gaudy, chrome-plated, futuristic ray gun and pointed it straight at Microsoft's head

More Special Reports


Skip Sub Navigation Links to CNET Brand Links

Help

Become part of the ZDNet community.

Newsletters