Disable Safari

[squier15]

Looking for reasons why disabling Safari on all our corporate Mac's could be a bad idea. We are looking at some security software that doesn't work within Safari and their solution is to block it and have users use Chrome only. Looking for some help on things this could negatively effect.

Thanks!

[SGill]

It's now a protected app under SIP - I wouldn't delete it with the newer macOS's

[Quan_nong]

I dont think Safari is integrated in anyway with the OS, so creating a "Software Restriction" policy to stop/kill the process from running should be sufficient

[SGill]

It’s integrated as the default browser and it means your users will be left with an app they can’t launch. I would think those would be reasons to avoid restricting Safari launches but if there is a business need for your users to never launch it, then I would think it is possible.

[talkingmoose]

This is such a bizarre recommendation from a company that makes security software.

Apps installed with macOS such as Safari cannot be removed. (Try deleting the Chess app, for example.) While you don't have to use Safari, your users may choose to use Safari. Or Firefox. Or Opera. You can be playing whack-a-mole with what you're security software dictates. You'll eventually be at their mercy to dictate what you can and cannot use.

My recommendation is to avoid this security software and find something else that works without having to restrict applications on the client. You should only restrict applications your organization deems a security risk. Safari is not one of them.

[squier15]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[guero2099]

Safari has a big problem to enable third-party extensions since OSX 10.15.3, you can find more information here https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/128456, if Apple doesn't solve this issue, it is impossible for Security vendors to create accurate extensions. I think it is a good idea to create a "Software Restriction" policy to stop/kill the process from running.