New Website Can Crash iPhone in One Click

A new bug hit the world this week, and some nasty species have already responded with a new website – one that can crash the iPhone with just a click of a link.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen smartphones like the iPhone crash into simple errors. However, bug releases and other common software vulnerabilities are coming faster and faster, and both companies and consumers seem to be left in the dust. The latest project to cause mayhem is usually harmless – but annoying nonetheless. creatively named CrashSafari.com (you probably shouldn’t click on it), the new bug can instantly crash your iPhone, whether in an email, iMessage, or Facebook chat just by clicking the link.

this bug apparently, it works by automatically loading thousands and thousands of characters into your browser’s address bar. Character overflow starts as soon as the page loads and usually has the desired effect before you can close the tab or switch from Safari. In just a second or two, you’ll see the typical black loading screen with the white Apple logo. While there are some reports suggesting that the bug crashes your iPhone, the home screen comes back so it’s more likely that the iPhone’s springboard crashed. More basically, it works by massively overloading Safari’s memory.

While the iPhone has experienced the strongest response to the CrashSafari bug, it’s not the only device to suffer from some heartburn. Android devices will see Chrome freezing at best and weird, erratic errors across the OS at worst. Even more powerful browsers, such as those on the desktop of a PC or Mac, may freeze; The error seems pretty universal in web browsers.

So far, there’s nothing you can do to avoid the problem: the only way to win is not to play (or click in this case). Hopefully, most of your friends are well enough not to play a game, but if you get a mysterious link in an email or Facebook message without much context, it might be best to skip it for now.