Web Archive (file format): Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Safari's Web archive file format}}

{{Aboutredirect|Safari's webarchive file format|web archiving|web archivingWebarchive|other uses|Web archive (disambiguation)}}

{{distinguish|Web ARChive}}

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'''Web archiveArchive''' (stylized by [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] as '''Web archive''', extension '''.webarchive''') is a [[Web archive file]] format available on [[macOS]] and [[Windows]] for saving and reviewing complete web pages using the [[Safari (web browser)|Safari web browser]].<ref name="folderize">{{cite web|last1=Frakes|first1=Dan|title=De-archive Web Archives|url=https://www.macworld.com/article/1050198/webarchivefolderizer.html|website=Macworld|publisher=IDG Communications|accessdate=15 June 2018}}</ref> The Web archiveArchive format differs from a standalone [[HTML]] file because it also saves linked files such as images, [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]], and [[JavaScript]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Arnott|first1=Nick|title=Apple declines to fix vulnerability in Safari's Web Archive files, likely because it requires user action to exploit|url=http://www.imore.com/apple-declines-fix-vulnerability-safaris-webarchive-files-likely-because-it-requires-user-action|website=iMore|date=28 April 2013|publisher=Mobile Nations|accessdate=7 February 2015}}</ref> The Web archiveArchive format is a concatenation of source files with filenames saved in the binary [[Property list|plist]] format using NSKeyedArchiver.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

Support for Web archiveArchive documents was added in Safari 4 Beta on Windows and was included in subsequent versions, until its discontinuation in 2012. Safari on [[iOS]] and [[iPadOS]] ([[iPhone]] and [[iPad]]) has supported Web archiveArchive files since at least [[iOS 13]].<ref name="iOS support iOS13">{{cite web|title=iOS and IPadOS 13 Review|url=https://www.macstories.net/stories/ios-and-ipados-13-the-macstories-review/9/#content|website=MacStories|accessdate=25 September 2019}}</ref> Previously there was a third party iOS app called Web Archive Viewer that provided this functionality.

==Usage==

* A version of the Web archiveArchive format is used to bundle whole music albums and movies with extra content and menus inside [[iTunes LP|iTunes LP and Extras]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

* Web archiveArchive files were automatically generated for ads submitted to Apple's [[iAd]] advertising platform.<ref>{{cite web|title=iAd JS Programming Guide: Web Archives and Manifest Files|url=https://developer.apple.com/library/iad/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/iAdJSProgGuide/CreatingBundles/CreatingBundles.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40010301-CH15-SW6|website=Mac Developer Library|publisher=Apple|accessdate=7 February 2015}}</ref>

* The [[WebKit]] framework's WebArchive class is used to simplify cutting-and-pasting with whole or partial web pages.<ref>{{cite web|title=WebArchive Class Reference|url=https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Reference/WebKit/Classes/WebArchive_Class/index.html|website=Mac Developer Library|publisher=Apple|accessdate=7 February 2015}}</ref>

==Vulnerability==

In February 2013, a vulnerability with the Web archiveArchive format was discovered and reported by Joe Vennix, a [[Metasploit Project]] developer. The [[exploit (computer security)|exploit]] allows an attacker to send a crafted Web archiveArchive to a user containing code to access [[HTTP cookie|cookies]], local files, and other data. Apple's response to the report was that it will not fix the bug, most likely because it requires action on the users' part in opening the file.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vennix|first1=Joe|title=Abusing Safari's webarchive file format|url=https://community.rapid7.com/community/metasploit/blog/2013/04/25/abusing-safaris-webarchive-file-format|website=Rapid7 Metasploit|date=25 April 2013|publisher=Rapid7|accessdate=7 February 2015}}</ref>

==Converting for other browsers==

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Chrome offers the "webpage, complete" format which saves the page with a folder containing the required resources.

==See also==

* [[Web archiving]] – the general process of archiving web pages

* [[List of web archiving file formats]] – file formats for archiving web pages

==References==