Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

otetzone

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2019
158
17
That's odd. I would see that update no matter what version of the app provided it's lower than the offered one. If you're planning to install Safari 9.1.3 then did you install it already in the past? MAS updates mechanism since Mavericks (or MtnLion) is a mess in that if you have installed once and then deleted the update info will still qualify it as already installed which is dumb. For ex., Software Update utility in Lion and earlier would automatically detect the version and offer updates regardless of how many times you've installed/reinstalled.
Thank you very much for your response.
Yes, I guess this is exactly what happened. Before downgrading to 7.1.8 I used to upgrade all the way to 9.1.3 and now it just wouldn't show up as an update in the App Store. Is there a workaround for that? Not that I want to update it back right now but it's just nice to have the option.
 

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
Thank you very much for your response.
Yes, I guess this is exactly what happened. Before downgrading to 7.1.8 I used to upgrade all the way to 9.1.3 and now it just wouldn't show up as an update in the App Store. Is there a workaround for that? Not that I want to update it back right now but it's just nice to have the option.

Do one of the following:
  1. Close MAS. Open "System Preferences"–App Store-Check Updates. Should redirect you to MAS. Additionally you can reload the view (Cmd-R)
  2. Re-install Mavericks.
I suspect there's some entry in the install history which lists Safari 9.1.3 as installed. Although I would often come across these files in some subfolder of /var/db folder I strongly discourage fiddling around those: I believe that there has to be BOM and plist files in /var/db/receipts as well as "installed.plist". It's safe to trash those but I cannot guarantee it will force Apple's commerce kit mechanism to set going to re-index your installs and offer Safari 9.1.3.
 
Last edited:

otetzone

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2019
158
17
This is what I see in /var/db/receipts -

screen.png


Worth risking placing in another location or deleting? MAS trick wouldn't work and reinstalling the OS is a hassle I wish I could avoid. I would really appreciate your assistance.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,702
7,264
This is what I see in /var/db/receipts -

View attachment 871871

Worth risking placing in another location or deleting? MAS trick wouldn't work and reinstalling the OS is a hassle I wish I could avoid. I would really appreciate your assistance.
There's nothing in the receipts that isn't recreated when you reinstall.
 

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
There's nothing in the receipts that isn't recreated when you reinstall.
Replying to your previous post, it's safe to trash those but for the same reason that perhaps messing with them could be pointless: after Lion Apple embarked on more insidious trope of implementing additional "security", so even removing certain plist files and the like doesn't take immediate effect or you have to perform additional specific actions references to which I stumbled upon at developer sites like Stackexchange.com. I may look up and post the link I bookmarked later if you wish. Meanwhile, the most acceptable way for the end user is to reinstall.
 
Last edited:

Wowfunhappy

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2019
1,745
2,087
Fwiw, anyone using Mavericks in 2019 should be using Firefox, which officially supports Mavericks. I know, it doesn't feel as Mac native, and I'm not happy about it either—but all websites work, and it's fully up-to-date and secure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: avz

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
Fwiw, anyone using Mavericks in 2019 should be using Firefox, which officially supports Mavericks. I know, it doesn't feel as Mac native, and I'm not happy about it either—but all websites work, and it's fully up-to-date and secure.

Indeed, many features of Safari 7 - 9 such as integration with Keychain Access, Dashboard, built-in auto-correction, ShareKit didn't paved its way to Firefox I actually fell in love with Firefox Quantum and think it's a very robust capable browser that gave another life to Firefox that I had been never fond of before. But I still use Safari 9 as my default browser because it's able to open many websites correctly while choking on YouTube, Twitter, refusing to connect to Trustpilot and incorrectly displaying some parts of Facebook.
 

avz

macrumors 68000
Oct 7, 2018
1,828
1,895
Stalingrad, Russia
Fwiw, anyone using Mavericks in 2019 should be using Firefox, which officially supports Mavericks. I know, it doesn't feel as Mac native, and I'm not happy about it either—but all websites work, and it's fully up-to-date and secure.

I would even go as far as saying that Firefox is much easier on a battery than Safari 9.1.3 on my MacBook5,1. That's probably because uBlock Origin is blocking a lot of unnecessary activity.
 

Wowfunhappy

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2019
1,745
2,087
Is there's a chance anybody is still having pkg of Safari 9.1.3?

9.1.3 or 9.3.1? The latter I have, yes, although
it should still be on Apple's update servers. If you need an offline installer for some reason, though, shoot me a PM.
 
Last edited:

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
In Terminal, run
Code:
softwareupdate -l

Do you see Safari 9.1.3?

In Terminal run
Code:
ls -lah /var/db/receipts/ | grep -i safari

Do you see something like

-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 894K Feb 26 2019 com.apple.pkg.Safari7.1.8Mavericks.bom
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 699B Feb 26 2019 com.apple.pkg.Safari7.1.8Mavericks.plist
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 894K Mar 30 2019 com.apple.pkg.Safari9.1.3Mavericks.bom
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 707B Mar 30 2019 com.apple.pkg.Safari9.1.3Mavericks.plist?

These files point to updates you've installed.
[automerge]1586952083[/automerge]
9.1.3 or 9.3.1? The latter I have, yes, although it should still be on Apple's update servers. If you need an offline installer for some reason, though, shoot me a PM.

Wait? Do you mean to say they released Safari 9.3.1?
 

otetzone

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2019
158
17
Believe it or not, 9.1.3 is absolutely incompatible with, say, youtube. While 7.1.8 it's "support soon to be dropped" however it's working. Sticking with it in the end. I sure have FF but it still eats battery way worse than Safari.
 

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
Believe it or not, 9.1.3 is absolutely incompatible with, say, youtube. While 7.1.8 it's "support soon to be dropped" however it's working. Sticking with it in the end. I sure have FF but it still eats battery way worse than Safari.

I know. YouTube changed something as early as in mid2019 (was OK before that) and the WebContent process has been crashing since then. However, it was possible to watch the videos after hitting "Reload", and as of today, it's not anymore. The "Support soon be dropped" message appeared a month ago when I opened Facebook but saved the time and frustration of seeing that annoying yellow banner at the top by deleting it from appearing using an old CSS manipulating Safari extension. Safari loads many cites, however, I see the "Impossible establish secure connection" message way more often than not with every passing day or repeated certificates trust prompts (the majority of those complaints falling within the Cloudflare certificates scope for some reason).

On a side note, "wasn't able to establish a secure connection" may show if you have anti-virus, protection or anti-adware software deployed: adding the exclusion sometimes helps to resolve this false secure connection message. In my case, Adguard filters traffic quite aggressively, and I still use its old version.

As for earlier versions than v.9.1.3 I do know that they loaded YouTube content without any issues going back to Safari 5.1.7 which worked until the end of 2019 albeit in non-fullscreen mode. So, it's possible that Safari 7 loads YT videos better than v.9 too. I don't know what they changed with the release of 9 but I read complaints about degraded performance and failures (at least on Mavericks) even when Safari 9 was freshly baked. Considering that the last release of Safari 6.1 for the oldest actively supported OS (the D-2 release OS which was Lion at that time, D is the current one, which was Mavericks) wasn't stellar and that revision was blatantly awful and, in fact, step back from Safari 5, I strongly suspect they may do that intentionally to force the users of this OS to upgrade. Would be interesting to know how good Safari 9 performed on Yosemite and El Capitan.
 

otetzone

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2019
158
17
Just noticed that uBlock Origin stopped working in 7.1.8. It's technically there but wouldn't update filters or remember checked boxes. Reinstalled, tried older versions, all in vain. And more and more webpages including this very forum have been starting to look wrongly rendered in 7.1.8. What a shame. Is there anything to be fixed?
 

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
I ended up giving up and installing Safari 9.1.3 1.5 years ago, although it's showing it's age more and more. The sites built using more sophisticated kits, rendering models load incorrectly. However, it still works on simpler sites and there's an ocean of those. Using with Mavericks it's not just Safari 9 but WebKit engine that powers other applications (iTunes, App Store), and also TSL protocols that are hampering the browsing more than anything.
However, it seems there's a light at the end of the tunnel: the user wowfunhappy, the guy behind a resurrected Weather Widget, has compiled and built a proxy-server based on open source that maps connectivity of macOS 10.9 and older into the newest protocol of TSL 1.3 which itself hasn't yet become the commodity with web-developers, so it's a giant breakthrough for those who either can't or not willing to update. Look at Squid - a web-proxy and follow the instructions strictly.

You also can put your own domains in Squid's configuration file squid.config that are excluded from proxying: that way, and experimenting on my own, I was able to keep iMessage, Facetime, MAS useable but also resurrect iTunes Store and Genius in iTunes 11.4 (purchasing and previewing audio-tracks still isn't possible, though), but most importantly Safari wasn't able to establish secure connection messages are gone for good: only the modern design is an obstacle (that is, you still can't play YouTube videos, and use new Reddit, many commercial, e-banking decks, and some super-fancy sites). I installed the proxy on my Lion machine too and was able to bring back iTunes Genius there. Safari 5 even can open some sites it failed on before. I use Firefox as my default on both, though.

Both Safari 9 and 5 now pass SSL compatibility checks successfully - all tests show up as green (for example, howsmyssl verifier)
 

Wowfunhappy

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2019
1,745
2,087
Squid will indeed fix SSL problems. But, please just use Firefox ESR for general web browsing! I don’t want to get into a security argument, but people using a vulnerable web browser on an already-vulnerable OS really make me uncomfortable, particularly if it was enabled by something I put together! Using either an old browser or an old OS is generally okay, but both together could really lead to trouble.

I do still recommend using Squid to fix problems in Apple Mail, Dashboard Widgets, and other apps. And, Safari is fine for specific, trusted websites—for instance, you may want to use it with Netflix so you can use the Silverlight plugin.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: avz

avz

macrumors 68000
Oct 7, 2018
1,828
1,895
Stalingrad, Russia
Squid will indeed fix SSL problems. But, please just use Firefox ESR for general web browsing! I don’t want to get into a security argument, but people using a vulnerable web browser on a vulnerable OS really make me uncomfortable, particularly if it was enabled by a package I created! One or the other is fine; both could really lead to trouble.

I do still recommend Squid to fix problems in Apple Mail, Dashboard Widgets, and other apps. And, Safari is fine for specific, trusted websites—for instance, you may want to use it with Netflix so you can use the Silverlight plugin.

I was wondering if Apple mail will still work in Lion and Snow Leopard? I don't care as much about broken images as long as it is still possible to send and receive mail(gmail, etc).
 

Wowfunhappy

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2019
1,745
2,087
I was wondering if Apple mail will still work in Lion and Snow Leopard? I don't care as much about broken images as long as it is still possible to send and receive mail(gmail, etc).
I assume it doesn't currently work in Snow Leopard or Lion? I haven't tried it. Apple Mail in Mavericks can send and receive mail fine, and Squid fixes problems with broken images (which I do care about). I'm using it with two Gmail accounts and an Exchange account.

If Mail doesn't work in Snow Leopard / Lion, it's possible the issue is HTTPS-related, in which case, yes, Squid would fix it. For Gmail specifically, another thing you might try is enabling access for "Less Secure Apps" in your Google account.
 
Last edited:

avz

macrumors 68000
Oct 7, 2018
1,828
1,895
Stalingrad, Russia
I assume it doesn't currently work in Snow Leopard or Lion? I haven't tried it. Apple Mail in Mavericks can send and receive mail fine, and Squid fixes problems with broken images (which I do care about). I'm using it with two Gmail accounts and an Exchange account.

If Mail doesn't work in Snow Leopard / Lion, it's possible the issue is HTTPS-related, in which case, yes, Squid would fix it. For Gmail specifically, another thing you might try is enabling access for "Less Secure Apps" in your Google account.

Thanks. I haven't tried using Apple Mail just yet but I remember having troubles in Mountain Lion last year. In the meantime I installed Squid(in Lion) and while Safari's howsmyssl.com checks pass with better marks than Firefox(ironically), Safari still complains about developer.apple.com(apple.com itself is ok which is confusing). I believe the other user mentioned that before. Is it normal?
 

Wowfunhappy

macrumors 68000
Mar 12, 2019
1,745
2,087
Thanks. I haven't tried using Apple Mail just yet but I remember having troubles in Mountain Lion last year. In the meantime I installed Squid(in Lion) and while Safari's howsmyssl.com checks pass with better marks than Firefox(ironically), Safari still complains about developer.apple.com(apple.com itself is ok which is confusing). I believe the other user mentioned that before. Is it normal?

Yes, it is normal. All apple.com domains are explicitly excluded from Squid to avoid breaking Apple apps like iMessage which don’t respect the certificates in Keychain.
 
  • Like
Reactions: avz

maverick28

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2014
630
312
I was wondering if Apple mail will still work in Lion and Snow Leopard? I don't care as much about broken images as long as it is still possible to send and receive mail(gmail, etc).

It works in Lion just like in any newer macOS: images load etc. I can attest because I use it actively.

Screen Shot 2020-10-11 at 09.43.57.png
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: avz

otetzone

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2019
158
17
However, it seems there's a light at the end of the tunnel: the user wowfunhappy, the guy behind a resurrected Weather Widget, has compiled and built a proxy-server based on open source that maps connectivity of macOS 10.9 and older into the newest protocol of TSL 1.3 which itself hasn't yet become the commodity with web-developers, so it's a giant breakthrough for those who either can't or not willing to update.
My, Wowfunhappy has been making really wonderful things. Mad props to him!
There's a couple of questions that I have.
I have just installed Wowfunhappy's patch. At some point I was asked if I would like to allow incoming connetions to Squid. I picked a "yes" but do I really need it to?
I haven't yet restarted the machine, however iTunes 11.4 wouldn't let me even see the apps. It says that "This page is unavailable". It also doesn't take my credentials for iTunes App Store. Will I have the ability to download apps and back them up like before? Or do I have to move back to iTunes 10 in order to do that? I'd do it if necessary but dang, my music library is huge..
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.