What are the appropriate levels of access that an operating system should provide for web-based scripting?

Contemplating the level of access web-based applications have to an operating system has been on my mind.

I'm pondering:

  1. What is the most effective method for determining this currently?
  2. Are we seeing a trend towards increased or decreased access?
  3. Which functionalities should remain open and which closed?

For instance, imagine if your email notifications appeared in the taskbar when you receive a new message on Gmail.

Answer №1

In previous times, web browsers have consistently aimed to restrict access to the operating system and browser chrome. The main concern revolves around trust and deception - should a website be allowed to suddenly start opening dialog boxes or accessing files on your hard drive just because you visited it? There's also the danger of falling victim to phishing attacks, where a seemingly legitimate URL actually leads you to a malicious site designed to deceive you.

The direction things are heading in is quite nuanced. While modern browsers now support GPU usage and offline storage through HTML5, security measures like sandboxing are always being carefully considered. On the other hand, there are instances where browsers are becoming more strict, such as with restrictions on cookies when using the file:// URI.

Many applications nowadays are transitioning into web apps, but the process isn't as straightforward as simply navigating to the app in your browser. They could be mobile web widgets, or apps acquired from platforms like the Palm Pre's app store, where most apps are essentially web-based. The level of trust varies depending on the situation; for instance, I might feel safer granting certain OS permissions to an app from a reputable store that has been thoroughly inspected and signed by the developer, as opposed to giving those same permissions to a random website I stumbled upon.

Answer №2

It is a known fact that malware will exploit any granted access without fail.

The direction seems to be leaning towards reduced access; take for example Google's Chrome OS, where all tasks are carried out within web applications that have no direct connection or access to the system.

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