Watch out for people sending you links to the website CrashSafari dot com, which is causing smartphones and PCs around the world to crash by overloading their browsers with a self-generating address bar text string that causes devices to stop responding.

Although the name refers to Apple’s default browser for Mac and iOS devices, the website also causes Android devices running Chrome to slow down and, in some cases, to actually heat up.

Users should be aware of clicking on abbreviated or hidden links, since this is being used in some cases to stop users being aware of exactly what site they’re visiting.

Fortunately, the memory overload can be solved simply by rebooting the device in question, and smartphones should return to normal after that. Still, it’s a definite irritation — and one you should be aware of for the few days it’s undoubtedly going to take for immature pranksters to forget all about it.

Just what we need to kick off the week, right?

Via: Guardian