Security Solutions: Avira
At Cupcake Development, we specialize in providing cutting-edge solutions tailored specifically for security and antivirus companies. Our services are designed
Date
At Cupcake Development, we specialize in providing cutting-edge solutions tailored specifically for security and antivirus companies. Our services are designed to enhance your existing infrastructure, ensuring seamless integration and maximum user protection.
Avira provides software for online security and privacy, plus performance enhancement.
Challenge: Porting a Complex Extension to Safari
Avira approached us with an R&D project request that included researching the topic of a Safari browser extension and the possibility of incorporating their existing complex Chrome functionalities in the Safari browser extension. The main issue was that it was about a couple of years before Apple came out with an official porting app for extensions so it was quite a challenge at that time.
Technical Details: Roadblocks and Insights
Avira specifically aimed to port their Chrome-based password manager extension to a native Safari App Extension. The Chrome extension relied heavily on redux-webext for state management, and rewriting the entire codebase for Safari natively required significant resources - something that Avira wasn’t ready to commit to without any proof of concept.
Our team started by exploring potential workarounds. We discovered an early-stage GitHub project that attempted to mimic Chrome extension APIs in Safari by running a web view (WKWebView) in the native part of the extension. However, the API support was insufficient.
We then analyzed the password manager's codebase to define the minimum viable API set required to get it running, even with limited functionality. With an Objective-C/Swift developer on board, we evaluated the feasibility of implementing the missing APIs. While we managed to prototype some functionality, critical limitations emerged, making a full porting impractical within a reasonable timeframe and budget.
Ultimately, even the official conversion tool that was released a couple of years later by Apple still had limited API support, validating the challenges we faced during the initial attempt.
Outcome: Value Delivered
Thanks to our research and technical evaluation, Avira avoided committing significant resources to an approach that would not have been feasible at the time. Our work allowed them to make an informed strategic decision early, saving their time and budget.
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