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Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

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Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#111

They are basically solving a self-inflicted problem. The real issue there is the fact that macOS doesn't provide a standarized way to completely uninstall an app.

it really does provide a very nice and effective standard way to bundle components needed by an app altogether and to manage them appropriately.

The developers in this case didn't bother trying to use it.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#112

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

> Some other comments here suggest that the installation of this update is controlled by a setting described as being for system related updates, which a user would expect to leave his/her third-party software alone.

The setting is called "Install system data files and security updates": it's not just system components.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#113

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

How do you feel about Windows Defender?

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#114
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And Windows does? Control Panel “add and remove programs” usually works? There’s no equivalent on Mac. Yes, dragging the app to the trash is a thing but that leaves behind content in ~/Library/caches, ~/Library/Application Support, and ~/Library/Preferences . It’s been somewhat of an issue with Mac ever since they first put a hard drive on the original ones back in the 80s... Edit: I literally cleared several GB of…

Doesn't "Add and Remove Programs" just run whatever custom Uninstaller came bundled with the program? Is there anything it can do with programs that don't come with an uninstaller?

Yes: the annoying ones open up iexplorer.exe and ask you to fill out a survey of why you're uninstalling them.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#115

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

I'm fine with this. I can always leave Apple and go to Linux if they do something drastic.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#116
post #113

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

How do you feel about Windows Defender?

I think the difference here is that apple explicitly does not have an "anti malware" configuration section of the MacOS control panel. There's configuration for automated system updates, which most technical people understand to mean security patches and things that are equivalent to windows hotfixes and servicepacks.

I am with the "two wrongs don't make a right" people here. Zoom was reckless and their casual disregard for the initial security report left a very bad taste in my mouth. I'm now highly unlikely to use one of their products willingly. But having Apple initiate unattended removal of software that a person willingly installed on their own workstation machine is also unacceptable, unless they specifically opted in and checked "enable" on something that is very similar to windows defender.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The real issue there is the fact that macOS doesn't provide a standarized way to completely uninstall an app. reply And Windows does? Uninstallers are completely at the behest of application developers. No consumer OS but iOS actually provides any sort of true app level sandboxing.

> And Windows does? Control Panel “add and remove programs” usually works? There’s no equivalent on Mac. Yes, dragging the app to the trash is a thing but that leaves behind content in ~/Library/caches, ~/Library/Application Support, and ~/Library/Preferences . It’s been somewhat of an issue with Mac ever since they first put a hard drive on the original ones back in the 80s... Edit: I literally cleared several GB of…

Have you checked ProgramData, Local, and Roaming recently? Or your registry?

Also, Add/Remove only works if the program adds itself there. And remove only works if the program added an uninstaller. Also, even then, it still leaves crap behind.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#118

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

That's why the only safe OS is indeed Linux. Say, Xubuntu or Fedora.

Microsoft has turned the masses into unpaid QA along with extracting their digital wealth. Mac/iOS is a dictatorial wasteland. And Android is adtechs wet dream.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#119
post #7

It's been really interesting to see how quickly the original Zoom response of "there's nothing wrong with this, everybody does it" ended up being reversed. I wonder if there's a known exploit for the Zoom server specifically, or if Apple discovered one while looking into it. It seems strange for them to go to these lengths in this case when it sounds like other software has been using a similar technique too. Maybe i…

I got all my colleagues to uninstall Zoom and related artefacts. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. They probably have stats that show this. Too late for me. We will just never use it again unless all other improving options suddenly fail (which is highly unlikely). This isn't because I hate Zoom or and annoyed at their response, it's because it's too late. I've uninstalled it and most likely won't have a reason to reinstall it ever. Reverse inertia.

Re: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server

#120

It's been rather disturbing to see this whole thing play out --- I'm not taking sides here, but Apple "flexing its arms" in this manner shows that it is willing and has the power to go beyond policing its App Store and such (which while I do not like, I feel it does have the right to) and involve itself in the affairs of third-party software which it did not originally install. (This is subtly different from updating…

> Some other comments here suggest that the installation of this update is controlled by a setting described as being for system related updates, which a user would expect to leave his/her third-party software alone. The setting is called "Install system data files and security updates": it's not just system components.

I suppose that depends on the application of the transitive property of English grammar: "Install (system) (data files and security updates)" or "Install (system data files) and (security updates)"
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