So is Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.8) not affected?
Still pretty much the best OSX.
Unless you want to resize windows from the left edge :-)
Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
331–340 of 367 posts
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#332Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any code running as any user on an unpatched version can become root (and do whatever it wants, E.g. install keyloggers) Sandboxed apps (from the app storr) may be blocked from doing this, I'm not sure.
>Sandboxed apps (from the app storr) may be blocked from doing this, I'm not sure. Just tried. Sandbox lets this through. (As long as you pass nil to authenticateUsingAuthorizationSync:).
Ouch.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#333https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204659 makes for depressing reading.
Impact: A local user may be able to cause a system denial of service
Impact: A local user may be able to cause unexpected system shutdown
These two made me laugh though.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#334Earlier quoted context omitted.
None of your complaints are about Windows. They're all, almost universally, about OEM and third-party shovelware. You want to avoid OEMs trashing your computer? Don't pretend this is about a lack of choice, or about Microsoft being stuck in the past. It's about you being ignorant of your options, or ignorant of the ecosystem. Buy a Signature Series machine from Microsoft.[1] No crapware, no bundled "features" or "tri…
> This annoys me so much because you are essentially arguing that problems caused by refusing to read are problems caused by operating systems, and this really isn't the case. This isn't something Apple has done a better job with either, it's just that the marketshare for Apple wasn't high enough for the malware vendors to bother with them. If you have to carefully uncheck a bunch of options to avoid killing your com…
> The Windows software community sucks.
I mostly agree, but there's still the fact that unlike in Windows I have to trust a randomer's ppa (or build from source, but that's sometimes pita and no-go for mortals) if I want to install the newest version of libreoffice or whatever, unlike in Windows where I can run binaries directly from the first party source.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#335Earlier quoted context omitted.
I prefer and run Linux. However, troubleshooting Linux issues, even on Ubuntu is a pain in the ass. The fact that Google's page rank favors older stable pages in search results is a factor. A forum post from 2004 is not the best source of information in regards to dual monitors (and xrandr). 2007 instructions for changing the default boot will be based around Grub. I shouldn't adjust ~/.bash_login in 14.10 despite wh…
On the Google search results page, click "search tools", and change "any time" to e.g. "past year".
Exactly this. I've found (on OSX) that an Alfred custom search to quickly do a Google Last Year only search is incredibly useful.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
> JWZ used to say that Linux is only free if you don't value your time. Used to say? How long ago was that? Ubuntu and many other distros are incredibly easy and effortless to use. I know devs using apple products who spend more time mucking about with brew and other tools trying to accomplish things that are very easy to do on the most popular linux distros.
As far as I can recall, it was in the 90s.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#337Earlier quoted context omitted.
In that case, I think "backdoor" is hyperbolic. That word is usually uses to indicate intentional secret security holes.
What do you call something that grants root access without authentication, but wasn't intended to let arbitrary people or programs use it? "Backdoor" isn't quite right, since that implies that the intent was to allow unauthorized use. "Security vulnerability" isn't quite right either , since that usually implies getting code to exhibit some sort of behavior it was never supposed to have. I can't think of any other te…
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
or to abandon your product
After getting more and more tired of Apple's generally obnoxious behavior over the last few years I'm wondering which straw will be the last for me before doing exactly that. I'm pretty seriously considering wiping OSX off my MBP and running some variety of Linux on it at this point, though regrettably I might still be forced to consider them for future hardware purchases on account of the fact that I don't think I'v…
In danger of being accused of flogging deceased equines I can but point at the T42p ThinkPad which I'm typing this message on for an example of a device which fits that premise: solid hardware and a generally well though-out design. It is 11 years old, but sports a screen which comes remarkably close to the more recent Apple offerings. It also runs the latest software flawlessly, as long as that latest software is a recent Linux distribution. It has a keyboard which Apple-adepts can only dream about. Ports aplenty, two batteries or drives or whatnots, no problem, ~8 hours on a single battery charge when using the oddly shaped 'extended' battery.
An additional bonus is that you can get these things for free if you know where to look.
Of course, being 11 years old it also has its drawbacks. It won't fit more than 2GB of RAM. It is based around a single-core Pentium M which generally performs fine but shows its age mostly when meeting Javascript-hobbled web-related things.
BUT... and this is one of the main reasons why I use older hardware... if you develop software on this machine, and it works fine on that machine, it'll run circles around the stuff your neighbour made on his latest FlitzBang Fruitmachine. It'll but cause a blip on the CPU meter where his (or her, your choice) result maxes it out. It'll use memory like it was rationed, not like it was on sale.
Of course you can not develop software for the dark side on this older hardware. A small loss, in my opinion.
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#339> Apple indicated that this issue required a substantial amount of changes on their side, and that they will not back port the fix to 10.9.x and older. What ? So all OS X boxes are simply broken, privileges-wise, if they're not on 10.10?
Apple's model customer is one who upgrades often. If you want solid support for old products, stick with Microsoft, and accept that their products can be clunkier because of deliberate choices to maintain backwards-compatibility.
> If you want solid support for old products, stick with Microsoft, and accept that their products can be clunkier because of deliberate choices to maintain backwards-compatibility.
It's not only about support for "old" products, it's also about having a roadmap to begin with. It used to be common wisdom that Apple releases major updates for the current version of OS X, and security fixes for the last two versions. Well, that common wisdom is outdated now.
Also, backwards compatibility and security fixes are not really the same, and I'd say that the correlation between backwards compatibility and software quality is completely overrated. I know I'd rather trust my life to Windows 7 (the epitome of conservative OS design) than to OS X 10.10 or iOS 8 (speaking as an iOS developer).
In raw numbers, 45% of OS X users are now vulnerable (and probably don't even know about it), and Apple doesn't care. That's an insane number. And I thought not patching the ~10% iPhone 4 in the wild was dangerous!
Re: Hidden backdoor API to root privileges in Apple OS X
#340> The Admin framework in Apple OS X contained a hidden backdoor API to root access for several years (at least since 2011, when 10.7 was released). Lion was cancer.
I see there's no love for Zodiac puns. Oh well, I still love you guys.