Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#1

Post by mmastrac » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 6:29 PM UTC

I noticed while installing WebEx today that the installer immediately terminated itself after popping up the pre-installation script.

Running `strings` on the installation plugin (CWSPkgPlugin.bundle) shows why - it's using a similar process to what Zoom does [1]

  +[CWSUtilBase unzip:to:]
  /usr/bin/unzip
  Clean up temp unziped app done: %i
  unzip:to:
  [...]
  Cisco Webex pkg plugin, begin init work.
  Install CWS result: %i
  Launch CWS result: %i
  Terminate installer: %@
  Terminate self: %@
  [...]
  /usr/sbin/lsof
  forceTerminate

Previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22736608

[1] https://www.imore.com/zooms-preinstallation-script-workaroun...

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#2

Post by x0x0 » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 7:00 PM UTC

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it.

By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 downloads and 4 unzip attempts.

My MIL and I have literally had facetime pointed at her laptop while I directed her where to to get copilot running for the quarterly cleansing-of-the-spyware.

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#3

Post by sprinfo » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 7:45 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #2

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it. By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 down…

This is not a valid to excuse companies when they do this.

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#4

Post by wmf » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 7:46 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #2

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it. By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 down…

If that problem exists it needs to be solved at the OS level, not worked around in shady ways. BTW, can't Web pages link to the app store?

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#5

Post by sigjuice » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 9:55 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #2

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it. By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 down…

They need to do the work to get on the Mac App Store

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#6

Post by x0x0 » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 10:05 PM UTC

sigjuice wrote: post #5

x0x0 wrote: post #2

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it. By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 down…

They need to do the work to get on the Mac App Store

If Apple didn't make the app store shit, it would help. Gouging on dollars, breaking opening from Finder, etc.

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#7

Post by sigjuice » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 10:43 PM UTC

x0x0 wrote: post #6

sigjuice wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They need to do the work to get on the Mac App Store

If Apple didn't make the app store shit, it would help. Gouging on dollars, breaking opening from Finder, etc.

These are free apps.

And these apps deserve to have “breaking opening from Finder” and even more restrictions considering they have shown themselves to be completely untrustworthy, insecure, invasive and hostile.

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#8

Post by x0x0 » Thu, Apr 09, 2020, 1:15 AM UTC

sigjuice wrote: post #7

x0x0 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple didn't make the app store shit, it would help. Gouging on dollars, breaking opening from Finder, etc.

These are free apps. And these apps deserve to have “breaking opening from Finder” and even more restrictions considering they have shown themselves to be completely untrustworthy, insecure, invasive and hostile.

I had this problem with Office. Powerpoint had fidgety dialogs every time I wanted to open a pptx file from a different directory. I wasted two weeks, deleted it, and reinstalled from the direct download.

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#9

Post by MR4D » Thu, Apr 09, 2020, 2:45 AM UTC

Isn’t all of this because of the Historical webRTC issues in safari?

Re: Tell HN: Cisco WebEx on OS X uses the same pre-installer tricks as Zoom

#10

Post by icelancer » Thu, Apr 09, 2020, 3:46 AM UTC

wmf wrote: post #4

x0x0 wrote: post #2

Everyone who's spent 3 hours talking a parent through downloading and installing a Zoom client understands exactly why they're doing this. Mine are unable to (1) reliably download a zip file; (2) navigate to that file using Finder; (3) run something inside it. By the time we were done -- I use copilot (basically VNC with NAT punching built in) -- and I got control of the laptop to just do it myself, there were 7 down…

If that problem exists it needs to be solved at the OS level, not worked around in shady ways. BTW, can't Web pages link to the app store?

So you want Zoom and Webex to submit a patch to OSX?