Researcher warns of data-snooping bug in Apple's Safari

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Dave Morris

So Apple is pulling the MS trick... #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

...of so tightly integrating it's own web browser into the OS that it can not readily be disabled?

Seems like it is Lynx inside a sandboxed command line FTW.....

Scott

Blasphemy #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

Apple software has no vulnerabilities, the flaw must be our thinking. Perhaps it's a "design choice"?

Anonymous Hero

Ha ha ha ha ha ha #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

Man I am laughing my arse off at all those complacent and smug mac retards thinking themselves safe from this kinda blight which is more commonly associated with windows.

So I say again.....Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ....

ps: I do own a Mac, I'm just not smug about it.

Adam

Firefox FTW! #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

I use Firefox on Windows (sorry but WINE is not good enough for games!), and I can't remember a time when there's been a security hole in it which wasn't plugged before I heard about it.

Nuff said.

Anonymous Coward

HERETIC! #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

How dare you point out errors in The One True Way!

you will be burned at the stake, bound with iPod earphones and have an iphone shoved into every orifice.

May the Blessings of the White One of the Sacred Black Polarneck be with you my son (as we burn your arse) - it is, after all, for your own good.

Peter

Would this stop Apple from trying to ram it down your throat? #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

There is no more irritating thing than getting all the extra crud enabled by default when there is an iTunes update. For the times that I use Windows I use Firefox or maybe Chrome, which is a choice *I* make. Every single time iTunes announces an update it includes crap like Safari (now again proven to be unsafe on Windows), some Mobile whatsit which I don't want either (they're getting enough money from my phone calls already) and Quicktimes which also has limited value.

Oh, and that's without mentioning that Apple Update is a program that installed itself without my knowledge to start with. I think uninstalling that would be a good start - I hate this whole collection of software running in the background whose sole task it is to interrupt me working when someone decides to bring an update.

Nobody appears to have heard of asking the USER like "preferred day to annoy the crap out of you with updates" and "a button "I will switch off later" in addition to "Reboot now/Reboot later" which keeps popping up the moment you have made the mistake of allowing Windows update to do anything.). If I ever get to present to executives of that industry I will make sure they can't leave the room and then bombard them for the next 15 minutes with as much useless data as I can get away with. Or barge into board meetings and announce an update of the fire alarm system - right there and then. Critical, but totally irrelevant.

End-of-rant..

Anonymous Coward

Windows? #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

<strike>For the time being, </strike>it's probably a good idea for Windows users with Safari installed to leave it closed

Martin Maisey

The workaround in the article is no longer sufficient #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

There's a revised workaround at the blog page (more complex, unfortunately)

Martin

Workaround is not correct #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

On his site (in the linked blog entry) he says that the workaround of deselecting Safari as the RSS reader is not sufficient.

As you say, it's light on details, but seems to be related to RSS only.

Anonymous Coward

Spin #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

I am sure the Mactards will spin this... You wait and see.

Alexis Vallance

Rubbish #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

"For the time being, it's probably a good idea for Windows users with Safari installed to leave it closed and use a different browser."

What a load of a cobblers. Using IE instead is like jumping from the luke warm frying pan into the burning fires of hell.

Mick F

It just works.... #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

..well, maybe, if it's fully patched and you remember to turn off all the functionality.

Anonymous Coward

It just works... #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

As our data snooping overlords designed it...

Daniel Bennett

I'm a mac! #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

And I dont get this kind of shi... .oh... err.... Here have some data.

Anonymous Coward

Ha ha #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 11:15 GMT

from a Windows user.

What's the IT angle since this involves Macs ?

Big deal #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 12:27 GMT

One exploit in Safari, that requires the user to visit a phishing site to work

& how many exploits in Internet Explorer?

Ivan Headache

@Peter #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 12:29 GMT

"Oh, and that's without mentioning that Apple Update is a program that installed itself without my knowledge to start with. "

Are you sure about that?

I've just had to install Quicktime onto a couple of PCs in order to use a HD Video Camera.

In the Install window there is a checkbox to install (or not) the auto-update facility.

Gaz

@Big deal #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 13:58 GMT

Because that never happens of course. Especially to not to smug Apple fanbois :P

Big Bear

@Alexis Vallance #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 13:58 GMT

Where does it say to use IE? That's the beauty of IT... you can choose which browser to use!

Apart from Netscape. Dear, dear, sorely missed Netscape. Your sweet life was cut short far too early.

R Callan

@Peter #

Posted Wednesday 14th January 2009 14:11 GMT

**Nobody appears to have heard of asking the USER like "preferred day to annoy the crap out of you with updates"**

Umm they have. Try AptGet. It informs me when updates are available by changing a number from zero to a number saying how many updates are available. This does not annoy the crap out of me. It is then my choice as to when I download the updates, if at all.

I've also never had to restart my computer after updating, although some updates to running processes do ask for them to be restarted.

What, AptGet not available for Windows/Mac? Try a user friendly operating system, like, err, Linux.

Paul Nolan

How bad can it be? #

Posted Thursday 15th January 2009 03:43 GMT

Does anyone use Safari as an RSS reader anyway? It's awful for that.

@R Callan - no apt, but there's a Gentoo-alike ports system for Mac that fills the same purpose. No idea about Windows though.

Matthew Collier

@R Callan RE: apt-get #

Posted Thursday 15th January 2009 10:43 GMT

"Umm they have. Try AptGet. It informs me when updates are available by changing a number from zero to a number saying how many updates are available. This does not annoy the crap out of me. It is then my choice as to when I download the updates, if at all.

I've also never had to restart my computer after updating, although some updates to running processes do ask for them to be restarted."

To be fair, a couple of times per year, the kernel updates do indeed require a reboot. Mind you, like you said, you can choose not to take them, if you really want. One of the factors that drove me to Linux, we the endless updates from MS, that always required a reboot (not very handy on a media server! ;) ). I liked it so much, I moved wholesale and didn't look back :)

Now, I can't really remember what the boot process, or logon screen looks like...

Obviously, there are pros and cons to the Windows vs Linux-repo update model, but on balance, I far prefer the Linux one. I guess, the model would matter less if you didn't have to reboot for every update in Windowsland, but I still can't bear the Windows model, where you have umpteen process running, all trying to keep "their" app, up to date.

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