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Apple Issues Patches For 25 Security Holes
TheCybernator writes "Apple today released software updates to plug more than two dozen security holes in its Mac OS X operating system and other software. The free patches are available via the Mac's built-in Software Update feature or directly from Apple's Web site.
All told, today's batch fixes some 25 distinct security vulnerabilities, including a dangerous flaw present in the AirPort wireless devices built into a number of Apple computers, including the eMac, the iBook, iMac, Powerbook G3 and G4, and the Power Mac G4. Apple said computers with its AirPort Extreme wireless cards are not affected.
Earlier this month, Apple released a software update to fix a vulnerability in its wireless router, the AirPort Extreme Base Station. That update and instructions on how to apply it are available at the link."
Mac: Hi, I'm a mac!
PC: And I'm a PC.
Mac: Steve Jobs just plugged up all my holes
PC: GOODNIGHT! (tapdances off stage)
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
The remote attacks seem to be coming out of the Kerebros admin daemon distributed by MIT 3 holes. One hole each in libinfo, portmap, ichat.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
As an Apple 'outsider' I'm not certain why this is news.
Is it because these issues/vulnerabilities have been outstanding for a long time? Or perhaps Apple does not patch things often?
It's an honest question, my Ubuntu systems at home have frequent patches rolled out and the staff at work are always talking about another update on their Windows desktops.
Isn't Apple the same?
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
Microsoft Issues Holes for 25 Security Patches
Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
I think because no one really believes that Apple software is completely bulletproof. No software is completely bulletproof. I'm sure someone could find an exploit even for a Hello World program. Windows gets the majority of the "bad press" from flaws because it has a gigantic market share compared to Apple, so the security holes and related patches affect many more people.
Yes, some Windows folks will see this as a "haha" nelson moment. However, it isn't a haha moment until the headline reads that someone found 25 Apple exploits and released a huge virus to exploit them. And while I am firmly planted in my Windows environment, I will not be interested in laughing at my Apple compadres when or if that happens.
Apple is providing some patches for 10.3.9 as well. Good to see that they are still providing security related updates for the previous system.
No, there are no OS's without security issues. Even OpenBSD has had a few. Since Mac OS X uses many open standards / open source components, they benefit from the wide deployment, review, and testing that turns up bugs in that code and generates fixes. In closed OS's, the holes are still there, they just cannot be easily analyzed, so it's mostly the highly motivated "black hat" types that discover them and use them for their devious purposes.
The Mac ads clearly referred to all the viruses, worms, spyware, etc. Which are VERY common on Windows PCs, and for whatever reason, are very uncommon on Macs. (I don't really care why they are not prevalent on Macs, I just care that my MacBook Pro is free of exploits, as are my Linux servers.)
Patched bugs are a good thing. Bugs are practically unavoidable. Unpatched bugs, as evidenced by rampant exploits, are the real problem.
Sigh. Have you ever worked in the software development industry. There is this thing called "testing" that some people find important. If you work on Kereberos and find a bug and patch it, you then test just it before distributing. If you work at Apple or Redhat where you are shipping an entire OS with a bunch of packages, it is impossible to patch and test those patches in conjunction with all other hardware in the same timeframe because you have multiple things to patch at once. Thus, the only real solution s to do it in bundles, where you stick a group of patches together then QA them all at once. This results in longer delays for some fixes, but it also means the patch is actually tested in conjunction with the other patches so one does not break another. Any responsible vendor uses this method for dealing with bugs.
Once again, the methodology commonly used by Linux distributions in which patches are rolled out as soon as they are ready provides greater security than Microsoft or Apple (who do the very same thing.)Individual developers roll out patches and you could have patched your OS X box from them if you felt it was an emergency for you. As for what Linux vendors do, I don't know of any who roll one-off fixes into the stable branch intended for real use, instead of testing patches in bundles. You don't seem to know what you're talking about.