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Apple Pushes Unwanted Software To PCs, Again
itwbennett writes "Blogger Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wags his finger at Apple for indiscriminately pushing the iPhone Configuration Utility 2.1 update out to Windows users, since it is a tool for business system administrators to set up and administer corporate iPhones — the blogger himself (and practically every other iPhone user) not being of the corporate iPhone user persuasion. But more than just unnecessary, the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at increased risk by installing 'not just a configuration program, but the Apache Web server as well,' says Vaughan-Nichols. 'A Web server like the one Apple [is] adding to your PC... [is] a gateway just asking to be hammered on by an attacker. Managed properly Apache is as safe a Web server as you'll ever find, but ordinary PC users shouldn't try to manage it, and even an expert can't do anything with it if they don't know it's there.'" Reader CWMike notes that Apple pulled the iPhone Configuration Utility from the update list after a few hours.
the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at increased risk by installing
Millions? Lets see here, the update was only recommended for a few hours and was quickly pulled. How many people do you think update constantly? If Windows updates are any indication (and most just install in the background with almost no user interaction) chances are very few. We aren't talking about "millions" but a few thousand in the worst case.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Personally I hope they spend more time on the main iTunes program itself. Mine always freezes if I allow the program to sync as soon as the iPhone is connected! Disabling that function is the only way I have found allows me to connect the iPhone without having iTunes stall.
Is this the second update to version 9 of iTunes already? It seems just last week the 9.01 (?) was released!
No one else reporting on this "issue" (it was a mistake folks - chill out) has mentioned installing Apache, which would definitely be a huge issue.
Has anyone here independently seen this supposed Apache installation?
I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.
I'm not so sure if asking me if I'd like to update/install something is the same as having it "pushed" to me. I had the Apple Software Update thing pop up on me the other day, I unchecked the items I didn't want (the iPhone Config Util being one of them), and I went ahead and updated the software that I did want. So how exactly are they "forcing" this one me?
It's September 28th. where is this comedy upset?
Sometimes, life itself is sarcasm...
Apple only pushes the iPhone Configuration Utility updates to those who have the utility installed already. This is the case with my home and my work computers where only my work computer contained a previous installation of the iPhone Configuration Utility.
It appears to be more of a screw-up by Apple rather than the intent of pushing unwanted software.
The previous ones were probably Apple deliberately (and stupidly) trying to push its software to Windows machines that didn't have it already.
Given that almost no one needs the iPhone Configuration Utility among regular consumer-type users, I can see no benefit to Apple in deliberately pushing it out, and thus conclude that it was just a mistake.
Dan Aris
Fun. Free. Online. RPG. BattleMaster.
Software updates are pulled from the client, not pushed to the client. There's an important difference between the two and the phrases shouldn't be used interchangeably. For software pushes, see: Amazon Kindle + 1984 book deletion
Just when you make it idiotproof, some idiot builds a better idiot.
Just because Sun does it doesn't mean it's a good practice, from Apple or Sun.
Two wrongs don't make a right, didn't you ever learn that?
The update has been pushing this software for days -- my twelve-year old called me to the family PC last week to ask about the update install. If I hadn't trained her well, she would have assumed it was okay since she knows we have Apple's Quicktime installed (and the update cleverly bundles Quicktime with iTunes, which I don't want on any computer, especially one with a nearly-full HD).
I hadn't looked into the iPhone configuration part though, like the blogger mentioned, I was irked since there's never been anything like an iPhone in this house. Knowing now what was involved, I'm glad we dodged that bullet!
This whole experience goes to show that corporations can all fall into traps of not thinking or knowing what one part's doing and not really caring until someone makes enough noise to get their attention. I don't trust Apple anymore than I trust Microsoft. Nor should anyone blindly trust these corporations: they don't have your best interests at heart!
ancarett, historian and zombie gamer
Java didn't try to install anything last time I updated it.
It has an ad for OpenOffice.org in the installer (which utilizes Java for some bits and pieces) but that's it.
When I build a Windows box, I turn off QuickTime's default automatic updates and delete the shortcut from the Start menu.
(I also install Flash and Java in front of the customer, so I can show them the "already checked box" scam).
They push Yahoo! toolbar unless you uncheck the box.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
Sun was pushing the Bing toolbar with a pre-checked box until last week... now they're pushing Carbonite 30-day trialware the same way.
Where did he say that it did? His point would appear to be that people are treating Apple more harshly than others for the same transgression. I'm sure it's not caused by an abnormally powerful fanbionic flux or anything like that.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Microsoft regularly reboots my machine without any intervention on my part. Where's the outrage.
Why bother
Quicktime Alternative, FTW.. No iTunes, no iPhone, no iToilet...
How many free passes does Apple get before you start to question their infallibility?
Probably about as many as there are strawman constructions of people's conceptions of Apple as a company.
Tweet, tweet.
First Jobs steals a liver and now he's trying to take over my computer. I'm pissed.
Time for a trip to the nearest re-education center. MS good. Apple Bad. We've always been at war with Eurasia.
6.8SPC TR of 550, l xwind at 6, drift rt at 26" drops 77". AT has 503 ft-lbs at 1403 fps. FT 0.86
You either need to change your automatic update settings or you have a re-curring error, in which the system is set to automatically restart. To turn it off: Right-click on My Computer-> Click the Properties option-> Click the Advanced tab->Click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery->Uncheck the Automatically restart check box That should take care of all the automatic restarts that happen, unless something else is going. I had that happening all the time until I changed it up. Silly Microsoft.
When we get an article about Sun, we'll bash Sun in a heartbeat. In the meantime this is an article about Apple so expect Apple bashing.
Is this really all that complicated?
"linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
Apple is 'asking permission' to install this when you are prompted to install it via the Software Updater. You get a short list of available updates. If you click on each you'll get a lengthy description of what each does. This isn't some hidden update titled KB12345 with a description that reads 'critical security update'.
-----------------
Description of the update:
iPhone Configuration Utility lets you easily create, maintain, encrypt, and install configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information including console logs.
Configuration profiles are XML files that contain device security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates that permit iPhone and iPod touch to work with your enterprise systems. For instructions on how to use iPhone Configuration Utility, see the iPhone and iPod touch Enterprise Deployment Guide, available for downloading at http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/
-----------------
It requires user intervention to install and it comes with a full text description of what the tool does. I know it's popular to hate Apple but insisting they are 'shoving this down users throats' is a misrepresentation. They offer the install and the user has to either leave it checked or uncheck it. If you've properly educated your family and friends (reading below it appears that at least some have), they simply uncheck it and ignore it if they don't know what it is. I've taught my family about software updaters. They simply called me about this one and I told them it wasn't needed and to uncheck it. Problem solved.
That said, Apple should do the right thing and disable these by default or better yet, not even offer them. Any admin worth their salt would be able to find this software if needed in about 3 Google seconds. There is no reason this should be offered in the updater except perhaps if the user already has a previous version installed. I can easily see where a user who does have an iPhone might be tempted to install this without understanding what it does, but a quick read of the update description should clue most people in that this isn't something they could use for day to day use or at least prompt them to ask someone more knowledgable.
As to the Apache software itself, does anyone know if it's enabled by default, or locked down? Apache is actually a pretty secure product if properly configured. I know the knee jerk urge to bash Apple, but does anyone know how it's configured, and if it's enabled by default? For example, every Mac comes with a built in FTP, Print Server, and Web Server, but they are all disabled by default. I know this is on the Windows platform, but surely there are ways to secure an Apache server even on that OS?
I had the Apple Software Update thing pop up on me the other day, I unchecked the items I didn't want (the iPhone Config Util being one of them), and I went ahead and updated the software that I did want. So how exactly are they "forcing" this one me?
Wait until the Apple Software Update pops up again and you discover that all the items that have even a minor version number change are back — even though you selected "ignore this software" — and not only back, but checked by default again, because, even though you refused to install an enormous new program when it was on version 4.3.2, surely you'll want to install it now that it's 4.3.2.1.
I have several business clients that feel a need for QuickTime. A couple of them even paid for QuickTime Pro. They certainly do not need iTunes. Yet, even though they paid money for the product, it won't stop trying (at least as of the last time I checked this summer) to trick them into installing 120MB of extra software as an "update" over and over. I've already had to uninstall iTunes twice for clients because Apple makes it look like it's a QuickTime-related "update" so important that it starts popping up again after a couple weeks (new version!) even after being ignored. There is no excuse for ASU's resetting the "ignore" flag on uninstalled software except to trojan machines with iTunes and Safari behind the computer tech's back and hope a large portion of users think that's just how their computers work now.
When IE and Windows Media Player were doing these kinds of things in Windows 9x, everyone howled, yet at least Windows Media Player doesn't embed itself in the startup registry where everyday users can't remove it. iTunes does.
This makes owning and supporting a computer more difficult for users. I don't have time to answer questions from my friends every time a software publisher pushes out a new update. I've taken to telling them, "If it's a Microsoft auto update, install it. If it's an Apple auto update, install it. If it's an Adobe auto update, install it." When Apple starts pushing out software that is not necessary as part of their update process, it adds unnecessary confusion and software bloat. Like another poster above said, he only has Quicktime installed but the Apple updater is pushing iPhone utilities and Safari onto his desktop. Doing that is just bad form, no matter how descriptive the accompanying text is.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely agree that this should not be included in the update and certainly not checked by default, but the TFA implies this is somehow snuck onto the target PC like some thief in the night when that is not the case.
;)
As to how much time this takes, how many friends and family members do you 'actively support'? I have a handful of friends that look to me for support. About 5 total call me for various issues/questions). Of those, 1 called about this, and I'm sure one just installed it (he's new and VERY PC illiterate). If your family and friends are like mine, they DO eventually learn, albeit slowly in some cases. Eventually they get savvy enough to not immediately just accept any OK or CONFIRM prompt that they see and they do read what their getting. Your mileage may vary
The Sony rootkit was derived from Sony/BMG's need to control ripping of their CD content. It was most certainly wrong and got worse when a vulnerable version was exploited.
I won't comment on WGA....even the Microsoft fanboys hate that crap.
Apple has no interest in pushing the iPhone Configuration Utility to consumers. The software doesn't mean anything to them, nor do they know how to use it. For a piece of Apple software, it isn't very end-user friendly.
I believe this was just an error on Apple's part that got blown up into Apple doing something sneaky. The Safari debacle, yes, I would believe that. iPhone Configuration Utility, not so much.
For the average user it has been just "snuck" onto their PC. The average user knows very little about there machine or the updates, my sister would not have the faintest idea what safari or boujour are or whether she needed to update them, they have learnt over time that the right thing to do is keep your machine UPDATED and the result is that a heap of garbage gets installed as users stick with the default selected options. apple is abusing the trust people play in updates.
It looks like the only way to get Apple to start behaving responsibly would be for Microsoft to put Apple Software Update on the list of targets for the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, until Apple eliminates the default checkboxing of "updates" to software the user hasn't installed.
I now have two boxes to uncheck every time iTunes updates, one for Safari and one for this iPhone configuration utility. Safari I can understand somewhat. I use firefox, but OK, conceivably I could use Safari, I have an internet connection and need a browser so it's a product that could apply to me. I don't even own an iPhone though, and I don't plan on getting one. So why they feel that I need to have this installed is beyond me.
If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
It's getting kind of dated, but my main machine still runs Windows 2000, and has nothing on it that updates automatically. It's rather peaceful - very little unwanted drama.
I have the latest Firefox, the latest Open Office, the latest Python, the latest MySQL, the latest Sumatra PDF, the latest Blender, etc. - all the important stuff still runs on Windows 2000. Dreamweaver 8, Photoshop Elements, and other basic graphics tools run. Even rather exotic programs like the LTSpice circuit simulator, the AVR micro controller development system, and the Tortise SVN client work fine.
Really, Microsoft hasn't done much substantive to their OS in the last decade. Most of the stuff since then has either been cosmetic or has made things worse.
except apple decided to bunde the ipod updater with itunes (which used to be two seperate programs) so i was forced to install iTunes onto my pc. unless they've seperated these again?
i spent five minutes thinking and all i got was this crappy sig
Nah, that's just for Moviemaker. And WMP DRM libraries... :)
It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
The point that I'm trying to make is that I want people to be able to trust software publishers to only deliver updates that they need. I want to be able to tell my friends and family, "If Apple sends you an update, you can install it. You don't have to second guess it." With Apple pushing software updates on users who don't need them, I can't tell people to trust what Apple is asking them to install. That is the problem.
By the same token you can click on Microsoft's updates and, you know, actually read what they are for and what they do. They even have a link to tell you.
Err... Most of the time.
Fairness in our bashing would go a long ways.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Additionally, in my experience, these Apple updates happen mostly when launching iTunes.
Picture it, if you will: A user wants to play some music, download a sitcom, or just sync their iPhone. So they launch iTunes, just like they have before. And instead of getting to do those things, they get an annoying thing that won't fucking ever go away until they press OK. Sure, they can cancel it (but then it just comes back), or they can read it and deselect things, but why should they be forced to do these things?
They just want to instruct the computer to provide some manner of entertainment. Instead, the computer ends up instructing them.
This, I think, the paradigm which bothers me most: That the computer switches from being told by the user what it should be doing, to telling (or at least suggesting to) the user what to do.
Kid-proof tablet..
What "people"?
This post on reddit shows people aren't treating Sun any differently than Apple in this regard.
Oh sure, because i like getting 50 calls for every stupid windows app that makes an update.
I've also noticed that the Quicktime picture viewer at one point kept asking me to associate all my media files as being opened with the Quicktime picture viewer. Even thou I had said no. And that I did not want it to ask again.
I never use it but sure enough when I opened it up right now it's still doing the same damn thing. (Likely it's the same version as I don't think there has been an update to it lately.) I suppose were I not the skeptical type I could just write it off as a bug. Such as it is...
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
Were they even aware this time this was going on, sometimes like the Chinese having malware pre-installed on usb keys and hdd drives, then say it was someone working for them and they would remove it, this too could be an inside job where someone thought it a great opportunity to set up some free web servers and set up some hax0r websites...!
It's funny, just yesterday I was having a conversation about Apple's aggressive software with a guy who brought me a video in Quicktime. I told him that I refused to install any Apple software on my Windows computer because it is so aggressive about installing other Apple programs (like installing iTunes when you install Quicktime), taking over file extensions without asking, running an updater in the background without asking, etc. AFAIC, Apple software on a Windows machine is just glorified malware. The last time I installed Quicktime, it took over every media file extension, made iTunes my default media player, and put an updater on the system that I had to go hunt down in the registry to finally get rid of (even Apple's uninstaller is sneaky and tries to leave traces of itself behind). Bad-mouth MS all you want, but I would trust their stuff any day over Apple software.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
This update was put on the list as part of the 9.0 iTunes upgrade, I have an iPhone and I knew I didn't want it, as I already configure it through iTunes.
THEN about 5 days later (maybe longer) Quicktime updated and at was part of THAT as well. Which affected not only my PC, but my wife's PC, who uses my install of iTunes for her 2G Shuffle and has nothing but Quicktime, reluctantly installed on her PC. I had to tell her to uncheck the box and skip over that as part of the quicktime update.
But if this wasn't enough, the next day it poped up again as Quicktime detected an available update from Apple (not for Quicktime, that was done, but it listed the apple update's manager along with the iPhone Configuration thing and Safari 4. Luckily it hasn't asked again, but this was multiple questionings over a 2 week period.
I'm glad to hear they pulled it, but unless "Hours after" means "240 hours after" this is a big crock.
-=JML=-
This makes owning and supporting a computer more difficult for users. I don't have time to answer questions from my friends every time a software publisher pushes out a new update. I've taken to telling them, "If it's a Microsoft auto update, install it. If it's an Apple auto update, install it.
So you give stupid advice to your friends and expect them to be fine and have no issues?
Sorry if I sound like an Apple apologist. For the sake of disclosure, I do have an iPhone and I use and support/manage Macs as my day job -- about 700 of them.
Anyway, I think pushing an enterprise config utility to all their Windows users was most likely a simple mistake. I'm guessing someone who manages their update service accidentally put it in the "make available to everyone" category instead of "make available to people who have an older version of the same utility" category. What's the point? I can't think of anything Apple would stand to gain by doing this deliberately.
(1) trojan competitor computers
(2) p0wn these computers with an "unrelated" attack
(3) sell own computers to p0wned individuals
I come here for the love
I think it's a sekrit ploy by Steve Jobs to focus the negative virus/malware based attention away from Apple and toward Microsoft.
What better way to add fuel to the "Apple doesn't get viruses" lie than to have Apple install not just an exploitable software, but a fucking web server, which can be used to proliferate more worms/malware/viruses on the Windows machines.
I would say that's exactly what is happening, especially when a different post here mentions that this "update" was "intended" for corporate IT administrators... I'm a systems administrator; do you have any fucking clue how pissed off I would be to find out that Apple just turned my network of workstations into a network of web servers? Thankfully we don't have any automatic updates turned on, and every time I update our images I intentionally neglect iTunes and Quicktime.
"Be prepared, son. That's my motto. Be prepared." --Joe Hallenbeck
Is that the entire text of the description? It doesn't say anything about Apache being installed. Installing a useless piece of software that you'll never use which may auto start and run as a service is one thing, but if they're also installing a web server they need to say that.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Thanks. This makes life so much better. lol
But it says that bad things will happen if I turn off the automatic update. Automatic restart was off by default when I installed the motherboard.
Why bother
I always set the automatic update to ask me first if I want to install anything. I wouldn't turn it off completely, you will need important security fixes (with microsoft there will be a lot).
My exact settings, and yet I get certain "Critical" updates that cause a reboot whether I wanted one or not. Go figure.
Why bother
Oh and just so you know for certain it's not a failure the exact window that opens after the boot is "Microsoft has added a critical update to your computer and a reboot was required". This usually happens when I don't use the windows box for a while.
Why bother
"This, I think, the paradigm which bothers me most: That the computer switches from being told by the user what it should be doing, to telling (or at least suggesting to) the user what to do."
Right, except that it's not actually "the computer" which is telling the user what to do, but "the corporation" which sold the computer and publishes the software/media for it.
Which is just the same way companies (and lets face it, most other large social and industrial groups) have been relating to their consumers for years. Since the dawn of mass manufacturing and marketing, at least.
"Trust us. We're the experts. Buy this. We know what you want. You need this product. It's an update. You (might) need it to be safe. It (might) be healthy. It (might) make you happier, cooler, smarter and an all-round better person.Listen to us: we need to educate you about the benefits of our new product. It's for your own good. Can you take the risk that you know better than us? We're the Company. Would we lie to you?"
It's the same power/knowledge differential, it's just being exploited through different media.
In other words, it's a social, not a technical problem, and the root of the problem is that we have a society with tolerates and in fact *rewards* white-lying and sharp-dealing high-pressure sales, if it gets marketshare.
You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
That's where you got it wrong. When it's Apple Auto Update, do NOT install it : )
http://dilbert.com/2010-12-13
While Apple was politely knocking on this guy's door to offer him yet another free software download (by mistake it turns out) to go with the Apple software he is already using, malware and viruses were installing themselves through the windows and cracks in the walls and hiding all over his system. Windows is fucking wide open and this guy is complaining that Apple offered him something. This fucker should save his misplaced animosity for Microsoft and the shitty PC industry that can't even ship him a fucking Unix in 2010. He has to get his media layer, media manager, zero configuration networking, and HTML5 browser from fucking Apple even though he is using Windows. There is something already wrong there, and not at Apple. To be pissy about the updater politely offering you something you can refuse in 2 ways (refuse just for now, or refuse permanently) is just fucking completely unacceptable.
Truly, STOP USING APPLE SOFTWARE. You are a fucking bigot and you deserve what you get from Microsoft. Take it from them, bend over, and plead for some more.
I truly hope a black-hat finds this guy's wide-open fucking Windows PC and installs a fucking nuclear bomb on there and let's see his article about that. Probably goes something like this: "well, Microsoft tried their best, if only computers weren't so naturally virus-prone, I better upgrade to Windows 7!" and just insert about 20 more ass-licking Microsoft excusifying that Windows users have become so good at you fucking wretched masochists.
The anti-Apple bigotry is widespread right now because Apple is once again 10 plus years ahead of the rest of the industry. The correct response to this is not hatred towards Apple, it's righteous indignation directed towards YOUR OWN FUCKING SHITTY PC VENDOR WHO IS 10 FUCKING YEARS BEHIND. HP/Dell/Lenovo are still selling you warmed over Windows fucking 95! Unix is fucking FREE! You already own the fucking thing but you are PAYING FOR FUCKING WINDOWS ANYWAY.
With all the shit that self-installs and can't even be removed from Windows, it is just incredible to hear Windows users whine about this fucking iPhone provisioning app that was offered by fucking mistake. Microsoft fucking wishes that their mistakes were as small as offering people a download they don't want. That would be an awesome day at Microsoft.
Truly, get off the Apple gear. Uninstall all of it, sell your iPod, get the fuck away from it all. Never darken an Apple Store again. Nobody has a gun to your head you fucking loser. INCREDIBLE.
You hear people saying "Apple" and "anti-trust" in the same breath today, that is fucking ridiculous, they have 10% of the market. What that really amounts to is a plea to nationalize Apple, to stop them from competing, to break up the Yankees, to appropriate their technology for the user of the generic PC industry. That is how fucking hopeless the PC makers are. People can't imagine any of them actually advancing their technology to the same generation as Apple so they just say "well, Pre should be able to use iTunes if it wants, and PC makers should be able to use OS X if they want, and if not, then Apple is a criminal monopolist. FUCKING LAME. TOTALLY FUCKING LAME.