OS X Users: 10.4.5 is out

[zoziw]

Today Apple released 10.4.5 and the specifics can be found at:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1045.html

Of course, use Software Update to get it.

 

[Quantos]

Today Apple released 10.4.5 and the specifics can be found at:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1045.html

Of course, use Software Update to get it.

Why they coming out with a new version ?

Macs Don't have bugs or flaws

Or so I've been told & told & told

 

[Overtime_man]

Today Apple released 10.4.5 ...

I just downloaded it this morning. Size-wise it's one of the smallest updates that Apple has released in a long time, so I imagine it's just a few minor fixes.

 

[zoziw]

Why they coming out with a new version ?

Macs Don't have bugs or flaws

Or so I've been told & told & told

No, what we say is that there are currently no viruses or spyware out on the net that can infect OS X.

 

[peepnklown]

Mac OS X 10.4.5 seems to be addressing some EPSON printer models, excellent.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

The one day I don't check for updates! haha

 

[utdbear]

I just got it. They finally released updates for iWeb and iMovie too. Finally!

 

[rdale]

No, what we say is that there are currently no viruses or spyware out on the net that can infect OS X.

rhut rhohh, time to re...:

Reports emerge of Mac OS X Trojan horse or worm

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/16/oompa/index.php

 

[zoziw]

lol, talk about bad timing on my part.

For the record, it is a trojan that attempts to infect your Mac and then propagate itself through iChat. Fortunately, it is harmless and appears to be a proof-of-concept program but could certainly be developed into something nasty.

Andrew Welch has a thorough write up on this.

http://www.ambrosiasw.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102379

 

[zoziw]

This would also be a good time for Mac users to review Apple's guidelines for downloading files and determining what they are:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108009

 

[zoziw]

I've done some reading on this and, imo, it is much less of a concern than that whole widget incident last year.

Basically, it tells you it is a screenshot of Leopard, but it isn't and the first clue that something is up is Safari (Apple's web browser) warning you that you are downloading an application.

The next warning is that it will prompt you for a password when it tries to run.

Finally, as long as you aren't running as an Admin it isn't going to do anything.

That is in addition to having to unzip the thing and double-clicking on the application to start it.

Finally, is needs Spotlight to propagate, which is only in Tiger and it isn't a universal binary and won't affect an Intel Mac.

This isn't much of a threat but it is a good reminder to us Mac users not to take Safari's and Tiger's warnings about what is being downloaded lightly.

 

[Overtime_man]

I found the Macworld article to be rather amusing:

...Welch is careful to point out that this should probably be considered a Trojan horse, rather than a virus, “because it doesn’t self-propagate externally.”
So-called Trojan horses are differentiated from viruses because they masquerade as a regular application or file and do not replicate themselves arbitrarily.
Anti-virus software maker Sophos takes issue with this description, claiming this is the “first ever virus for Mac OS X.”

Wow, what are the chances that an anti-virus software maker would want to claim it's a virus? I'm reminded of Symantec's dubious report on the state of Mac security, which was released a few months ago in an obvious attempt to stir up sales for their own anti-virus software products.

That said, it's only a matter of time before someone releases a real virus on OS X, especially if Macs keep gaining market share. But unlike Windows, OS X was built from the ground up with security in mind, so I'm not overly worried, and I'm certainly not going to throw down 10000 yen for an unnecessary anti-virus program. If you're stupid enough to ignore the warning that Safari gives you, and then go as far as to enter your master password to view a file which is supposed to be a jpg, you probably deserve to be infected!

 

[zoziw]

I found the Macworld article to be rather amusing:




Wow, what are the chances that an anti-virus software maker would want to claim it's a virus? I'm reminded of Symantec's dubious report on the state of Mac security, which was released a few months ago in an obvious attempt to stir up sales for their own anti-virus software products.

That said, it's only a matter of time before someone releases a real virus on OS X, especially if Macs keep gaining market share. But unlike Windows, OS X was built from the ground up with security in mind, so I'm not overly worried, and I'm certainly not going to throw down 10000 yen for an unnecessary anti-virus program. If you're stupid enough to ignore the warning that Safari gives you, and then go as far as to enter your master password to view a file which is supposed to be a jpg, you probably deserve to be infected!

Yeah, after looking at this some more it really isn't much. Anyone could paste a .jpeg icon on a script and try to sucker people into downloading it and ignoring the warnings OS X has set up.

Oh well, I'm sure Windows fans and AV companies got a kick out of it.

 

[rdale]

Oh well, I'm sure Windows fans and AV companies got a kick out of it.

...never any joy when the bad guys do what they do

 

[zoziw]

...never any joy when the bad guys do what they do

In all fairness, I own a Windows desktop and laptop and neither one has ever had a virus. The only reason I have AV on them is because my ISP includes it for free.

I don't even get spyware or tracking cookies on them and I use IE.

Don't run as admin, get SP2, use a firewall, learn about IE's security zones and double check downloads and email attachments (turn off preview of course), and as far as I've experienced you can be secure on Windows.

 

[faster_jackrabbit]

use a firewall

Gee, I'd rather not buy an additional product to get functionality that should be provided in the operating system itself.

 

[zoziw]

Gee, I'd rather not buy an additional product to get functionality that should be provided in the operating system itself.

Both XP and OS X have built in firewalls.

 

[Quantos]

Gee, I'd rather not buy an additional product to get functionality that should be provided in the operating system itself.

Gee all modern OSs include firewalls built in.

 

[faster_jackrabbit]

Then why bring it up? Isn't it turned on by default? It is with OSX.

 

[zoziw]

What point release did Apple turn the firewall on by default? When I got my Macs (most recently last August) the firewall wasn't enabled by default.

Windows XP has had it's firewall enabled by default since SP2.