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Mac OS X LaunchServices Vulnerability And The Need For Paranoid AndroidA whitepaper by Jason Harris Executive Summary This is a nasty security vulnerability and you'd better install Paranoid Android until Apple fixes it. Background Information Apple's OS X has seen its first major security vulnerability. Apple hasn't yet released a fix (although they are purportedly working on one), and there's been lots of rumor, speculation, and flat-out incorrect fixes coming from the user community in the meantime. This paper is an attempt to explain the issue, explain why other fixes are incomplete, and present the rationale for Paranoid Android,...

Apple Computer on Friday issued an update to Mac OS X to address flaws that security firms said could allow malicious code to be run on a Macintosh. The update fixes a pair of flaws that could be used to create a virus that spreads through a Web link sent via e-mail messages. An attacker also would have to create a Web site with special programming to exploit the vulnerability. The issue was made public this week, although the person who discovered the problem claims to have notified Apple in February. Security information service Secunia on Tuesday rated the issue...

Though there's long been a relatively stable application for running Windows-based software on Apple hardware, using Mac-centric programs on Microsoft-minded machines has rarely been possible. A duo of enthusiasts is attempting to buck that trend by launching an open-source program called PearPC that lets PCs built around chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices emulate a machine running the Mac's PowerPC chip. The software can also run various flavors of Linux, though most of the interest has focused on its ability to run the Mac OS on a PC. Early testers say the software works but that it runs very...

Macworld UK has learned of a dangerous malware that deletes the Home folder on a Mac. The file is cunningly disguised as a Word 2004 for Mac demo – from the forthcoming Office 2004 for Mac suite. A Macworld reader alerted the magazine to the malware after he downloaded the file from Limewire. The reader told Macworld: "I downloaded the file in the hope that perhaps Microsoft had released some sort of public beta. The file unzipped, and to my delight the Microsoft icon looked genuine and trustworthy." However, he added: "I clicked on the installer file, and to my...

New work-bundling software for Macs could make Windows users envious Because of their meager ranks (currently about 3% of the personal-computing universe), Macintosh users have long been given second-class status in the software world. Sure, Apple has created some nice products, such as iTunes, for its computers. But most third-party programs are written for Windows PCs and then adapted, sometimes poorly and often months later, for Apple machines. A notable exception arrives later this month when Microsoft releases the latest version of its ubiquitous Microsoft Office package for the Mac. My verdict: Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is clearly superior...

Apple CEO Steve Jobs will preview Mac OS X Tiger at the company's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco on June 28, 2004. Jobs will give the keynote address for the conference on Monday, June 28, 2004 at 10:00 am. Each major revision of Mac OS X to date has introduced new technologies and a more refined user experience, in addition to new features. While Apple is mum on specific details of the upcoming preview Apple Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations, Ron Okamoto told MacCentral on Monday that many of the "To Be Announced" sessions at WWDC...

A researcher has again taken Apple Computer to task for not adequately labeling the seriousness of the security flaws described in its advisories. Five vulnerabilities released Monday affect various components of the Mac OS X operating system. The greatest threat is a buffer overflow in the Apple file-sharing system that could allow a remote attacker to take over control of the system. But the company described it as a correction "to improve the handling of long passwords." "They are not characterizing the issue so that people can make a security decision about it," said Chris Wysopal, vice president of research...

My friends are scratching their heads these days and staring blankly at me. For the benefit of those that don't know me, let me tell you a brief story. I am married to Microsoft. I have been married to Microsoft for the better part of 15 years. It began when I became a Windows 2.0 (286/386) programmer. I have been using SQL Server since it was owned by Sybase (and Ashton Tate, but we won't go there). I have written seminars for Microsoft, spoken internationally for them at their events, written training and shot video tapes on Microsoft C/C++, MFC,...

Microsoft is delaying the rollout of the beta of its Longhorn operating system until early next year in order to focus on improving security in... Windows XP... The beta of Longhorn - the successor to Windows XP - was supposed to be distributed before the end of this year, but has now been moved back... The move is likely to delay the commercial rollout of Longhorn, which Microsoft said would only be released once beta trial customer feedback had been incorporated into the product... In 2001, Microsoft spoke about releasing Longhorn in late 2004, but then said it was likely...

For Scott Stowell of New York City, it was the freedom to express a passion."I think the message we tried to deliver is something we really believed in. We were passionate in our beliefs and everyone has a right in our democracy to do that."Mr. Stowell was part of a team that produced one of 26 political commercials in a recent online contest soliciting political ads critical of President Bush. Entitled the 'Bush in 30 seconds' TV ad contest and sponsored by the Washington, DC-based public policy advocacy group MoveOn.org, Stowell's spot - entitled "Pop Quiz" - was produced and...

Blacksburg, VA — Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan knew that he wanted to build a world-class supercomputer. Also, he wanted to solidify the position of Virginia Tech’s world-class computer science program. But with only a fraction of most supercomputing budgets to spend, it seemed like a hopeless dream. He crunched numbers, solicited every likely vendor, examined and ultimately discarded all possible options using other platforms and chips. Then in June of 2003, news of Apple’s Power Mac G5 hit the airwaves. At last, Varadarajan realized, he’d have as much 64-bit processing as he needed to power his dream, without overtaxing his budget....

Since its October 24th release, Apple's latest iteration of its BSD-based OS X software, version 10.3 or "Panther," has received more plaudits than pans throughout the high-tech community Indeed, aside from a couple of initial glitches, including a hard drive-damaging flaw that has since been fixed, the launch has been seen as a highly positive development. BusinessWeek technology columnist Stephen Wildstrom called Panther "the best operating system available to consumers." And on the eve of Panther's release, The Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg wrote that Panther "can network easily with Windows computers and is packed with lots of...

22nd Edition of TOP500 List of World’s Fastest Supercomputers Released MANNHEIM, Germany; KNOXVILLE, Tenn.; & BERKELEY, Calif. – In what has become a much-anticipated event in the world of high-performance computing, the 22nd edition of the “TOP500” list of the world’s fastest supercomputers was released today (November 16, 2003). The Earth Simulator supercomputer retains the number one position with its Linpack benchmark performance of 35.86 Tflop/s (“teraflops” or trillions of calculations per second). It was built by NEC and installed last year at the Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan. The list of cluster systems in the TOP10 has grown...

Mac OS X Security Advisory Vulnerability: Malicious DHCP response can grant root access Affected Software Mac OS X 10.3 (all versions through at least 26-Nov-2003) Mac OS X Server 10.3 (all versions through at least 26-Nov-2003) Mac OS X 10.2 (all versions through at least 26-Nov-2003) Mac OS X Server 10.2 (all versions through at least 26-Nov-2003) Probably earlier versions of Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server Possibly developer seeded copies of future versions of Mac OS X Abstract A series of seemingly innocuous default settings can cause an affected Mac OS X machine to trust a malicious...

Apple Computer's latest version of its Mac OS X operating system, Panther, patches security flaws that affect previous versions of the operating system, leaving security experts wondering if users will have to pay the $129 upgrade fee to be secure. On Tuesday, Apple released an advisory that indicate that the Mac OS X 10.3 upgrade--which adds an improved Finder menu, better synchronization of files and a tool to help users find a specific window on a crowded desktop--also includes more than a dozen "security enhancements." However, Apple apparently doesn't intend to fix the flaws in previous versions of the software:...

After God casually looked up from His desk, glanced at the Cubs and the Red Sox and cleared His throat in a meaningful sort of way before returning to His paperwork, the phenomenon wherein hordes of amped-up souls gleefully line up at all hours to buy something the moment it becomes available retreated to its natural arenas: the next "Lord of the Rings" movie and Panther, Apple's latest major update to Mac OS X. Yes, people were lined up for Panther. Apple kept its retail stores open until midnight on Friday to accommodate everyone who couldn't contain themselves. Mac users...

Apple Computer on Friday posted a new release of Mac OS X, after an earlier minor upgrade caused some systems to have problems connecting to Ethernet networks. The Mac maker said the new version of Mac OS X 10.2.8 includes an updated Ethernet driver for 450MHz and 500MHz dual-processor Power Mac G4 systems. Apple pulled the original system software upgrade shortly after its release last week, following complaints of networking problems. Apple said the new software includes an updated battery status menu to better reflect the remaining battery life on PowerBook systems. The software has also been made compatible with...

Apple G5: Can You Feel the Power?   - NEWSFACTOR SPECIAL REPORTBy James Maguire NewsFactor NetworkSeptember 25, 2003http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/22364.htmlMany computer manufacturers publish statistics about how fast their machines are, and each finds a way to present their box as the most powerful. Informed consumers understand that these vendor-provided benchmarks are best taken with a grain of salt. In the case of the Apple G5, however, the statistics reveal a true speed demon -- even allowing for vendor spin. According to results on industry standard benchmark tests (presented by Apple), the G5 is not only faster than comparable machines, but quite a bit faster. Could...

After using my Dell Dimension Desktop with Windows XP at college for a while, I am throwing in the towel. I'm sick of using a pathetic "bite-off" operating system that's been stuck on the same version since 1995, built on a horribly unreliable platform that's only recently had any sort of improvement, exhibits unstable behavior for no apparent reason sometimes, and just doesn't cut it with video capture and editing. Whenever I get a new computer with a new version of Windows, my enjoyment of computing goes up--for precisely three weeks. Then I'm right back where I started. (You can...

Writing a column containing debatable comments from security experts is nearly as good at filling up your e-mail inbox as the SoBig virus. Last week, I concluded that Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh OS X provided safer computing than Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating systems -- in part because its small market share offers Internet villains too little opportunity to spread mayhem and partly because OS X ships with all of its vulnerable services turned off. This blocks potential attackers from gaining access to the system's software in the first place.