The Inquirer-Home

Apple fixes flawed Leopard

Snow Leopard flawed too
Fri Sep 04 2009, 10:35

RED-FACED APPLE has admitted that its Leopard operating system has an ancient version of Java that's an open door to hackers.

The Java flaw is important and the patch can be downloaded from Apple. Basically it allows a hacker to take control of the user's machine if they visit a dodgy webpage. Normally Apple waits six months before releasing Java security patches, so it must have thought this one was bad.

What is less amusing is that Apple has shafted those people who are still using Tiger by not providing a patch for the older operating system. Perhaps the idea is that it will force people to pay their Apple tax to upgrade. Of course in the case of Snow Leopard it also means that it will break all those Tiger machines which use non-Intel chips, so it is a win-win for Jobs' Mob.

The patch updates Leopard to Java versions 1.6.0_15, 1.5.0_20, and 1.4.2_22, which Java creator Sun Microsystems released on 5th August.

Apple, which has been flogging its own products on the basis that they are more secure than Microsoft, is fast becoming the laughing stock of the security industry.

The Cappuccino-based outfit seems to have rushed to gets its Snow Leper out the door in a desperate bid to put a spoiler on Windows 7's launch. Not only do some important applications fail to work because third party developers were not ready, but it seems that Snow Leopard shipped with known security holes.

It turns out that Apple shipped Snow Leopard with an old version of Adobe's Flash Player that leaves users vulnerable to software exploits embedded in dodgy Flash videos.

Sophos' media friendly insecurity analyst Graham Cluley said in his blog that Mac users who applied security patches did not deserve to have their security downgraded because they upgraded to Snow Leopard. µ

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Mac botnet suspected earlier this year

BTW First Mac botnet suspected earlier this year.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/04/evidence-suggests-first-zombie-mac-botnet-is-active.ars

posted by : Brian Burke, 07 September 2009 Complain about this comment
shocking

standards of editorial. Nick is at the same level of Charlie Demimakeshitupen. Hopefully he leaves and starts his own little mickey mouse site too. I think he should call it "irant".

posted by : john, 07 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Eye of the Tigger

Ohs Nos, the 6 eMacs I have all running Tigger will soon be hi-jinxed so bad guys can see what kind of porn my kids are viewing...

Or they will be used in the first Mac-only bot-net.

PAleez...

posted by : Paul Schroeder, 06 September 2009 Complain about this comment
This isn't news, Apple has never taken security seriously

Everyone is griping about an article written about how Apple doesn't take security seriously. This has been the case for a very long time. You really have to ask yourself what the hell was going on at Apple that could have made BSD so insecure.

posted by : Brian Burke, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
why Enq doesn't like Apple?

I would really enjoy to know why the Enquirer does not like Apple.

Tmlcky

posted by : Tmlcky, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Nonsense

I just installed Snow Leopard over Leopard (the disk arrived earlier this week and was waiting for me upon return from holiday).

I opened a terminal console and entered java -version and it responded with:

java version "1.6.0_15"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_15-b03-219)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 14.1-b02-90, mixed mode)

Nuf sed.

posted by : Naomi Bloop, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
O dear...what a religious fervor

Nick watch out!!

The over-sensitive MacYaheddin will declare easily declare Holy War in defence of the true faith of the Bitten Apple and for Steve Jobs his prophet. Before you know it they will sent suicide warriors wearing malfunctioning Iphone vests.

posted by : Rob, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
OS X is Flawed Too!

See? See? It's NOT perfect!

So There! Take THAT you smug Mac Users.

Ha!

(seriously man.... grow up.)

posted by : T. Simmons, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
naughty boys

Journalist flavoured hack writes another anti-Apple flavoured story.
It's bordering on boring now, and it does mean I almost never read Apple themed stories from this site because I can do without the childish crap contained in Mr Farrells articles.
There's being provocative and there's sounding like a 7 year old.

@Macs are attack proof. - You are insanse.

posted by : big daddy, 05 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Oh Apple-Lung!

Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly Snow Lepers run

Apple-lung my friend
don't start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only a Cup o'tea, no?

Who would be a poor man, a beggarman, a thief, if he had a rich man in his hand?

if he could take it from the money man__ Cross-eyed Leper goes jumping in again on expense accounted cruel.

Laughing in the playground - gets no kicks from little fanboys:
would rather make it with a letching grey.
Or maybe their attention is drawn by Apple-lung, who watches through the railings as they pray.
Cross-eyed Leper finds it hard to get along, and she'll do it for a iTunes song.

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze
when the Snow that
clings on to your Leper is
screaming agony.

posted by : Jethro Itull, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Right....

@hfm

Learn to read. I never said that security holes shouldn't be fixed. If you look at Apple/Mac blogs and websites, they post articles about it and act like the sky is falling. Now if the OS had shipped with a list a mile long of things that needed patched, I could understand a little hype.

So the OS got shipped with an old Flash version. There's a newer one out. Patch it. Move on. Big deal.

posted by : Hegemon, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
EH?

@Hegemon

Ludicrous.. security holes like that should be fixed regardless of what half-baked idea you hvae of the walled garden where only exploit implementing software lives.

posted by : hfm, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
MacOS is attack-proof.

Anything that can be engineered can be reverse-engineered. You bash the author then you make a ridiculous comment like that. Typical MACite comment.

posted by : matel20, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
this just in...

...apple fanboys don't know how to read- come to this site only to rant.

Article made sense to me, I don't know what you people are smoking. And yes, I'm a mac user (I just don't drink the kool-aid).

posted by : Scott, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Phew...

"Clearly a bias is shown in this writer. Get someone else please!"

I know, the bias is terrible - at least Apple always offers bias free reporting we can depend on!!

posted by : applyfanboi, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Another quality article

@MacInnes, Nick Ferret is just a vole in disguise. He's in Micro$oft's pocket, if you read the treatment he gives to M$ in articles he's written about their security flaws versus the ones he's written about Apple it should be painfully obvious.

posted by : Gordon, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Weak Sauce

Everyone is getting so worked up over the flash "security hole". If you get a virus from that, you deserve it, because you're probably surfing some hacking/pr0n website.

No, I'm not a mac zealot (forgive me my sins, Saint Steve). There will never be an OS that is perfect - someone will always be able to find a vulnerability and exploit it. MacOS is no exception. I just hate journalism that latches on to weak stories and won't let them go. This flash bug has been on every stinkin' site and people won't shut up about it. Patch your system and move on, crybabies.

posted by : Hegemon, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
The point is there is a flaw...

Why is everybody up and arms about writing the wrong version? the truth is that the OS has a flaw and you all crybabies need to go and patch it (no big deal). But not, you all feel like trashing the guy just to make you unsecured egos feel better.

posted by : Wallie, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Mediocre journalism

Nick, you just killed all your efforts to put your flawed opinion forth because of bad research.

Some people are so eager to be Superman, they forget to wear the leggings below the undies.

posted by : Apurv, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
You safed my weekend mycelo

"MacOS is attack-proof. Which means that no matter how flawed and glitched are the softwares that you run under it, MacOS will protect its user against everything, even the potentially dangerous behavior of the user himself, his wife, his mother or his children."

Thank god :-)

posted by : Hugh, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
No Pulitzer for you idiot boy

The Author is obviously a complete moron.

Fine if your going to slag the os down, but for christ sake get your facts correct. and try to wipe that silly smug look off your face.

posted by : john, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Impossible

MacOS is attack-proof. Which means that no matter how flawed and glitched are the softwares that you run under it, MacOS will protect its user against everything, even the potentially dangerous behavior of the user himself, his wife, his mother or his children.

Even if you intentionally try to run some nasty malware, it will beat such little pest into submission and convince it to act in some way that benefit its wealthy and technologically unproficient user.

Therefore you don't need to upgrade your system. Upgrade your faith... And your salary.

posted by : mycelo, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Nick, get a grip.

"Apple is fast becoming the laughing stock of the security industry"? "a desperate bid to put a spoiler on Windows 7"? <lol

Nick, get a grip. Non-fiction articles are not your forte...try a Harry Potter novel.

posted by : Oblio Ar, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
?

Leopard != Tiger?

So you have to upgrad from Tiger.. ? If you would like to stick secure.

posted by : Hugh, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
????

Clearly a bias is shown in this writer. Get someone else please!

posted by : bigpoppa, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Mark

"News, reviews, facts and friction?" That is a sad joke. I feel like I am reading the Onion, not a Sci/Tech news item. Google should not give the Inquirer space on their news feed, as there is no integrity, accuracy or even professionalism. This "article" is like some highschooler trying to start a flame war. How lame.

posted by : Mark, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Cappaccino

"Cappuccino-based outfit"

Do Apple employees drink large amounts of coffee....or did you mean Cupertino, the California location of Apple headquarters?

posted by : Dan, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Mr

Nick .... sounds like you need to repent and get a mac.

posted by : George, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Not Snow Leopard...

...this Java update is for Leopard.

posted by : BerndR, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Don't let the truth get in the way of an attack on Apple Nick

No point slagging off Apple about Snow Leopard if you don't even know that it's 10.6. The security release you are referring to is 10.5. Honestly Nick, you should take a deep breath before you slip into your default auto-Apple-bashing mode. In this case, default lies with you

posted by : Billy MacInnes, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
Oops

Did the author intend to refer to Apple's latest release as "Snow Leper?"

The link to the Apple Java update is for 10.5 (Leopard), not 10.6 (Snow Leopard).

posted by : Jaywalk3r, 04 September 2009 Complain about this comment
aboutus
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