[ home | about | dec'04 | nov'04 | 2004 | 2003 | rss feed ]

news of 2004-05-14

Security hole in Safari

(this time more serious than an Intego-Trojan...) - If you've set Safari to automatically process known file-types (such as .sit or .dmg files), a malicious webmaster can prepare bad things for you. You'll click on the link for the .dmg (which he can, obviously, also cloak as a link to another website...). The disk image is then downloaded and processed. Now the security flaw comes into play. Automagically, an AppleScript is loaded in HelpViewer and from there an application on the DMG (and paths are always /Volumes/"Volume Name" for dmgs) is automatically started. This app can, of course, be a simple AppleScript that, say, deletes EVERYTHING your user can delete (i.e. your home folder). More information at fundisom.com's warning.

You can, of course, disable the automatic processing of known file-types in Safari's preferences, which reduces the danger (or at least the automation of it, if you still doubleclick the malicious item on the .dmg, you're still owned...).

[ written by fryke™ on 2004-05-14 at 12:25 CET ]
[ contact (e-mail) ] - [ story link ] - [ back to top ]

Video iPod rumours

MacRumors is citing this AppleInsider rumour, where some video (on TV/external screen via Dock) features are described in quite strange ways for a rumoured fourth generation iPod. Somehow 'Home on iPod' got mixed with these video features.
If I try to make some sense out of it: A fourth generation iPod is coming. It should have max. 60 GB harddrive and the feature 'Home on iPod' will be brought to Mac OS X (was originally planned for 10.3). 'Home on iPod' will let you have all of your stuff on the iPod (or another external disk) and login to any Mac running 10.3.x with your own home folder. Also, you'll have your movie trailers and other videos on your iPod. And while you won't be able to view the video content on the iPod's screen, you'll be able to (?) connect your iPod to its Dock and then to a TV or other external monitor.
I hope Apple doesn't do that only. Because at home, where the Dock to my iPod is, I already have a PowerBook I can connect to TVs... The vPod needs its own video output to work - and even better would have a colour screen that could also be used to watch photos and videos. Whether people _would_ watch whole movies on such small screens is rather irrelevant (and I think some actually _would_! at least music videos, for example...) as such small colour screens are not that more expensive than the black/white screens Apple is using, nowadays.

[ written by fryke™ on 2004-05-14 at 10:34 CET ]
[ contact (e-mail) ] - [ story link ] - [ back to top ]

Apple seeds Mac OS X 10.3.4 7H56

Nothing new in the seed notes, known issues still involve resolution problems between logins, wakeup problems on some machines etc.

[ written by fryke™ on 2004-05-14 at 00:27 CET ]
[ contact (e-mail) ] - [ story link ] - [ back to top ]