Apple releases dozens of Tiger, Leopard security updates
It's download time again for Mac OS X users, as 31 new security-related fixes for both Tiger and Leopard were made available by Apple Monday afternoon.
The security patches are mostly geared for users of Mac OS X 10.4, known as Tiger, but there's a bunch as well for version 10.5, known as Leopard. They should be automatically pushed to Mac users through the Software Update function, but you can also go to Apple's Web site and download the patches.
A number of serious vulnerabilities, such as ones that could lead to a malicious attack on your system, are fixed with the latest update. This includes several flaws that could lead to a remote attacker executing malicious code on a Mac in programs like Address Book, the Safari browser's RSS feed, and CUPS (common Unix printing system), among other things.
Apple updated QuickTime last week in order to fix an important flaw in that program. As part of Monday's patches, Apple also shipped a patch for Windows users of Safari that was addressed for Mac users as part of the larger series of patches.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
It was ONE update!! There are many fixes within the one update,
but isn't that a normal practice?
Seems like this is a little bit of "Sensationalism" here.
Gee, lets try to make OS X look as bad as XP or Vista!
Yes, I understand, all those updates come in one file. But you're telling me you guys would have been more satisfied with a headline that said "Apple corrects 31 flaws in Mac OS X" or maybe "Dozens of Mac OS X problems, some critical, corrected by Apple?"
Somehow, I doubt that.
Apple released ONE update that fixed numerous bugs.
Didn't you just whine about the mean Mac people crabbing at you for everything? Well, you clearly knew what you were doing here. And you used to be so smart about this stuff...
The Jeff Gerstmann reverberations apparently continue.
Surely it's a mistake!
BTW, that's really smart of them to figure out a way to patch 31 issues in a single update. Mac is wonderful.
It is, however, way more secure then windows.
I will spare you the lecture about flaws vs. exploited flaws since you likely won't be able to understand it.
so they do have bugs too!!!!
Get a grip.
Yes, there were several updates contained in while patch. If multiple applications were updated, each one counts as a separate update regardless of how many files have to download. Apple just packaged all the updates (notice the plural use?) in one handy downloaded file.
flaming up a storm."
As soon as Apple issued the update the blogs you find on the
magazine rack at the checkout line would have flaming
headlines.
"Headless Server Found in Topless Bar!"
"Program Caught in a Loop Chews Off its Own Foot!"
"Almost Perfect OSX Made Even More Perfect!"
Do you know what is not news?
Windows getting successfully attacked.
Look, it's an update. So there is one file or a bunch of files. It doesn't matter- updates are way of life for any OS and that includes Windows and Linux.
It won't take long before people start receiving emails: "Urgent notification from Apple: Install this security update". They are already primed to accept as a fact that OS X _needs_ security updates.
It is always so comical to read the reactions!
still refers to them as Security Updates, see http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
Now the sensational blog headlines are another thing.
http://software.silicon.com/malware/0,3800003100,39162900,00.htm
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15601/53/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdpcm/is_200611/ai_n19420332
Just a quick search.. but.. oh well
This will not change until consumers are willing to pay more and wait longer for higher quality software. In other words, never.
The biggest lesson that Apple followers are going to have to learn is that as your numbers grow; so will the number of defects found. Unless you enjoy eating crow, you may want to pipe down the "My OS is better" rhetoric.
- Not just updates
- by sagan.nexx December 19, 2007 10:51 AM PST
- Remember, the release date was a cut-off for features, but some features that did not make the release date are added to the post-release update(s) e.g. an updated Java run-time. Face it, nothing gets patched more than Windows.
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