I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

If users on my network have QuickTime installed (which, unfortunately, is required by some law courts that use Quicktime for recording official proceedings) then I CANNOT let them update QuickTime at their own behest.

Why?  Because Apple insists on trying to shove iTunes down our throats every time we try to update QuickTime, and I cannot depend on my extremely busy staff to pause long enough to read what is on the screen and untick iTunes.

And now, it gets worse.  Apple is now trying to shove Safari down our throats.. you know, Safari... the Web browser that doesn't even have a phishing filter for chrissakes.

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Even worse, Apple is offering Safari as an "update" on Windows systems that DO NOT HAVE SAFARI INTALLED... just like they try to shove iTunes down our throats, pretending that iTunes is an "update", even if the software has never been installed on the target computer in the first place.

Look at the text in the screenshot... It says "Select the items you want to *update*, then click Install."

Guess what buddy boy .... SAFARI IS NOT INSTALLED ON THIS COMPUTER... HOW THE *** CAN YOU *UPDATE* SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT EXIST?????

Here's my proposal...  Internet Explorer for the MAC was abandoned years ago.   Let's resurrect IE for the MAC, and let's give them version 8... and let's offer it to all MAC users as an "update" even if the MAC user does not want Internet Explorer, has never used Internet Explorer and does not have Internet Explorer installed.

I am sick to death of Apple-o-philes saying that any behaviour or tactic is ok, as long as it is Apple doing it.

I am sick of Windows/Microsoft being blamed for every exploit on the Windows platform no matter what the vector is, while Apple releases a 300MB+ security update which is ok because "it's not Apple that is the problem, it is the third party vendor".

Ok, so let's get this straight.... an exploit that affects a non-Microsoft product is Microsoft's fault simply because it runs on a Windows system, but an exploit that affects a non-Apple product is *not* Apple's fault, even if it runs on a MAC, because it is not an Apple product.

Excuse me while I go and throw up in the corner.

Published Sun, Mar 23 2008 0:50 by sandi
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Comments

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Saturday, March 22, 2008 12:57 PM by Chris

A-friggen-men! Screw Apple.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Saturday, March 22, 2008 2:46 PM by Rob

Very well said I uninstalled Quicktime and Apple software update months ago for these very reasons.

I would suggest that you try to get the law courts in question to change their policy.

I have not missed Quicktime since removing it which proves that I didn't need it anyway.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Saturday, March 22, 2008 8:25 PM by T Man

If MS did this, the outrage that would happen!

BTW, get the QuickTime Alternative free product.  A lot less system intensive and "light" and also doesn't have the same attack surface.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Saturday, March 22, 2008 9:01 PM by No Apple here thank you

Well said

Apple are the main souce of  exploits in vista systems this is why my Vista system has no apple software on it at all

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Sunday, March 23, 2008 11:37 AM by Doug Woodall

Sandi!

Words like that coming from a lady!

Shame.

Dont you find it interesting that they use Quicktime in the court system?

I find it disturbing.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Monday, March 24, 2008 12:12 AM by Cyril

couldn't agree more with your post. Now the first thing some people are going to do is use the first exploit they find in Safari to infect tons of computers in the next couple of weeks. After all, iTunes is installed on hundreds of millions of computers and it's not like Safari on PC is a well used/tested browser.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Monday, March 24, 2008 6:14 AM by Bill Pytlovany

In the words of Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, "There's More!".

1) Anytime you run QuickTime, it insists on adding qtask.exe to the list of auto Startup programs. It's the main reason for the WinPatrol disable button.

2) Apple refuses to support Flash and forces YouTube to re-encode all videos into QuickTime.

Bill

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Monday, March 24, 2008 10:43 PM by Carl Flynn

Um...just don't install the Apple Software Updater.  Problem solved.

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Monday, March 24, 2008 11:24 PM by sandi

@Carl Flynn,

Umm, then the users have to remember to manually check for updates.  Also, we must remember the fact that in the past important security updates have ONLY been available via the Apple Software Updater.

In short, your advice is negligent, and misconceived.

Sandi

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 2:20 AM by Mark Uhde

As a former Microsoft MVP, don't you think you're a little biased? Apple has never hid the face that it's *Apple Software Update* not QuickTime Update.

I love Safari, and I think it's great to have it on Windows because 1 - web developers, but 2 - it lets users see the web in a whole new way because it uses Apple's font rendering (which is more correct to the letterforms of a typeface than Microsoft's - at the expense of perceived sharpness I'll admit but that's well worth it from a design point of view) and because it supports ICC profiles in images, enabling a true color managed browsing experience on Windows for the first time ever.

Gotta love free choice in a market, and Apple does what they do. Take it or leave it. I love my Mac (not MAC - you should know better. Mac is the computer, MAC is the network card address, and M-A-C is the makeup) personally.

The other comments are silliness too - Apple certainly isn't the cause of most vulnerabilities on Windows machines! And as for forcing YouTube to reencode videos - they forced YouTube into nothing. YouTube agreed from a commercial, paid point of view to reencode videos as H.264 (NOT QuickTime) because it made Apple's life easier on iPhone/iPod Touch. End of story. Apple can't FORCE anything. iPhone without YouTube is much worse for Apple than YouTube!

We live in a free market and we gotta get along, use what works for you but don't bash the ideas of others. And I'd have no problem is Microsoft started pushing IE8 for Mac with Office or Messenger software updates. I'd love to see IE8 for Mac, esp if it supported all the features of IE for Windows and rendered pages identically for testing purposes.

Blessings,

Mark

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 9:30 AM by sandi

@Mark Uhde,

Who is a "former MVP"?  Not me, that's for sure.  I've been an MVP since 1999, and am still an MVP, although I hear that some want to move me away from my categorisation of Internet Explorer MVP as my primary speciality into the security field.

How can offering software that is not previously installed on a system possibly be classed an "update"?  It stands to reason that you cannot "update" something that doesn't exist on a system.

Sandi

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 8:17 PM by Mark Uhde

Sorry, I just thought this was a site for former MVPs. As a current one, the potential for bias is greater :)

Here would be my argument, it's an updater for the Apple package of software for Windows. QuickTime, iTunes, and now Safari (since it's out of beta) are part of that package.

It's like if Microsoft added a new free component to it's Office package and pushed it out, I'd be totally okay with that.

The best solution would be to have a preference to "Update Apple Software Collection" or "Update Installed Packages Only". As of right now, it does the former.

P.S. I think the Mac fanboys are insane too. I use Macs because they are the best tool for the work I do - color management on Windows is a decade behind where it is on Mac. On the Mac, the whole system is color managed and it's integrated with each program and all drivers to a much greater degree. Even Vista, which was supposed to solve all color management woes, still has many issues - things aren't consistent system wide, there aren't any nice built-in color functions. Until Safari there was no color-managed web browser. Oddly, the last versions of IE on Mac years ago *were* color managed! And worst, display drivers tend to override LUT loaders for display calibration.

Each platform has pros and cons and there are good and bad about all the products on the market. For most people, I recommend Mac laptops because I believe there are benefits. I also recommend Linux desktops as kids machines a lot and some Windows desktops and laptops too... though usually if someone would be best served by a Windows laptop I recommend installing Windows on a MacBook or MacBook Pro, I really like some of the extras of the Apple laptop design (like the magnetic power connector that's saved my own back end several times...)

Anyways, could Apple make different choices? Yes. But this isn't a big deal at all. See it as an update to the Apple for Windows application suite... vs an update to the QuickTime package. And yes an "update installed packages only" option would be nice but it's not a huge thing at all.

Sincerely,

Mark

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 9:48 PM by sandi

@Mark Uhde,

I'm not too concerned about your hints that I am biased in Microsoft's favour because I am an MVP :o) - it's quite ironic actually that some feel that when MVPs have always been and continue to be strident critics of Microsoft when deserved.

I've been around long enough, and have built up sufficient reputation, for people to know that I am not a fanboi, and for those who don't know me, they will work that out for themselves quick enough once they get to know me and my writings and opinions.

But, to get back on point, for Apple to describe Safari as an "update" on systems that did not have Safari already installed is misleading and deceptive.

Let's be honest here. If it was Microsoft that had tried to install new software on to Macs via whatever infrastructure, then it would not be dismissed as no huge issue :o)

There is something else to consider.  From a security perspective, Safari is simply a bad choice.

Just in the past 24 hours I seen reports that 2 security exploits that use Safari have been released.

Safari does not have a phishing filter.  Nor does it (as far as I know) support EV certificates.

Sandi

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 12:57 AM by Mark Uhde

Windows Update has actually done the same thing to me before... pushing Windows Media Player and .NET that weren't installed, to name a few. Same thing.

As for security, all browsers have security issues. One thing I love about Safari is that it doesn't have the phishing filter. Yes, I know it can be disabled, but I'd rather not have it. I can tell a fake site easily enough and I use OpenDNS on my home network (it's faster than my ISPs DNS) and it has a phishing filter that acts for me on a network wide level regardless of platform. The reality is that Safari is perfectly secure, browser-based phishing filters are much ado about nothing. Firefox and Internet Explorer (except the old Mac versions) and Opera aren't color managed. Enough said. That's far more important than a phishing filter to me.

Again, I'd argue that Safari is an update to the whole suite of Apple software for Windows. Again, I agree there could be a Quicktime updates only option... but if you just want that, you can uncheck the other packages easily enough.

Blessings,

Mark

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 6:14 AM by sandi

@Mark,

No, it is not the same thing.

What was the last version of Windows that did NOT come with Media Player?  Windows 95?  Earlier?  It may not have been *installed* or actively being used, but it was still a standard component of Windows and if installed could be used as a conduit to infection - ergo, any new versions of Media Player *are* updates - unlike Safari which had *no* pre-existing presence.

.NET cannot be compared to a Web browser; in any event, I'll need to investigate whether any .NET versions are a standard component of Windows.  If they are, then again your comparisons do not stand up.

If I install QuickTime, I do not want "the whole suite of Apple software". I just want it so that I can watch the Apple v Mac ads, goddamnit.

As for your statement alleging that "browser-based phishing [is] much ado about nothing"... I am staggered at just how far from reality your statement stands.  The people that I try to help are Moms and Dads, not professionals who understand and use OpenDNS and manage home networks, nor can they tell a fake site easily enough (mind you, I have seen site that fool even the professionals.

Sandi

# re: I have two words for Apple - "*** you"

Thursday, June 12, 2008 4:38 AM by Calvin

Sandi, .NET is bundled with Windows since Server 2003.