The BugBlog

What's In the latest iTunes?

According to Apple, iTunes 9.0.2 adds support for Apple TV software  3.0,  and improves support for accessibility. There are also some cosmetic changes. Oh, yeah, one other thing too. It breaks the ability of the Palm Pre to sync with iTunes. PC Magazine covers a little bit of the battle.

Update Quiets a Noisy SuperDrive

If you have a 20 or 24 inch iMac, or a Mac Mini with a SuperDrive, you may notice that the drive is somewhat noisy during startup, or when you wake the computer. Apple has a Firmware Update 3 that's supposed to quiet things down. Before getting this update, there are a couple of other EFI Firmware updates you need to install first. Apple has all the details here.

Snow Leopard and Parallels

If you are using Nova Developments Parallels on Mac OS X, and you are thinking about upgrading to Snow Leopard, note that you have to be using Parallels 4. Earlier versions are incompatible. If you are a registered user of the old version, you may have gotten an upgrade offer for Parallels via email - at least I did. This will be added $40 to the cost of uploading to Snow Leopard.

Using MobileMe with Windows

If you are trying to sync Apple MobileMe with Windows, be aware of some limitations. First, contact syncing will only work with Outlook 2003 and 2007, Outlook Express (Win XP), and Windows Contacts (Vista). You can only sync calendars that are in Outlook 2003 and 2007, and bookmarks can only be synced with Safari and Internet Explorer. (Sort of get the feeling that Apple wants to exclude Mozilla?) You also need the most up-to-date version of iTunes. See more troubleshooting help at Apple.

Spotlight Won't Search Everywhere on Mac OS X 10.5 Server

If you use Spotlight to search on a mounted file share in Mac OS X 10.5 Server, your search results won't be complete if you have nested share points. The problem occurs when indexing is enabled on share points that are nested inside each other. Apple says you can fix this by creating the index only on the top-level share point.

Apple Fixes a BIND Bug

Apple's Security Bulletin 2009-04 fixes a security bug in in OS X 10.4 and 10.5, both client and server. A bug in BIND may allow an attacker to pass through DNS messages that otherwise should be rejected. That could lead to all sorts of bad things, including being sent to malicious websites. Mac owners can get the update through Security Update.

Top Site in Safari May Be Bad Site

Apple Safari 4 for OS X 4 and 5 has a new feature called Top SItes, that lets users see their top sites quickly. Unfortunately, the feature has a bug that may let a malicious website nominate itself for the list, which can then be used for a phishing attack. Safari 4.0.3 fixes this by keeping automated visits from affecting the Top Sites listing. Read more about the Safari security fix.

Apple Patches a Safari Graphics Bug

Apple has an update for Safari 4 for Windows XP and Vists. It patches a bug in CoreGraphics that may allow an attacker to design a graphics file that could cause a crash or may allow hostile code to run.

Apple Leaves an Unlocked Door

While users can lock a Mac OS X 10.5 computer, they discovered that multi-touch gestures are not locked. That means anyone with physical access to the computer can still give commands to applications or to use Expose. This has been fixed in the Apple Security Update 2009-003. Get it through Software update.

Color Profile Bug in Mac OS X

Attackers may be able to hide hostile code in an image with an embedded ColorSync profile. If a Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.5 user views the image, the hostile code could cause crashes or mount other attacks. This has been patched in the Apple Security Update 2009-003. Get it through Apples' Software Update.