The Axiotron Modbook was originally announced almost a year ago at MacWorld Expo 2007. At that time, this after-market hardware modification, done by a team of German and American engineers, created quite a buzz.
This mod is built primarily for mobile users, artists, or anyone who wants to draw and write directly on the screen. It uses OS X’s built in handwriting recognition software. It comes with an iSight built in, integrated CD/DVD combo drive that can be upgraded to a DVD burner, and a Global Positioning System. Yes, a GPS system, which turns this puppy into a nice, large-screen, in-car navigation system!
The top shell and interior display frame are built from magnesium alloy. The LCD panel and iSight camera are protected by replaceable screen covers made from chemically strengthened ForceGlass
It’s pretty well known by now that ZDNet is the CNN of tech reporting. Basically, they’re one big infomercial for the highest bidder. I usually don’t bother with these things. But Dignan’s posting of December 18 is a really good example of yet another MicroSoft shill’s take on the disaster that is Windows Vista.
He uses this handy little Terrorist-Threat-Color-Coded table to show that Mac OS X users should arm themselves and hide under their beds waiting for the impending doom:
Even assuming that these numbers represent anything close to reality, one has to wonder if Dignan recognizes the very significant distinction between a vulnerability and an exploit. We should expect these kind articles to continue from establishments like ZDNet, given that MicroSoft is taking a major hit in Vista sales because it’s not only buggy, but it presents some very real security concerns.
One of the many responses to this posting summed it up quite well when he labeled the article a classic Tu Quoque:
“Tu Quoque is a very common fallacy in which one attempts to defend oneself or
another from criticism by turning the critique back against the accuser. This is a
classic Red Herring since whether the accuser is guilty of the same, or a similar,
wrong is irrelevant to the truth of the original charge. However, as a diversionary
tactic, Tu Quoque can be very effective, since the accuser is put on the defensive, and
frequently feels compelled to defend against the accusation.”
Carry on…
Apple just released a big old pile of patches for the security-burdened Leopard and Tiger operating systems. Among the addressed problems:
- Address Book
Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution - CFNetwork
Impact: Visiting a malicious website could allow the automatic download of files to arbitrary folders to which the user has write permission - Core Foundation
Impact: Usage of CFURLWriteDataAndPropertiesToResource API may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information - Desktop Services
Impact: Opening a directory containing a maliciously-crafted .DS_Store file in Finder may lead to arbitrary code execution -
Flash Player Plug-in
Description: Adobe Flash Player is updated to version 9.0.115.0 to address CVE-2007-5476.
Further information is available via the Adobe site at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa07-05.html
Credit to Opera - GNU Tar
Impact: Extracting a maliciously crafted tar archive could overwrite arbitrary files - iChat
Impact: A person on the local network may initiate a video connection without the user’s approval - IO Storage Family
Impact: Opening a maliciously crafted disk image may lead to an unexpected system shutdown or arbitrary code execution - Launch Services
Impact: Opening a maliciously crafted HTML file may lead to information disclosure or cross-site scripting
Impact: Opening an executable mail attachment may lead to arbitrary code execution with no warning - Mail
Impact: SMTP accounts set up through Account Assistant may use plaintext authentication even when MD5 Challenge-Response authentication is available - Quick Look
Impact: Previewing a file with QuickLook enabled may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information
Impact: Previewing a movie file may access URLs contained in the movie - Safari
Impact: Visiting a malicious website may result in the disclosure of sensitive information - Safari RSS
Impact: Accessing a maliciously crafted feed: URL may lead to an application termination or arbitrary code execution - Samba
Impact: Multiple vulnerabilities in Samba - Shockwave Plug-in
Impact: Opening maliciously crafted Shockwave content may lead to arbitrary code execution - SMB
Impact: A local user may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges - Software Update
Impact: A man-in-the-middle attack could cause Software Update to execute arbitrary commands - Spin Tracer
Impact: A local user may be able to execute arbitrary code with system privileges - Spotlight
Impact: Downloading a maliciously crafted .xls file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
Get a look at Apple’s full descriptions of issues and fixes at their site: Security Update 2007-009
One of the nicest features of Leopard is TimeMachine, the automated backup system which is built into the Leopard OS. However, there seem to be a number of issues and snags with TimeMachine.
I had a heck of a time getting TimeMachine to make it’s initial backup to a 320GB SimpleTech external USB drive. It failed 3/4 of the way through 3 times before I was successful. I noticed that any other activity on the computer while this initial backup was going would tend to hose it up. I finally set it to backup while I was away, and that seemed to do it.
I’ve heard a variety of perspectives from folks when it comes to using a mounted network drive to backup to. I have not been able to get any network drive to be seen by TimeMachine. Anyone out there have a different story?
In the meantime, here’s a list of known issues for TimeMachine, put out by Apple: Troubleshooting TimeMachine
The QuickTime vulnerability originally reported on November 15 seems to have been spotted in the wild. This is not good news.
Apple made a decision to change the firewall settings in Leopard, provoking some serious questions about the security of this new OS. This latest security issue puts a spotlight on what may become a real thorn in Apple’s side.
This from Symantec:
Originally, the flaw was disclosed on November 23, 2007 by Polish security researcher Krystian Kloskowski and since then we have seen number of exploits targeting the vulnerability being released to the public. But now the exploit is active and in the wild, meaning web surfers are in danger of being attacked. Our current analysis is also leading us to believe that there may be multiple attacks in existence. Further investigation is currently under way to confirm this.
Let me briefly explain what we have seen. The attack we have confirmed today begins with the popular IFRAME. An IFRAME code that causes the browser to make an additional request to another URL, is embedded in a porn site. Without knowledge, users visiting this site are redirected to the malicious site serving the exploit. Currently, the malware that is downloaded by the exploit is detected by Symantec as Downloader. We are still studying the attack in depth, so look out for more information at a later time.
Since a patch to correct the issue has yet to be released, we advise users to be cautious when browsing the web. For those of you seeking extra protection, we also recommend the following options:
- Run web browsers at the highest security settings possible
- Disable Apple QuickTime as a registered RTSP protocol handler.
- Filter outgoing activity over common RTSP ports, including TCP port 554 and UDP ports 6970-6999.
