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Wednesday, May 19, 2004
![[Item Permalink]](http://radio.weblogs.com/0112083/images/ur_bullet.gif){kind=small} Will Apple pass the test: serious vulnerability on Mac OS X -- Comment()
Apple Investigating "Extremely Critical" Flaw: 'Apple says it is taking the Mac OS X security vulnerability "very seriously" and is "actively investigating this potential security issue." (via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu] This is the real thing. For the first time on Mac OS X (version 10.3) there is publicly open a critical vulnerability, which only requires you to click on a suitable web link in Safari or Internet Explorer to activate a trojan program. Of course, this does not yet mean a way for a self-propagating worm to get traction on Mac OS X, but we are damn close. And getting unwanted spyware or trojans on your system is not a light matter. You can try to improve the security of Safari by opening Preferences and disabling the option 'Open "safe" files after downloading'. (This option is selected by default.) But this change in the preferences may not fix the problem completely. Update: This may not fix the problem, at least in my experiments. Mamamusings has a clear entry describing the problem and its consequences. MacNN Forums has a discussion about the problem. This is the moment when Apple is tested on its dedication to security on Mac OS X. Fix this within a week, or the credibility (and "excellent track record") of Apple is tarnisned badly. The topics of security on Windows vs. Mac OS X was discussed here recently. Now we can observe the reality of the matter.
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The tide and ebb of spam -- Comment()
Ssp commented my entry on spam levels: "I have seen my spam levels rise a few weeks ago to about 1500 in my junk mailbox (holding 4 weeks' worth) up from 500 or so. Fortunately in the past week I've seen the level fall a bit - down to 1250. So on my side of the 'net, spam has risen but is getting less again." So, spam exhibits behaviour similar to the tide and ebb of the oceans. I can't help thinking about all those fine people who send out these personal messages. This puts me in a lyrical mood: Like the tide at it's ebb...
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The noble origin of optimization -- Comment()
I have written books about optimization, but I did not think about the origins of the word "optimization" until now. According to the Latin-English dictionary: bonus - good (melior = better / optimus = best ). (The opposite in Latin is malus, peior (peius), pessimus.) There is also this definition for optimus: one of the best, aristocrat, noble. So, I have researched a noble topic without knowing it.
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