Apple Pushes Unwanted Software To PCs, Again 267
itwbennett writes "Blogger Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wags his finger at Apple for indiscriminately pushing the iPhone Configuration Utility 2.1 update out to Windows users, since it is a tool for business system administrators to set up and administer corporate iPhones — the blogger himself (and practically every other iPhone user) not being of the corporate iPhone user persuasion. But more than just unnecessary, the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at increased risk by installing 'not just a configuration program, but the Apache Web server as well,' says Vaughan-Nichols. 'A Web server like the one Apple [is] adding to your PC... [is] a gateway just asking to be hammered on by an attacker. Managed properly Apache is as safe a Web server as you'll ever find, but ordinary PC users shouldn't try to manage it, and even an expert can't do anything with it if they don't know it's there.'" Reader CWMike notes that Apple pulled the iPhone Configuration Utility from the update list after a few hours.
Not really... (Score:3, Informative)
the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at increased risk by installing
Millions? Lets see here, the update was only recommended for a few hours and was quickly pulled. How many people do you think update constantly? If Windows updates are any indication (and most just install in the background with almost no user interaction) chances are very few. We aren't talking about "millions" but a few thousand in the worst case.
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So that's why I get this "iPhone configuration utility" on my PC when I don't even have an iPhone.
Obviously Apple has learned that installing software without user consent will only earn a slap on the wrist from the users at the very best.
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I'm pretty sure I was requested to install the "iphone configuration utility" not once, but twice. Enough for me to disable the apple software update task. What's bad? I don't have a iphone, itouch or any other apple hardware device, I don't even have itunes installed, just quicktime.
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Once upon a time I tried iTunes, hated it and uninstalled it. Then the Apple Updater tried to install it every time an update for Safari was available (I keep Safari up to date because I use it to test web sites I develop) and I diligently unchecked it every time and told it to ignore the update... that was until iTunes 9 which I accidentally forgot to uncheck and ended up installing. I went "what the heck, I'll give it another go" but went to WMP and made it the default player for MP3s, WAVs, etc. ... Then
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Re:Risking karma here but shovelware? You can opt (Score:5, Insightful)
This makes owning and supporting a computer more difficult for users. I don't have time to answer questions from my friends every time a software publisher pushes out a new update. I've taken to telling them, "If it's a Microsoft auto update, install it. If it's an Apple auto update, install it. If it's an Adobe auto update, install it." When Apple starts pushing out software that is not necessary as part of their update process, it adds unnecessary confusion and software bloat. Like another poster above said, he only has Quicktime installed but the Apple updater is pushing iPhone utilities and Safari onto his desktop. Doing that is just bad form, no matter how descriptive the accompanying text is.
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As to how much time this takes, how many friends and family members do you 'actively support'? I have a handful of friends that look to me for support. About 5 total call me for various issues/questions). Of those, 1 called about this, and I'm sure one just installed i
Re:Risking karma here but shovelware? You can opt (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Risking karma here but shovelware? You can opt (Score:5, Insightful)
Additionally, in my experience, these Apple updates happen mostly when launching iTunes.
Picture it, if you will: A user wants to play some music, download a sitcom, or just sync their iPhone. So they launch iTunes, just like they have before. And instead of getting to do those things, they get an annoying thing that won't fucking ever go away until they press OK. Sure, they can cancel it (but then it just comes back), or they can read it and deselect things, but why should they be forced to do these things?
They just want to instruct the computer to provide some manner of entertainment. Instead, the computer ends up instructing them.
This, I think, the paradigm which bothers me most: That the computer switches from being told by the user what it should be doing, to telling (or at least suggesting to) the user what to do.
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The point that I'm trying to make is that I want people to be able to trust software publishers to only deliver updates that they need. I want to be able to tell my friends and family, "If Apple sends you an update, you can install it. You don't have to second guess it." With Apple pushing software updates on users who don't need them, I can't tell people to trust what Apple is asking them to install. That is the problem.
Re:Risking karma here but shovelware? You can opt (Score:4, Informative)
By the same token you can click on Microsoft's updates and, you know, actually read what they are for and what they do. They even have a link to tell you.
Err... Most of the time.
Fairness in our bashing would go a long ways.
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Hahaha. Patently false.
"Patently false" and "here's a minor detail you left out" are *not* synonymous.
What's more, your "minor detail" is, itself (ironically) patently false. It wasn't in the "update" section, because there wasn't an update section at that time. The "Updates" and "New Software" sections were put in in response to people complaining (rightly so, but a bit hyperbolically in tone) about it.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Informative)
Defending Apple? In my slashdot?
This was a stupid move and Apple's not as innocent as you claim. Defaulting the box to checked is almost equivalent to installing it without consent and Apple knows it. In both cases you end up with users loaded down with crap they don't need and distrusting updates, which has real dollar costs. The only difference is that in the former case the tech crowd squeals a little less, so that's the route they choose.
Honestly, even if they were really stupid enough to not see any problem when they did it the first time, they have no excuse for doing it a second time. Why would they put it out and then withdraw it a few hours later? Did they forget the user backlash from the first time?
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Why would they put it out and then withdraw it a few hours later?
Oh I dunno. Maybe because they never intended for it to happen?
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mDNSResponder.exe
AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
iPodService.exe
These programs are running 24/7 in the background eating process time and resources. The question is why does Apple need these kernel services (read rootkit like services) running in the syste
Re:Not really... (Score:4, Insightful)
I'll wager you that roughly the same percentage of Windows users have ever gone into Services with the intention of disabling unneeded services as OS X users do the same via /etc/rc.d. i.e. NOT F*CKING MANY.
Only a few percent at top would probably be aware of the existence thereof.
Security by obscurity doesn't work, and neither does, nor should "functionality by obscurity". "Oh, that's easily remedied, all you needed to do was disable it in Control Panel & Administrative Tools & Services, didn't you know?" is not what anyone would call acceptable.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Informative)
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Thank you. And in addition, it was listed in a check-box list of items. True, it was enabled by default, but the user still had to hit the button to install it.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Thank you. And in addition, it was listed in a check-box list of items. True, it was enabled by default, but the user still had to hit the button to install it.
About 95% of all adware/malware crap, like those browser toolbars, uses precisely this technique to get installed. It has long stopped being considered adequate. The default for any "extra software" should always be off (Google, I'm looking at you, too).
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I declined the install on the PCs I noticed them on, but I'm not sure about how many other users at work just clicked update without knowing any better. The Apple update should only offer updates relevant to the programs already installed
Re:Not really... (Score:4, Insightful)
And NO I don't want Safari for the 10 Billionth time, Apple. Dunno why people prefer them over MS so much - on the scale of evil, I'd rate them roughly equal and on the scale of software features and implementation, I think MS is much better, hands down. IMHO, it's all marketing, which is supposedly something we geeks can't stand.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Informative)
the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at increased risk by installing
Millions? Lets see here, the update was only recommended for a few hours and was quickly pulled. How many people do you think update constantly? If Windows updates are any indication (and most just install in the background with almost no user interaction) chances are very few. We aren't talking about "millions" but a few thousand in the worst case.
Well iTunes has been installing the Apple Updater Thingy by default for a long time, so the question is how often that checks for updates. And according to Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/09/apple-pushes-unwanted-enterprise-tool-to-windows-users.ars) the update was actually pushed "earlier this month" and only came to the attention of the online media today. It sounds like it was pulled a few hours after it hit half the computer-related news sites, not a few hours after it was pushed out to users.
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Re:Not really... (Score:5, Informative)
My sister in law runs itunes on her windows laptop. When she bought it I installed firefox for her to use then she called me to report some strange behavior. She had somehow started running Safari. Firefox had disappeared. So either it happened automatically or she was tricked into installing it.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Why an F'ing music syncing application needs something like 8 persistently running services is absolutely beyond me.
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Why an F'ing music syncing application needs something like 8 persistently running services is absolutely beyond me.
Why I need "an F'ing music syncing application" to transfer audio files onto a flash device via USB, when every other similar device allows me to just drag some files onto the drive in explorer, is absolutely beyond me.
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You mean like iSync? The separate sync application that comes with OSX? Yes. I do think that it's ridiculous that the iPhone syncs through iTunes.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
My sister in law runs itunes on her windows laptop. When she bought it I installed firefox for her to use then she called me to report some strange behavior. She had somehow started running Safari. Firefox had disappeared. So either it happened automatically or she was tricked into installing it.
Or she just went ahead and clicked OK. It's OK to admit that your sister in law might have done that.
She is not sophisticated enough to understand the implications. iTunes should manage music. Not the operating system.
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I had that happen too
I was at my sister's house this weekend and Saturday at around 11 am CST I saw it pop up on her old Dell machine.
The big problem I had with it was what it was called which was "iPhone Configuration Utility" and the kicker is she owns an iPhone. Which confused me because she had nothing installed on there for her iPhone, only her iPod. So there I was debating on whether or not to install this for her because it sounded applicable and useful to her. I didn't install it but if I did, I wou
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, operating systems should periodically pop up cryptic dialogues asking you to solve an obscure computer science problem, and if you get it wrong then it changes your wallpaper and your file type associations.
There's no reason to make it harder than it has to be, which is what Apple's doing by presenting users with an option they didn't ask for and don't know how to answer.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
There's no reason to make it harder than it has to be, which is what Apple's doing by presenting users with an option they didn't ask for and don't know how to answer.
It's almost as if Apple is trying to make Windows look hard to use...
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Like it or not, most people have to use computers now. Apple have a reputation as being good UI designers. It is a shame they have this abusive approach to users of a different vendors OS. My wifes sister previously used Ubuntu. I will try to steer her in that direction on her old windows laptop, now that she has bought an apple laptop. I am sure that the niggling updates from Apple contributed to that.
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Re:Not really... (Score:5, Funny)
It just works!
Even when you don't want it to, apparently.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Do you seriously not understand the difference between having something show up on a list of updates that are available and actually having it download and install behind your back?
How much research do you think people do before checking a box in an iTunes dialog? The onus is on Apple to not offer stupid things that would coincidentally inflate the installed base of an enterprise utility.
Do you seriously not understand the use case of a typical end-user, e.g. teenager, that thinks they want the 'iPhone Configuration Utility' since it's offered by Apple iTunes and they ... have an iPhone? "Hey, I might want to configure my iPhone. And I've always downloaded every other iTunes update with iPhone in the title." (Anyone that can read the description and decipher that it's for enterprise device management doesn't fit the definition of "typical end-user".)
The results speak for themselves: millions of users installed this software because it looked like a standard iPhone update.
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Indeed.. I installed it on my Win partition because I thought it was something that OSX had built in.
If it installed apache behind my back I'm somewhat pissed.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
Users don't read dialog boxes. It could've had red flashing lights around it, and it wouldn't have mattered. It would still have remained checked by default and users would click the "OK" button to make the thing go away.
Also, think about the actual action they'd need to perform to not install the software. Sure, it's easy to say "just uncheck it," but think about what that means. Unchecking the dialog box means that you have to know what the iPhone Configuration Utility is and why you absolutely don't need it. Unchecking it means risking that something will go wrong, because you didn't install something that your computer told you you needed.
*That* is why it's a problem.
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Users don't read dialog boxes. It could've had red flashing lights around it, and it wouldn't have mattered.
Yeah I get those at the bottom of websites all the time, usually because I'm the Xth visitor etc. For some reason, the prize is always a bunch of forms to fill out promising more prizes. (this is a joke, by the way)
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http://xkcd.com/570/ [xkcd.com] would like to talk to you about licensing that joke :)
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Well, when users are told 'your iPod won't work anymore unless you click ok', the average user will just click ok. Sure, it's no problem for you and I, but less than a month after I went off to college (currently a sophomore) my parents' computer suddenly had safari as the default browser (which alone was a mess - the computer's 8 years old now, the latest safari absolutely _crawls_ on it. But then again, so does Firefox. And IE. Only browser with decent performance is Chrome). Also had quicktime as the def
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If you don't like Chrome, try Opera. It is almost as fast, still like lightning compared to FF and IE. If you do like Chrome, keep using Chrome :)
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Yea, I love Chrome :) Well, I love it for Windows users. I'm on Linux myself, so I'm quite annoyed that there's no official build yet. As soon as there is, or whenever I get the time to try out the new dev build and it actually works well, I'm switching. Last time I tried it though it took up a few hundred megs of hard drive space and I don't think it even supported tabs yet. Also took hours to get the damn thing built.
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That utility was there for far more than a few hours.
It was there last night, over 5 days after the initial upgrade to itunes was announced.
Re:Not really... (Score:5, Insightful)
The big problem I had with it was what it was called which was "iPhone Configuration Utility" and the kicker is she owns an iPhone. Which confused me because she had nothing installed on there for her iPhone, only her iPod. So there I was debating on whether or not to install this for her because it sounded applicable and useful to her. I didn't install it but if I did, I would pissed to know that her five year old piece of crap Windows machine is now running an Apache server. Additionally, I had to uncheck Safari. Then I have to go into msconfig and uncheck the damned Quicktime (try installing iTunes without that!) run on startup shit that is always reset when you install iTunes. Because everyone wants that running non stop in the background especially when you have only 512 MB of SDRAM. So I did the little dance and I've bitched about it before but no one seems to care. It's bloatware and it sucks. Her computer can't even run iTunes videos, she just uses it for music but no one seems to care about that. Apple's the king of usability, design and interface chic!
Now we get this story where someone points it out. Do we see people roll in and viciously attack Apple like we all would attack Microsoft if IE8 had Bing's Javascript Attackable Toolbar checked by default on installation? Or Microsoft's indexing service that eats up all your cycles whenever it feels like it? No, no, what we get is "there were maybe a thousand people, relax" or "it's not pushing, you could have unchecked it" or "the Windows people don't know how to update anyway."
Unbelievable. How many free passes does Apple get before you start to question their infallibility? Hey, everyone makes mistakes but you guys are dreaming up probables and likely scenarios that somehow excuse Apple. Why?
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Quicktime is the exact reason why I run iTunes in its own Virtual Machine.
Re:Not really... (Score:4, Interesting)
I love how it changes the registry to force the browser to load QuickTime for every PNG file on a page. Fuck does that take forever to fix! (Or load a page, for that matter).
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Quicktime does not appreciate tactics like that, and will change it back. Also, unfortunately, the addon manager does not allow you to remove said hooks at all. You can disable Quicktime, but then any PNGs just get "red x'd" on you.
The # of Free Passes (Score:5, Insightful)
How many free passes does Apple get before you start to question their infallibility?
Probably about as many as there are strawman constructions of people's conceptions of Apple as a company.
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Exactly. Apple has never gotten a free pass on Slashdot, but that doesn't stop people from claiming that (and at the same time getting modded +5 without fail).
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My favorite was the story of how "iCon" was banned from Apple stores. The haters were doing their usual "now if this were Microsoft, you'd all be up in arms" even as many of the +5 posts called Jobs a consummate asshole.
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How the fuck was the GP post a strawman?
Darkness404 made an argument defending Apple. It's apparently not a correct argument, but in the course of that argument, nowhere did they say "Apple is infallible." In fact, almost nobody says or believes anything like that. As a rule, even people with a high degree of enthusiasm for Apple's products generally have some gripes. But the post I replied to essentially asked why the person who made the argument persisted in believing in Apple's infallibility. That's attr
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How many free passes does Apple get before you start to question their infallibility?
Has Apple ever received a free pass around here? I know they've had some nice press, but there are plenty of people ready and willing to jump into the fray.
Infallibility... Ha, anyone who remembers the 90s will argue against that, whether they like Apple products or not.
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You're a troll and/or apple fanboy, but I'll bite. Since when has Slashdot been known for giving m$ free passes?
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Re:Not really... (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, I do. Because Apple installs Quicktime when you install iTunes. iTunes when you install Quicktime. Safari when it thought it could get away with it when you installed iTunes.
And when you tell Quicktime to not be the default audio / video player, good luck. It'll still be there. As will iPodService.exe as a kernel-level service, even when you've never used an iPod.
Saw this update a week ago! (Score:2)
I hadn't looked into the iPhone configuration part though, like the blogger mentioned, I was irked since there's never
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This whole experience goes to show that corporations can all fall into traps of not thinking or knowing what one part's doing and not really caring until someone makes enough noise to get their attention.
The company that tries to ninja software onto our computers all the time did not make a mistake when they did it yet again.
The 'mistake' was only getting 1 million people to install it.
Re:Saw this update a week ago! (Score:5, Insightful)
So ninjas are visible and easily disabled in your world, eh?
In my world, if a program is called 'iPhone Configuration Utility' yet it does not perform configurations relevant to the average owner of an iPhone, then its big-time ninja.
...without any method of preventing it, or any notification that that was happening.
And for the record, it has only been a single year since the iTunes update (version 8) installed...
Apple Mobile Device Support
Bonjour
MobileMe
You claim that I am filled with nerd rage, eh? I claim that you are fucking ignorant.
iTunes application bugs (Score:2, Interesting)
Is this the second update to version 9 of iTunes already? It seems just last week the 9.01 (?) was released!
Any verification on the Apache web server? (Score:5, Insightful)
No one else reporting on this "issue" (it was a mistake folks - chill out) has mentioned installing Apache, which would definitely be a huge issue.
Has anyone here independently seen this supposed Apache installation?
Re:Any verification on the Apache web server? (Score:5, Informative)
I have the iPhone Configuration Utility installed on a work machine as we support a few dozen iPhones at work. Just checked, and there's no Apache process (just an iPCU.exe) when running the app. One of the links in the summary also mentioned using a browser against localhost:3000 for configuration, netstat shows no process listening on that port.
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Should have checked more carefully before posting - the first link from the summary in turn links to http://www.itexpertmag.com/telecoms/supporting-mobile-email-on-multiple-handsets [itexpertmag.com], which mentions a Ruby web service on port 3000 for iPhone configuration. Again, there's nothing listening on port 3000. I have no idea why the first summary link uses to support the idea that Apache gets installed.
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EVERY Mac OS X installation comes with Apache [oreillynet.com]. It's off by default and you're never asked to turn it on (you can turn it on system preferences though). If the mere existence of a web server on a computer is security risk, then everyone with a mac is screwed!
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What, the web server with virtually no security vulnerabilities in the last 4 years in the two most recent iterations?
Yeah, demon forbid that get installed.
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Bvllshit. http://httpd.apache.org/security/vulnerabilities_22.html [apache.org]
Re:Any verification on the Apache web server? (Score:4, Informative)
Since when has "virtually no" meant "no"? IIS6.x has had eight vulnerabilities in its seven years of existence (only seven if you search CERT). Less than one a year. IIS7.x has had two in two years (three if you search CERT, plus one "unreliable"). One a year. Apache 2.0.x has had TWENTY-FIVE, and Apache 2.2.x has had TWENTY SEVEN.
pushes? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:pushes? (Score:4, Insightful)
Not everyone is a slashdotter. In fact, you'd be less vulnerable even if you install it just because you're a techie and post on a site that bills itself as 'News for Nerds'. So, the name (iPhone Config Util) itself sounds like something an iPhone user would want.
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iTunes is a trojan in most business environments. (Score:3, Interesting)
I had the Apple Software Update thing pop up on me the other day, I unchecked the items I didn't want (the iPhone Config Util being one of them), and I went ahead and updated the software that I did want. So how exactly are they "forcing" this one me?
Wait until the Apple Software Update pops up again and you discover that all the items that have even a minor version number change are back — even though you selected "ignore this software" — and not only back, but checked by default again, because, even though you refused to install an enormous new program when it was on version 4.3.2, surely you'll want to install it now that it's 4.3.2.1.
I have several business clients that feel a need for QuickTime. A couple of them even paid for QuickTime
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So how exactly are they "forcing" this one me?
In that case, explain me why when I update Safari with the latest version on Windows, and I uncheck the Bonjour checkbox, it installs Bonjour anyway ?
Likely Accidental (Score:2, Interesting)
Apple only pushes the iPhone Configuration Utility updates to those who have the utility installed already. This is the case with my home and my work computers where only my work computer contained a previous installation of the iPhone Configuration Utility.
It appears to be more of a screw-up by Apple rather than the intent of pushing unwanted software.
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Incorrect. Apple Updater has been popping up every time my wife opens iTunes (and sometimes even when she doesn't) asking her to install Bonjour, Safari, MobileMe, QuickTime and the iPhone Configuration Utility. The config utility is a new addition from a few weeks ago. We certainly don't have that tool already and it is most certainly part of Apple's continued ploy to get her to just click Okay and "accidentally" install all of that crap on her PC. There's no way to tell the updater to only offer relevant
Re:Likely Accidental (Score:4, Insightful)
Incorrect. Apple Updater has been popping up every time my wife opens iTunes (and sometimes even when she doesn't) asking her to install Bonjour, Safari, MobileMe, QuickTime and the iPhone Configuration Utility.
Can't argue with that!
And aren't we aware of Apple's iPhone in the enterprise push with IT buyers? Apple would love to say, "With over 10 million installs, the iPhone Configuration Utility is widely adopted by corporate IT departments". Nevermind that 99% of those are due to the "accidental" installation.
You also have to ask yourself, have they ever done anything to indicate their shyness with regard to software installation? QuickTime takes over every single audio/video playback association, both in Explorer and with browser-embedded media, and even gets its own system tray and desktop icons. Same goes for iTunes with its "uncheck if you don't want it" policy for the apps mentioned above.
I just don't see why we'd give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this one.
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Maybe you just failed to notice that Bonjour, QuickTime, and MobileMe are all tied to iTunes for functionality.
MobileMe is tied in to iTunes for iPhones, Bonjour is for iTunes Sharing, and QuickTime is required for iTunes functionality.
Safari has been known (recently) to prompt for optional installation, but is not checked for installation by default. Your wife would have to check the box and click the install button to "accidentally" install Safari. Also, she is prompted to install these items because th
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Safari used to be checked by default.
I remember being quite annoyed at it.
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Clearly done in error (Score:3, Interesting)
The previous ones were probably Apple deliberately (and stupidly) trying to push its software to Windows machines that didn't have it already.
Given that almost no one needs the iPhone Configuration Utility among regular consumer-type users, I can see no benefit to Apple in deliberately pushing it out, and thus conclude that it was just a mistake.
Dan Aris
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I can see no benefit to Apple in deliberately pushing it out
You are all set to replace your cell phone with one of these new hip phones, like the Blackberry, the Pre, or the iPhone.
You know that you already have iPhone interop support because, after all, Apple Maljector keeps telling you that you have access to an "iPhone Configuration Utility" - Surely that means the iPhone works great with your computer! - Hell, you may even have installed it already!
Now, you were saying something about no benefit?
pulled, not pushed. (Score:3, Insightful)
Typical Apple... pushing crapware (Score:4, Insightful)
(I also install Flash and Java in front of the customer, so I can show them the "already checked box" scam).
Quicktime Alternative (Score:3, Informative)
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Apple can KMA (Score:2, Funny)
Time to weild a big hammer (Score:4, Insightful)
It looks like the only way to get Apple to start behaving responsibly would be for Microsoft to put Apple Software Update on the list of targets for the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, until Apple eliminates the default checkboxing of "updates" to software the user hasn't installed.
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It's September 28th. where is this comedy upset?
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Java didn't try to install anything last time I updated it.
It has an ad for OpenOffice.org in the installer (which utilizes Java for some bits and pieces) but that's it.
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Try again... (Score:4, Informative)
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Where did he say that it did? His point would appear to be that people are treating Apple more harshly than others for the same transgression. I'm sure it's not caused by an abnormally powerful fanbionic flux or anything like that.
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When we get an article about Sun, we'll bash Sun in a heartbeat. In the meantime this is an article about Apple so expect Apple bashing.
Is this really all that complicated?
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