Apple's OS 9 Fix Creates New Problems

ocipio was the first to write "Though many people who impressed by Apple's quick response to fix a problem in the OS 9's Open Transport protocol. Apple released OS Tuner 1.0 which when applied causes connectivity problems. An Apple spokesman said that the patch was only intended for people in a specific situation. The spokesman also said that the bug patch and the need to restart their machines after changing TCP/IP settings only applies to those with high-speed Internet connects. I guess no one in western Michigan needs to worry. The article on ZDNet can be found here." jimjag adds: I can confirm this behavior on a brand spanking new iBook and iMac DV. Unless you change your TCP/IP settings a lot, it's no real big deal, but for some IBook users, it might be a pain.

Bad for adoption of security patches

[netpuppy]

This really doesn't help the general adoption of security patches. Even Microsoft can occasionally release a security patch that doesn't adversely affect the system. If we are to expect joe user to adopt security patches, it helps if they work and don't break anything else. Otherwise, it just leads to the NT Service Pack attitude ... "I'll install it after a couple of months, when I'm sure it doesn't blow up my system."

O T Tuner works for me..

[Anonymous Coward]

I installed the patch, and it works just fine. I'm on a cable modem and haven't noticed any difference in performance. And I watch VERY carefully for changes in performance.

Macnn.com described an interesting alternative fix that might offer more control for TCP/IP internals:

"Included on the Mac OS 9 CD-ROM is a TCP/IP Extras Folder, inside is a control panel named TCP/IP
Options. This panel includes several options to modify several switches within Open Transport INCLUDING
Disable IP Path MTU Discovery which is the mechanism that the DoS attack uses. I have successfully used
the TCP/IP Options control panel on my OS 9 machine for several days now. My assumption is that the OT
Tuner extension does the same thing, but the control panel may be a cleaner alternative."

problems....

[achbed]

I installed the patch. It works fine... but only on the first dialup over 56K modem. After that, all TCP apps die with refused connections.

More help from Microsoft

[cxreg]

Looks like this is another one of those things Microsoft is doing to help out Apple. I mean, come on. Microsoft's OS's have required a reboot after changing network settings for years! Its about time Apple caught up ;)

Re:O T Tuner works for me..

[Anonymous Coward]

Disabling path mtu discovery will break TCP, so don't be surprised, if you have problems accessing sites with larger pages/images.

Forget the patch

[Anonymous Coward]

This patch wasn't a bugfix, it explicitly disabled a feature in OpenTransport. The thing was only released to pacify the idiots at Slashdot and elsewhere who have a vision of Macs being abused in a massive DOS attack. Don't forget that DOS attacks are still highly illegal, so why should I preemptively cripple my system because it COULD BE abused for illegal purposes?

Another MacOS DoS Attack?

[Psarchasm]

Someone forwarded this link to me late last night. Doesn't look like its supposed to be public, but then... why post it on the net?
[whole.net]
http://the.whole.net/~pheh/os9dumper.html

Re:problems....

[HiredMan]

If you're using a dial-up conneciton you don't need to use OT Tuner.

You're only open to use as part of an unintentional DoS if you're connected over an ethernet network - usually with DSL or cable modem.

=tkk

Re:Another MacOS DoS Attack?

[Mister Attack]

uhm, i tried doing what was described on the aforementioned web page (sent the packet from my roommate's computer). Nothing happpened... has anyone else tried this?

Re:THE OT TUNER PATCH IS NOT FLAWED

[scruffyMark]

I have no problems, therefore anyone who has problems is an idiot, since any situation different from mine is obviously merely a simplification of it. Have I got you right?

As far as I can gather, this patch prevents AirPort connections to a basestation from working properly, which many people use to connect their DSL or cable modems, both of which WOULD be potential weaknesses for DoS attacks.

This is a problem.

[InfiniterX]

The whole idea behind the iBook is that you can plug it into the modem, ethernet, AirPort, whatever, and always be connected.

I maintain several different networking profiles on my iBook - one for home network to my Linux machine, one for my work network, and one for dialup. I switch between them all quite often, and it's a real pain to have to reboot just to force the network settings to take effect.

I don't know about other machines, but Apple has piled so much cruft into the MacOS installed on iBooks that it takes the machines forever to come up. Having to reboot just to force a switch is stupid.

What's going to happen here is the same thing that happens with open spam relays - reconfiguring Sendmail is a pain, so people don't bother with it, and so we have lots of more open relays.

This 'patch' causes problems, and people don't want to deal with it -- so they'll just take it right off their machine and so there'll still be the same amount of insecure machines, regardless of whether or not there's a patch.

OK, Mac OS 9 is a crap.

[bio2]

Yeah, i use G4 and g3 and suxx... back to the roots with my older 9600/300 that rules... and i used by preference System 8.5 or 8.1... 8.6 becomes too slower like the system 9... i recommend buy a 9600/300 than a G3 or G4 that cost 2,5 K, and is a pure shit.... all things are IDE! don't install system 9 / and 8.6... even... if you are an older mac user... you would must know that G3 and G4 are a marketing product and not a good product.

Screw the patch

[47Ronin]

I haven't installed the patch on either of my two Macs, one being a PowerBook G3. Unless the patch prevents a DoS attack against ME, then I have no use for it. It's kind of weird that it makes a Mac user have to reboot after a TCP/IP change.. that's wack. I don't want this to work like Windoze.. I always use my PowerBook on the road and I change TCP/IP, AppleTalk, Internet Config, signature, and Keychain settings etc. etc. multiple times per day just by one mouseclick on the Location Manager. No need to reboot. To have an OT patch "break" that functionality and ease of use on a Mac would be terrible. No thanks.

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