14 DAY TRIAL // I power on the iMac and look! Nothing has changed, everything looks just fine, but after checking a few webpages, I change my mind. The reason is yesterday's security update for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger", and since Apple Computer recommends all users to install this update, I install it too. Great! My sexy iMac is now up to date, but I guess we all need to know what's changed, so let's see...
The update, released less than 24 hours ago, is labeled "Security Update 2006-008" and you don't have to worry about the time spent to download the package. PowerPC-based Macs users have to download 1.5MB of data, while the Intel-based Macs require an 1.8MB Universal Binary file to be downloaded. Apart from the downloading part, I guess you are already used to the system restart required after installing the update, but that shouldn't be much of a problem unless you are planning to break a system uptime record...
There is only one thing that's fixed in this release, a vulnerability discovered with Apple's QuickTime for Java and Quartz Composer software items. Apple said that "Java applets may use QuickTime for Java to obtain the images rendered on screen by embedded QuickTime objects and upload them to the originating web site", and this may lead to something pretty nasty, since the Cupertino-based company continued by saying that "when this facility is used in conjunction with Quartz Composer, it becomes possible to capture images that may contain local information.".
Yesterday's update disallows Quartz Composer songs in unsigned Java applets, and after using it, applications and signed Java applets that use QuickTime and QuickTime for Java will be unaffected, while Quartz Composer compositions will continue to function locally.
At last, Apple said that systems prior to Mac OS X 10.4 are not affected, and neither is the Windows platform.