macOS High Sierra's App Store System Preferences Can Be Unlocked With Any Password [Updated]

[idunn]

In my view OSX 10.8.5 Mountain Lion was the last best OS from Apple (if, yes, nor it perfect either).

Admittedly there have been some advancements since, all else being equal one might wish to use, but the downsides in a degraded UI and other aspects argued against "upgrading".

If one of the strongest arguments for "upgrading" per Apple's more-or-less forced schedule was to remain current with security updates. But more lately this seems a bad idea, from a security standpoint alone.

Perhaps I'm missing something but theoretically one would think each "update" to a time-tested OS would be MORE secure, not less.

My vague understanding that advancements such as including an iOS chip in products such as the new iMac Pro will render this hardware more secure. I hope so. If also the understanding that iOS hardware is presently as vulnerable as that Mac due Intel, etc.

Be that as it may, personally I would be happier if Apple reverted to its former business plan of requiring its customers to purchase any new OS. That in conjunction with a renewed interest in quality control, a beautiful UI, not to mention overall customer satisfaction with ease of use, etc. (It Just Works) could pay dividends. AND hopefully in result an OS software product one was actually looking forward to using, would work as advertised, and indeed worth the money.

It is time to return to a new breed of cat.

 

[AFEPPL]

I don't see that at all. iOS 11 has been great for me since around beta 3, even better on the iPad. Runs great on my X and iPad Pro 10.5.

Are we forgetting the Charging, cellular speed, BT, AirPods connect, Data loss, Touch ID, iMessage activation, Siri gone walk about, safari crashers, reboot loop, wont turn on, auto correct letters!!!!, slide stuck on upgrade, email/exchange, slowdown/lagging, 2nd december and Battery life issues...???

And thats just off the top of my head... iOS is worse,

 

[yaxomoxay]

Are we forgetting the Charging, cellular speed, BT, AirPods connect, Data loss, Touch ID, iMessage activation, Siri gone walk about, safari crashers, reboot loop, wont turn on, auto correct letters!!!!, slide stuck on upgrade, email/exchange, slowdown/lagging, 2nd december and Battery life issues...???

And thats just off the top of my head... iOS is worse,

I have to admit that iOS 11 sucks. It pains me to say it - I think it’s the first time I am disappointed at an OS - but it sucks. It keeps freezing up; even the camera app decides to suck sometimes.

 

[TheTissot11]

Maybe Craig Federighi should stop making big claims about Apple's software quality. He has made macOS a mess. Looks like all the time he can only think about making stupid jokes at WWDC. He should focus on macOS and iOS development seriously what he is supposed to do. And Eddy Cue shouldn't be overseeing any internet softwares development. He should take retirement and go make TV series for rich people houses.

 

[DNichter]

Are we forgetting the Charging, cellular speed, BT, AirPods connect, Data loss, Touch ID, iMessage activation, Siri gone walk about, safari crashers, reboot loop, wont turn on, auto correct letters!!!!, slide stuck on upgrade, email/exchange, slowdown/lagging, 2nd december and Battery life issues...???

And thats just off the top of my head... iOS is worse,

I’ve never experienced any of those. I can’t be the only one.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

Apple: you are very close to losing me as a customer. Take action now on the leadership responsible for these software fiascos!!

 

[Falhófnir]

A natural consequence of churning out continuous changes to your software including one big version change update per year? You could argue they've been doing it this way for years now but it seems pretty self evident this will create more opportunities for bugs to appear and leave less opportunity to squash them.

 

[MacWorld78]

It's time to fire people(s) who cause the problems, move on.

 

[shareef777]

No, you have to enter a password, but it can be anything.

Nope, you don't. You can just leave it blank and it'll work.

 

[BrianM_CAN]

Good old days, when everything worked like clockwork.

Like back when Mac OS X didn't even warn the user if they didn't set a blank password and many more? Now same as any time in the past I never upgrade any production (or recommend users with only one computer) upgrade until at least the x.x.3 version if not later. (early Mac OS X there were some fantastic .0 & .1 releases that did things like wipe external firewire hard drives, all kinds of network issues and much more, OS 7, 8 & 9 were much of the same - first Mac I bought myself would bomb/crash hourly - 7.5.2 with its brand new Open Transport which eventually lead to filesystem corruption, 7.5.3 reduced that to every few hours, it took until 7.6 to get somewhat stable - 8.6 and 9.2 probably being the most stable until Mac OS X was released)

 

[cmwade77]

Am I the only one thinking that this issue is not that serious?

Yes and no, given that it just app store preferences, it isn't a big deal. That being said, it seems to point to a larger picture of there being a lack of quality control at Apple as of late and to that end, it is a very big deal.

 

[BrianM_CAN]

Am I looking through rose-tinted glasses, but did we ever see so many issues -- big and small -- consistently populating the Apple ecosystem between, say, 2000 and when TC took over?

Rose-tinted glasses or were lucky. Having done tech work on mostly Macs since 1997 there has always been issues including data loss ones over the years with early .0/.1 releases

 

[macTW]

I repeat: AMD gave Microsoft the wrong information about those CPU's.

What is there not to understand? Microsoft can't possibly test all the configurations and devices Windows is running on. Apple can because they provide the hardware and the software.

“Hey, AMD gave us specs for these specific cpus. Let’s expand our update to cpus not on our spec sheet!”

Yea. I’m done arguing with nonsense. Waste of time when a wrong opinion won’t budge.
[doublepost=1515623384][/doublepost]

It's not Microsoft's job to babysit AMD if they don't even know THEIR OWN PROCESSOR SPECS.

After investigating, Microsoft has determined that some AMD chipsets do not conform to the documentation previously provided to Microsoft to develop the Windows operating system mitigations to protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/bad-docs-and-blue-screens-make-microsoft-suspend-spectre-patch-for-amd-machines/?amp=1

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

“Hey, AMD gave us specs for these specific cpus. Let’s expand our update to cpus not on our spec sheet!”

Yea. I’m done arguing with nonsense. Waste of time when a wrong opinion won’t budge.
[doublepost=1515623384][/doublepost]

Wow. I won't repeat myself for a third time. But if you insist calling white 'black', don't let me stand in your way. Have a good day now.

 

[BrianM_CAN]

In my view OSX 10.8.5 Mountain Lion was the last best OS from Apple (if, yes, nor it perfect either).

Admittedly there have been some advancements since, all else being equal one might wish to use, but the downsides in a degraded UI and other aspects argued against "upgrading".

If one of the strongest arguments for "upgrading" per Apple's more-or-less forced schedule was to remain current with security updates. But more lately this seems a bad idea, from a security standpoint alone.

<...>

10.12.4-10.12.6 have been pretty solid on the variety of hardware we have here at work and my systems at home - there were some network issues with the initial releases. (10.10 and 10.11 were ok for some users, but at home I had frequent network issues between my Mac mini & NAS - probably once a week or two had to reboot the mini - no longer an issue with 10.12.6)
10.8 was pretty solid and I saw few issues with 10.9.4 or 10.9.5

 

[Falhófnir]

It doesn't matter - it shows how SLOPPY they are getting. Steve Jobs would've decapitated the entire security team personally for this. Not impressed, Apple. Lots of other bugs and annoyances getting through lately, as well. Lots of apps you can get out of, silly procedures, etc. I'm the worlds largest Mac fanboy, been on Apple since 1999, but the last year or two have been very very messy for them.

SMARTEN UP, APPLE!

Not impressed,
Cameron Hood

New year back to basics shake up is needed I think. This is turning into a bit of an omnishambles (or at least the constant media flow of bugs, issues and errors makes it seem that way). It's of course not just Apple, but Apple choose to position themselves as a 'cut above' experience so they need to deliver one!

 

[jakebrosy]

I get it @OldSchoolMacGuy, this does seem like a silly thing to be bonked out about. But following on the heels of very recent slap in the face with password problems this new password issue creates doubt and fuels skepticism. I have always told folks I had no concerns about my Apple products security but I'm less likely to tout Mac security today.

One might question what ELSE is not properly secured? What ELSE did Apple flub up with an update? What do we NOT know about?

Trust me: I'm a fanboy. I love me some Apple and have a house and home office littered with silver and white devices of varying vintages.

But, recently the shine is wearing off the Apple for me:

• The silly, silly, silly TouchBar on the new MBPs.
• The removal of ports from the same "Pro" machines. Really? Really?!?
  • I fully believe that, unlike FW400/FW800, USB-C will catch on across the industry. But removing ports to FORCE the industry is a disservice to users. So: I could have a smaller lighter machine but that would come with 4 dongles (another $100+) which would make my desk messier and my travel case heavier.
  • And, once peripherals catch up, these dongles go into that big plastic tub of Apple dongles. (Seriously, I have a big plastic tub of Apple dongles. Doesn't everyone?)
• The ridiculous iteration of the MacPro that migrated internal components into a snake's nest of peripherals on a previously uncluttered desktop.
• The ever-so-long-in-the-tooth 2013 MacPro. (I just replaced this eyesore with a 2012 12-core MacPro and got my desktop back. And the 2012 machine runs faster than the shiny trashcan...and I can see my desk! Win-win!)
• The constant slimming of iPhones at the expense of durability. (Glass on two sides again?!? Didn't we learn anything from the 4S?)
• What's going on with the incredibly easy-to-manage Airport Extremes?
  
• What about Apple-branded monitors? (Apple monitors used to be a bargaining chip to bring on new hires. That's how popular they were.)

These are just a few of the disappointments that come to mind. And, granted the new iPad Pro is great (I love mine) and I don't foresee moving away from Apple products in the short term. But it all boils down to productivity.

I run a business doing multi-discipline design and production. I have 4 full-time staff and my business relies on reliable, powerful, expandable, and upgradeable machines.

And, basically, unless something at Apple changes--or I figure out how to migrate our work to iDevices--I'm not going to be able to buy Apple products in the next upgrade cycle. (We already have a Surface Studio and a Razer laptop in-house for testing and evaluation.) I don't want to move away, but with Apple's intense iOS focus I may not have a choice.

Okay - so I got a long way from the original scope of this response. But it's all tied together. Apple at one time invoked complete trust and reliability. I could rely on the dependability of Apple products and trust in a robust product life-cycle. Not so much anymore.

THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE WORLD!

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO APPLE LATELY!? IF SOMEONE HAD ACCESS TO MY MACHINE THEY COULD CHANGE A COUPLE FAIRLY MEANINGLESS APP STORE PREFERENCES!!!!

 

[GuruZac]

I'm not sure how I feel about having the interior decorators of Apple retail working on operating system security...

Probably not much worse as of lately. Apple is simply on a roll!

 

[AFEPPL]

I’ve never experienced any of those. I can’t be the only one.

I've never experienced meltdown or spectre and I'm never likely to - but it doesn't make them any less real.....

 

[loby]

Is there anything good about High Sierra?

Seems “snappier”

 

[boswald]

What the hell is going on at Cupertino?

 

[iShater]

I am starting to think I am not missing much other than bugs by not moving to High Sierra.

 

[CPngN]

I'm not sure how I feel about having the interior decorators of Apple retail working on operating system security...

Too late, already seems to be happening. :\

 

[69Mustang]

I’d rather this error than Microsoft’s pulling of the Spectre and Meltdown fix update because it bricked computers with AMD chips.

I'm guessing you would if you had a Windows PC with an AMD chip. But if you have a Mac, it's kind of useless to point over there since it still doesn't change what's going on over here. I mean how much solace can you get pointing at the guy with the hole in his shirt when you're walking around with spinach in your teeth?

 

[dogslobber]

Windows 10 requires me to enter a password hint or it refuses to install. Yet passwords are optional in the Apple world. You know, is Apple trying to simplify security for us by doing away with it?
[doublepost=1515628702][/doublepost]

Apple spent $5 Billion on their new campus. How much have they spent on quality control?

I think the builders of the campus would be responsible for QC.