Widgets

[det2004]

How safe are the widgets that you can download from Apple's website? I tried using the MyTube widget I found on there, and it didn't seem to work properly, and then a new process popped up in my firewall asking for access to the internet...I believe that it was "curl". Now I'm questioning if it was really safe to download this widget and allow the "curl" process internet access.

Has anyone ever used the MyTube widget to download videos from YouTube? I haven't been able to find any reviews on the widget or see if anyone has had any problems with it.

 

[HLdan]

They certainly can't be any safer getting right from Apple.

 

[irmongoose]

cURL is a common tool for accessing information on the web.
Most likely that nothing sinister is going on.


irmongoose

 

[electroshock]

Now I'm questioning if it was really safe to download this widget and allow the "curl" process internet access.

curl and its close relative, wget, are tools that just merely downloads files from web and FTP file servers. The widget is most likely downloading the YouTube video then playing it locally -- probably so that you're not dependent on network connectivity working after the video has been downloaded completely.

Seems harmless and innocuous in this case.

 

[macnfab]

they are from apple.. thats about as safe as it gets

 

[det2004]

They certainly can't be any safer getting right from Apple.

They are hosted on Apple's website, but if you read it says that Apple hosts them as a courtesy and takes no responsibility for them.

Has anyone actually used this widget? I try to watch youtube videos with it, but all it shows is a snowy screen like you would see on old tv's when there was no signal. When I would try to export a video instead of watching it, it would access the internet for a second, but nothing ever seemed to happen.

Thanks for the help.