AW: OT: Mac installer rights?

J. Landman Gay jacque at hyperactivesw.com
Mon Dec 15 14:23:02 EST 2014


On 12/15/2014, 2:03 AM, Tiemo Hollmann TB wrote:
> And just for my interest. Is there a technical explanation for
> different rights/behaviour if you copy files manually with the same
> user and in the same dir from a dmg file or start an installer to let
> do it for you?

Apple allows the user to move files wherever they like. It is an 
intentional action the user is aware of, and the user always has full 
control. Software cannot do the same thing, because that would allow 
malicious installers to copy malware to the drive without the user's 
knowledge.

It is true that a dmg could contain an app that installs malware, and 
that the user could copy it to their drive without knowing that. That's 
the reason for code signing. A malicious developer could distribute a 
code signed app, but they could be tracked. And if users keep the 
default security permissions, where they can only install apps from the 
app store, the app is unlikely to pass Apple's security checks.

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com




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