OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 update more than doubles 802.11ac file transfer speeds

Apple has just rolled out the latest update to Mountain Lion with fixes to a number of issues users have been experiencing lately. If you haven't already noticed the prompt, you'll find OS X version 10.8.5 is now available in your Software Update queue or directly from here.

The latest update is said to improve upon and fix a number of issues including file transfer performance over 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Some reports claim the 802.11ac file transfer speeds are more than doubled compared to in 10.8.4. Additionally, the update tackles recent problems with displaying messages in Mail and resolves an issue that was preventing screen savers from starting automatically on some machines.

Other updates with 10.8.5 include improved Xsan reliability, more stability with large file transfers over Ethernet, improved Open Directory server authentication, fixes with smart card integration in System Preferences and some of the additions that came along with the MacBook Air (Mid 2013) Software Update 1.0.

While today's offering brings some needed updates, most have their eye on OS X 10.9 Mavericks which Apple is widely expected to release as early as the end of next month.

Apple patches CPU power consumption bug in 2012 MacBooks

Apple has issued an update that addresses CPU-related power consumption issues with MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models released in June, including the 15-inch Retina display model. Details are slim on the 76.64MB update, but CNET reportsthat it contains new versions of the I/O kernel extensions and frameworks, the Dock application, and shared resources such as desktop pictures, user icons and system sounds. The patch also improves compatibility with certain USB devices interfering with Wi-Fi signals and causing other issues.

Unaddressed by today's update is an audio issue that arises when a 2012 MacBook is connected to an external display via Thunderbolt. A thread on Apple's support forum was created nearly a month ago and has accumulated over 100 replies with various related complaints. Users note that the MacBook's integrated speakers work fine, but they complain of intermittent static and crackling from the speakers in Apple's Thunderbolt Display.

Most of the complaints involve the 11 and 13-inch MacBook Air, though at least one person claims to have the issue with the Retina-equipped MacBook Pro. An exact cause remains unknown, but some folks believe that the adapter connecting Apple's new MagSafe 2 power connector to the Thunderbolt Display's power cord may be at fault. Others note that switching between audio outputs, reattaching all connections and/or restarting the offending program serves as a temporary workaround, but nobody has discovered a permanent solution.

San Francisco says no EPEAT certification, no Apple purchases

The 28,000 employees that make up the 50 departments of San Francisco’s city services will no longer be able to use city funds to purchase Apple displays, desktops and notebooks, following news that the California company had withdrawn its products from the EPEAT registry, used to track the environmental impact of electronics.

That is according to San Francisco’s chief information officer, John Walton, when speaking to the Telegraph. He said the purchase of Apple computers amounts to around $45,000 of the $200 million IT budget. “I’m just hopeful that we can have a dialog with Apple so we can continue to work with them.” The decision won’t affect the purchase of iPhones

and iPads as they aren’t subject to EPEAT criteria.

The move could have a broader impact on Apple in the government and university sectors as they rely on the EPEAT registry when making purchases. According to Bill Allison, head of campus technology services at the Berkeley campus, the University of California, the largest US public higher-education system is also considering whether to suspend Apple computer purchases because of the change.

“When something like this happens, it’s a significant change in the landscape,” said Allison. He added that the school will take two weeks to work with the retailer as well as administrators in the university system before a decision is made on how to proceed. “We’re reviewing the impact of this.”

Following EPEAT’s announcement Apple has taken steps to clarify its decision to remove its products from the registry, despite helping to create it several years ago. The Cupertino-based firm pointed out that it still conforms to many environmental standards including the governments Energy Star program.

“Apple takes a comprehensive approach to measuring our environmental impact, and all of our products meet the strictest energy-efficiency standards backed by the US government,” Apple’s spokesperson Kristin Huguet said in a statement. “We also lead the industry by reporting each product’s greenhouse gas emissions on our website, and Apple products are superior in other important environmental areas not measured by EPEAT, such as removal of toxic materials.”

Mac Malware at the Moment

It's been a while since we last wrote about Mac malware, so I thought it would be good to give our readers an update on what's been happening during the last few months. Last year we detailed a possible Mac trojan in the making. At that time we were still speculating whether it would be part of a bundle or just a standalone binary. Now it's clear: a new variant was discovered and it is a full-blown application, complete with an icon.

The author calls this variant version 1.0 ("FILEAGENTVer1.0" in little-endian) as seen from the binary's code:



The sample I analyzed uses thumbnail images/icons of Irina Shayk, apparently taken from the March 2012 issue of FHM (South Africa) magazine. The malicious application bundle is being spread inside an archive file together with other images taken from the magazine hoping that its file type will be overlooked by users.



Nothing else is new besides the implementation. The backdoor payload is still the same but uses a new C&C server. The server is currently active (at time of publication). It is important to take note that the new C&C server still points to the same IP address as the previous variant as mentioned by the folks at ESET. We have reported the server to CERT-FI. Hopefully they will be able notify the proper authorities.

We detect this new variant as Trojan-Dropper:OSX/Revir.C, MD5: 7DBA3A178662E7FF904D12F260F0FFF3.

Moving along — there's another more serious OS X malware threat lurking out there. The Flashback trojan, which first appeared around the same time as Revir, is still in the wild. It is using exploits to infect systems without user interaction. Though what it's exploiting are old Java vulnerabilities (CVE-2011-3544 and CVE-2008-5353), we might begin seeing a real OS X outbreak if the gang upgrades their operation a notch higher and start targeting unpatched vulnerabilities.

In a future post, I will detail how to locate a Flashback infection. In the meantime, the easiest way to avoid infection is to just disable Java from your browser(s). Based on our surveys, most users don't really need Java when browsing the Web. If for some reasons you do need Java, say for online banking, turn it on only when you need it. And then turn it off again after you're done.

In Safari, you can disable Java by unchecking "Enable Java" in Safari Preferences, Security tab.



Or you can disable Java from the Snow Leopard (Lion doesn't come with Java by default) by going to Applications, Utilities, Java Preferences. Uncheck everything in the General tab.



Regards,
Brod

Thunderbolt 1.2.1 update resolves kernel panic issue for Mac users

Apple has released a new Thunderbolt update (1.2.1) which promises not to crash your Mac this time around. For those of you who have been patiently waiting in hopes of avoiding a system crash, it should now be safe to try your luck with the System Updater once again.

Following several noteworthy product announcements by Apple at WWDC 2012, the company hastily released an update for Mac OS X which promised support for its new Thunderbolt-based network and Firewire converters. Although a seemingly innocuous patch, the well-intentioned Thunderbolt 1.2 update rendered some iMac and Macbook owners' systemsunbootable.

Apple promptly pulled the Thunderbolt 1.2 update from its servers following a growing number of complaints. The company later confirmed the issue on the June 18 with this knowledge base support article and released a new and improved Thunderbolt 1.2.1 update that is (hopefully)kernel-panic free.

If you were one of the unlucky ones but never got around to fixing your system, Apple's support article outlines the official solution to the issue: use Lion's built-in recovery feature.

Users can initiate the repair process by powering up (or restarting) their Mac and hold the Command + R keys simultaneously after the boot-time "chime" sound. When prompted to do so, choose to re-install Mac OS X and log on with your Apple ID. It may take a while, but the recovery process will solve the issue. Also, all of your personal files, application settings and most of your system configuration .plists should remain unscathed.

As always though, it's important to keep a current backup. If you're a Mac user, there's really no easier way to do this than using Time Machine on a secondary or external storage device.