“Well, you don’t see that every day – Apple is rushing to fix a major security bug.,” Chris Baraniuk reports for BBC News. “It has been revealed that users of its new MacOS High Sierra operating system can access it without using a password. Just use ‘root’ as a username, leave the password field blank and hit ‘Enter’ a few times. It’s an embarrassing slip-up and not one users are used to from Apple, whose products are often cited as more reliable and secure than its rivals.”
“But the ‘root’ password bug is not as isolated a case as it might at first seem,” Baraniuk reports. “Last month, Apple had to release a patch for another password-related issue in High Sierra. Some users found that when they asked the software for a password hint it simply revealed the password in full instead.”
“There have also been issues with iOS,” Baraniuk reports. “Earlier this month, iPhone users were frustrated by an irritating bug that caused the letter ‘i’ to be inexplicably auto-corrected to a capital ‘a’ and a question mark. Again, Apple promptly fixed things. But these cases have left some questioning whether the firm has lowered its standards. ‘Apple’s quality of business execution is slipping,’ says Neil Mawston, at Strategy Analytics. He believes the company is becoming ‘more prone’ to business and product glitches.
As a result, Mr Mawston thinks Apple’s reputation for offering premium quality and reliability could be at risk.”
“Cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward, at the University of Surrey, agrees,” Baraniuk reports. “‘There’s definitely a growing perception that perhaps their quality control is not all it should be,’ he says. ‘I use Apple products… because of the level of encryption and the attention they pay to apps in their app store. You didn’t used to get these sorts of bugs.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
Dear Mr. Cook,
“It just works.” That’s getting tougher and tougher for us OS X and iOS users to say with straight faces lately.
Apple, while certainly still the best when it comes to desktop and mobile operating systems, needs to do better. Our expectations, some of us as users of Apple products since the early 1980s, are not being met when it comes to the quality and reliability of operating systems, software, and services. Used to be, you could pretty confidently install brand new operating systems from Apple. Recently, we’re more inclined to wait for a few point releases than not. It’s downright Microsoftian. Lately, for the past couple of years, your software seems rushed. Is “rush job” really the impression you want to give your customers? – MacDailyNews, January 5, 2015
SEE ALSO:
What to do about Apple’s shameful Mac security flaw in macOS High Sierra – November 29, 2017
Apple’s late, delayed, limited HomePod is looking more and more like something I don’t want – November 27, 2017
Why Apple’s HomePod is three years behind Amazon’s Echo – November 21, 2017
Under ‘operations genius’ Tim Cook, product delays and other problems are no longer unusual for Apple – November 20, 2017
Apple delays HomePod release to early 2018 – November 17, 2017
Apple CEO Tim Cook: The ‘operations genius’ who never has enough products to sell at launch – October 23, 2017
Apple reveals HomePod smart home music speaker – June 5, 2017
Apple’s desperate Mac Pro damage control message hints at a confused, divided company – April 6, 2017
Apple is misplaying the hand Steve Jobs left them – November 30, 2016
Apple delays AirPod rollout – October 26, 2016
Apple delays release of watchOS 2 due to bug – September 16, 2015
Apple delays HomeKit launch until autumn – May 14, 2015
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
Apple delays production of 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’ in face of overwhelming iPhone 6/Plus demand – October 9, 2014
Tim Cook’s mea culpa: iMac launch should have been postponed – April 24, 2013