Filed under: OS, Software, Internet, Security
Mac Geekery debunks Dashboard 'phoning home'
JC (yes, the Ungenius guy) at Mac Geekery has used some UNIX tricks to do some digging into the whole 'Dashboard phoning home' topic that's been heating up the Mac web lately. After all is said and done and JC lays out exactly what is happening, he concludes that not only is Mac OS X 10.4.7 not sending any personal data (which we've already been told), but you actually give Apple more data about yourself simply by visiting Apple.com. Here's hoping those worried about Apple trampling their privacy can sleep a little better at night.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stuart said 11:55AM on 7-11-2006
Is it really heating up the web?
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Ben Stanfield said 12:00PM on 7-11-2006
The difference, of course, is that you visit Apple.com voluntarily, whereas the dashboard check happens automatically and unannounced. And no matter what Apple says to the contrary (or how much mac mac sites try to say everything's ok because it's apple), it's unequivocally bad.
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Ian Betteridge said 12:13PM on 7-11-2006
There are several reasons why the Dashboard check is an example of an Apple goof.
The first is that it was undocumented. Although it's mentioned in the patch notes, there's no detail on what it does or how to turn it off. While consumers don't really care about this kind of thing, network managers who suddenly see additional traffic from previously unknown and undocumented OS "features" tend to be unhappy.
Secondly, it's not optional. Unlike Software Update, you can't turn it off. That's not good, under any circumstances.
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NotOK said 12:21PM on 7-11-2006
It is NOT OK. I choose to visit apple.com, I can run Software Update when I want, I can configure the software I use to check for updates or not.
Where is the configuration thingy for this dashboard adviser?
It is not about the info that is sent to Apple. It is about my choice to participate in this and not Apple deciding what is good for me.
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Alastair Stuart said 12:23PM on 7-11-2006
Ian: You've just lowered my opinion of MacUser. SHOCK HORROR, Apple messed up by not documenting something?
Christ, it really is a slow news week.
Ben, how, exactly is it "unequivocally bad"?
Guess what - you install OS X 10.4.7 voluntarily. There's no warning before you go to apple.com telling you they'll know your IP, OS, Browser etc.
Load of hype about nothing. If there's nothing decent to report on, don't turn the tiniest things into major stories.
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Ken R said 12:30PM on 7-11-2006
yeah, maybe it ask the user whenever a widget changes (is installed or updated) whether or not they want to check...
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BobMac said 12:48PM on 7-11-2006
Ben, how, exactly is it "unequivocally bad"?
Why do you guys care? I've never seen any argument as to why this is bad.
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Derek said 1:05PM on 7-11-2006
I just love the stuff on Mac Geekery. Those guys are awesome.
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Peter van Impelen said 1:09PM on 7-11-2006
DTDAD
(Disable the dashboard advisory daemon)
Disable or enable the dashboardadvisoryd on Mac OS 10.4.7.
free download :
http://bigpixel.macintoshdevelopers.net/software/info/dtdad.html
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matthew said 1:14PM on 7-11-2006
Ian hit the nail on the head.
Giving the user the option to check for updates, manually or automatically, is a best practice Apple uses across the board. Why not Widgets?
I don't think this is a betrayal of the community, but it is an unnecessary misstep by a company that generally does the right thing.
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Cool Frood said 1:25PM on 7-11-2006
Sure, they ran a tcpdump to www.apple.com. What if the application is talking to another host?
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Chase said 1:47PM on 7-11-2006
I think that this whole thing has been blown completely out of proportion. Sure Dashboard does 'call home' to Apple every once and a while. But honestly, who really cares. The little process is really doing nothing more than checking for software updates on Apple's servers. This is nowhere near as sinister as Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage which has the ability to brick your entire computer should Billy G get a little ticked at you.
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sjk said 2:44PM on 7-11-2006
Re: But honestly, who really cares.
Do a bit of research and you might understand why some people have perfectly valid, level-headed reasons to be concerned with content to/from computers and over networks they have responsibilities for managing.
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Derek said 2:21PM on 7-12-2006
Ok, this is fucking pissing me off...
WHO GIVES A FUCK?!?!?! Apple is checking up on the widgets, omg, we are at risk!!! What the hell is wrong with you? Get a life.
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