Mozilla CEO: Safari = Malware?
Sure, as far as the business of browsing is concerned Apple and Mozilla are competitors, but Mozilla CEO John Lilly makes a good point here. Apple’s attempts to sneak Safari for PC past unsuspecting updaters this past week is hardly the first time Apple has used tactics that some might consider to be less than friendly to get its software onto a computer. An excerpt for a recent entry on Lilly’s blog:
Apple has made it incredibly easy—the default, even—for users to install ride along software that they didn’t ask for, and maybe didn’t want. This is wrong, and borders on malware distribution practices… It’s wrong because it undermines the trust that we’re all trying to build with users. Because it means that an update isn’t just an update, but is maybe something more. Because it ultimately undermines the safety of users on the Web by eroding that relationship. It’s a bad practice and should stop.
The statement comes of course, as a response to the news this past week that Apple was pushing Safari on PC users through the Apple Software Update application. The problem? Safari is included as an update to be installed even on PCs where it had not been previously installed. By nature, isn’t an "update" a newer version or an addition to existing software? Shady indeed. Apple is well aware that "click Next until it goes away" has essentially become the way of the walk and is apparently banking on that practice to get Safari onto PCs. Hey at least they’re not bundling it with iTunes… yet.
Whenever I see articles like this, I always laugh at the people who look at Apple as this “Knight in Shining Armor”. That Apple is somehow better than their nemesis, Microsoft. These are companies with a profit motive, pure and simple. There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between them in their motivations. It’s just that each is more successful than the other from time to time in certain categories…
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Yeah, I saw that the updater tried to put it on my computer a couple yesterday. I was surprised to see it. John Lilly was right.
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I always look very carefully @ updates and the details so as not to inadvertently install some crap I don’t want or need.
With the Apple updates I never even look twice, I just hit install. They have never given me any reason to not trust them.
Needless to say I was rather ticked when I saw the Safari icon in my quick launch bar. If I want Safari (which I don’t) I will install Safari.
John Lilly is 100% bang on - this was poor form by Apple. This is malware plain and simple. It must have been some sort of mistake, at least I hope it was - and they apologize for it publicly.
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Ya know that happened to me too and people wonder why all I use is iTunes and Quicktime.
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the yon’a apoligize thy ill play fedgove an try to explain it away. just as they won’t tell you they keeep trak ofiphones that have been modeed or jailboken by esn and imei sent from the calendr and mail aplications.
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I have, until now trusted Apple’s upgrade engine. But this time is different.
It said I was getting iTunes and Quicktime updates.
I do not have Safari.
I got Safari installed. It didn’t even show up on XP as “New Program Added”. Clever. Yet crooked.
What else can you call deception when in fact it is deception?
No more automatic installs for Apple.
Whose stupidity thought this stealth install would not be noticed?
Think of a lunatic botherder . . .
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I was already getting a bit suspect of Apple following the iPod touch upgrade. I had to click “No, Thanks” for a month before it stopped asking me to upgrade everytime I plugged in. So now we’ve got another data point - indicates a trend to me…
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I noticed this when I updated iTunes the week. At first I thought it was a glitch, but now I’m glad I refused the download. If Apple starts pushing Safari with iTunes I’ll simply stop using iTunes. I’ve been pretty happy with Firefox and see no reason to switch.
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Hmm… isn’t it a bit overboard in saying this is malware? Malware, the last I checked, doesn’t give you a chance to decline it. Maybe Apple needs to tweak their Update software to make it clear that some things are updates and others are other software packages that they also offer — but saying it’s malware is bordering on stupidity.
I would be willing to bet that if John Lily had a chance to somehow reach out to millions of Windows users and advertise an easy way to install Firefox he would take it. You just don’t get very many opportunities to reach users directly if you are not Microsoft. And Apple, very wisely IMO, is taking advantage of the fact that they have a large installed base of iTunes users and using that to offer other packages they have.
As for why Quicktime and iTunes are bundled, it’s very simple — iTunes was built on top of Quicktime. Apple had two choices — they could rip out all of the code that uses Quicktime in iTunes and replace it with an internal layer that did the same thing. Or they could bundle Quicktime with it and avoid making a real mess. I think they made the right choice.
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Shut up Galvatron. You make no sense. Go away.
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Is there any way the installer can be disabled? The only Apple software I use (and will ever use) is quicktime…although it constantly bugs me to download iTunes (memory hog, bad sorting, overall crappy player…foobar2000 is much better) and now this shit with safari.
See, this has been going on much longer than just recently with Safari, this has been going on with everyone who uses quicktime but refuses to downgrade (*ahem* switch) to iTunes
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Dennis, it’s people like you who will allow this to become commonplace.
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Since I use a MAC (with windows on it) I didn’t get hit with this BS update. But when Apples does updates on the MAC OS side they don’t even tell you what the update is fixing. I mean MS tells you what its fixing, and Apple doesn’t.
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“Hey at least they’re not bundling it with iTunes… yet.”
Shhhhhhhh…. dont give them any ideas!
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It is malware when a company as big as Apple does some stunt link this. They know most people will keep clicking away until they are finished.
Everything should be up front. Otherwise Apple is just as guilty as those distributing malware or worse - just as bad as Microsoft for questionable business practices. Heaven forbid that Apple ever does anything questionable. But I guess when they do there is good reason.
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well the quote says malware practices, he doesn’t say the program was malware. also, this is just one of the many reasons apple can bite a big one in my opinion. they try so hard trying to convince people they’re better then microsoft in every way, that since the masses aren’t listening they’re just trying to sneak it past people. knowing them they’d probably follow with a commercial stating the % of pcs that now have safari installed. laughable
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This is for notanapplehonk:
It’s Mac… not MAC folks!!
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I saw the the update last night and was like… safari for windows I didn’t even think twice I just hit the install button now I have to be even more carefull with situations like this.
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ibeen teeling you guys forever apple thinks fanboys are sheep drinking koolaide laced with arsnic.
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Those dirty rotten scoundrels…it’s all coming together man…first cable companies are controlling what u see in your browser, now Apple is controlling what browser u use…next thing u know the goverment are just puppets with big businesses pulling the strings….oh wait, too late.
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this made me realize… i would be really pissed if itunes just automatically updated my jailbroken iphone…
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give it time tat’s why i hate grapple no choice an not al cabl companies control what you see cox dosn’t just comcast
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Exactly why I stopped using Quick Time a year ago, try updating it without iTunes. Now they want to install Safari too, well they are on their way to joining the government in giving us things we do not need or want!
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I disabled Apple Updater after it kept nagging me to install Quicktime + iTunes as an “update” to the latest version of the standalone Quicktime player. The only thing I use Quicktime for is the occasional web page with an embedded video or qtvr. I don’t have an iPod and I don’t want iTunes. All I want to be notified of is an update to the exact program I installed, not nagged to install a new program I specifically avoided installing in the first place.
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So I have made the mistake to do what I thought was an updater for bug fixes. How do I uninstall Safari?
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