iTWire - Is Apple the fashionable whipping boy?

Stephen Withers turns his gaze on the world of Apple, with detours into other aspects of IT and communications as they catch his attention.

Is Apple the fashionable whipping boy?

by Stephen Withers
Monday, 25 August 2008
Page 1 of 3 ! Taking potshots at Apple - especially over security issues - seems to be the flavour of the month. But while such criticisms are sometimes deserved, are they often simply cheap shots? Two recent examples are the lack of SSL protection when using MobileMe web mail, and the supposed MobileMe address harvesting 'vulnerability'. If I'm using someone else's Wi-Fi to access web mail (eg, at a conference or an airport), I feel a lot more comfortable if I can use SSL. But I'm more concerned that someone might sniff my username and password and then misuse my account - eg, to send spam or simply for electronic vandalism - than any worries that they might intercept the messages I'm sending and receiving. But other people may have more to lose, and it seems reasonable that the connection should be protected by SSL. Maybe it's not the last word in security, but if you can use SSL to connect a desktop mail client to MobileMe, why shouldn't you be able to do the same between the web client and the server? So I'm on the side of the critics on this one. What puzzles me is the suggestion (sparked by TechCrunch's Michael Arrington) that since MobileMe presents a web interface to every user's iDisk, this exposes their usernames and therefore risks a harvesting attack by would-be spammers. Why am I puzzled? Find out on page two. << First page < 1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

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