[Macpartners] re: Panther OS 10.3 / FileVault

[Hans Dietrich]

Hi All.
Further to a previous question - here is a follow-up. This comes from 
England incase you are questioning the date and time.


Panther bitten by second data damaging bug
By Tony Smith
Posted: 04/11/2003 at 13:30 GMT

Mac OS X 10.3's FileVault system, which protects each user's home 
folder with on-the-fly 128-but AES data encryption, has been found to 
contain a data-damaging glitch, Apple has admitted.

The bug manifests itself as a request to regain lost disk space in 
the encrypted directory. If the user responds in the affirmative, 
FileVault's reclamation process damages the user's keychain data. 
Keychain is the Mac OS' secure password storage system, allowing 
passwords to be accessed through a single master code.

Damaging the data held in the keychain prevents the Safari web 
browser from automatically signing on to certain web sites, stops 
Mail logging on to email servers and so on. Many other applications 
that store passwords in the keychain are likely to be affected too.

Apple last night said it was aware of the problem but was not yet 
recommending that users disable FileVault. Simply refusing to allow 
the software to reclaim lost disk space keeps the bug at bay.

The FileVault problem follows an earlier clash between Panther and 
version 1.0.3 of Oxford Semiconductor's 800MBps FireWire interface 
chip. That bug lead to data being damaged on external hard drives 
connected to the host Mac after Panther had been installed on the 
host system. Oxford sent out updated firmware in September, but drive 
vendors have only now started to offer it to their customers. ®

-- 
Hans Dietrich
E19-630
phone 6172531313
IS/DITR Consultant

Life is a walk on a beach.
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