In article
<jollyroger-3B407F.01014318022008 RemoveThis @earthlink.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net>,
Jolly Roger <jollyroger RemoveThis @pobox.com> wrote:
> In article <ryeburn-9173DE.20000417022008 RemoveThis @morgoth.sfu.ca>,
> David Ryeburn <ryeburn RemoveThis @sfu.caz> wrote:
>
> > I recently applied Security Update 2008-001 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 to eight
> > different installations, some PPC and some Intel, and upon repairing
> > permissions with Disk Utility, read the following:
> >
> > "Permissions differ on ./Library/Application Support/Macromedia/Shockwave
> > 10/Shockwave 10 Preferences, should be -rwxrwxr-x, they are -rw-rw-r--".
> >
> > The first time I noticed this I assumed it was a fluke. After the second
> > time I became more suspicious.
>
> The reason you see this message is that the receipt for ShockWave in
> /Library/Receipts lists the executable permission as enabled for user,
> group, and other on this file.
>
> One would think that -rw-rw-r--, being more restrictive, would be more
> secure. So it seems strange that the receipt for this file would have
> execute permissions enabled for all users.
>
> > Before doing the third installation I checked
> > permissions on the file in question, which were -rwxrwxr-x, and then
> > without
> > running Disk Utility checked them immediately after rebooting. They had
> > indeed been changed to -rw-rw-r-- so I changed them back manually, then
> > ran
> > Disk Utility in repair permissions mode, and Disk Utility was happy.
> >
> > Can anyone explain why the installation of an Apple Security Update should
> > result in changed permissions for a Shockwave preferences file? I'm no
> > longer surprised when software from Adobe messes around with permissions
> > for
> > non-Adobe files, so perhaps this is just an example of "if you step on my
> > foot, I'll step on yours",
>
> I'm sure Shockwave or some other Adobe stuff that runs at startup is
> setting the permissions on that file to be more restrictive. This is a
> good thing, in my mind. It means if you screw up the permissions, they
> will be fixed on the next startup.
An interesting theory, but this computer has been restarted, as well as shut
down completely and later started, a number of times since I applied the
Security Update and did the permissions check and repair. The permissions
for that file have remained -rwxrwxr-x. So nothing is resetting them to
-rw-rw-r-- (other than the Apple Security Update, which I have not
re-applied).
> You might consider removing execute permissions for this file from the
> receipt. Again, the receipts are in /Library/Receipts.
That's certainly where I would expect to find the receipt. The Receipts
folder has 133 items in it. None of them appear to be likely candidates.
Looking at the names of the files, the words "Adobe", "Macromedia", and
"Shockwave" just aren't there at all. This computer has an additional
partition on its hard drive, for repair purposes. It has system software and
every repair utility that I have, and not much else. But it does have the
Adobe Macromedia Shockwave stuff (version 10.1.1r16). Like all the other
partitions on my other computers and external, bootable Firewire drives, the
repair partition suffered the same change of permissions upon installing the
Apple Security Update, with the permissions then restored, in some cases by
Disk Utility and in some cases pre-emptively by me once I discovered this.
None of the other copies of the Shockwave 10 Preferences file that I have
checked have been re-set to -rw-rw-r-- (but I haven't checked all eight of
them). So the mystery remains.
David
--
David Ryeburn
ryeburn RemoveThis @sfu.caz
To send e-mail, use "ca" instead of "caz".
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