For the first time, Apple has sent an automated security update to Macintosh computers to protect against a newly discovered security vulnerability.
The patch, sent Monday, fixed the network time protocol (NTP) — used for synchronizing clocks — on Mac OS X systems, Apple spokesman Bill Evans told Reuters. A bug was found there by Carnegie Mellon University researchers that could have allowed hackers to take remote control of a computer, according to an alert sent Friday by Homeland Security.
While every previous Apple software security upgrade had first asked for the user s permission to install, Apple believed this vulnerability to be critical enough to warrant an automatic update, Evans told Reuters.
The update is seamless, Evans said. It doesn t even require a restart.
At top: Apple iMac computers. (Apple photo)
