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[stevebrass]

Good question!



Another thing that seems to have changed is, on the main login GUI, in addition to Icons for each configured user there is one called 'other' which allows you to login by typing a user name, including Root.   I don't think 'other' was present on the login GUI before, even with Root enabled, but not certain.

Pure speculation, but this new configuration would be very useful to Apple developers and testers pre-release, as it would allow them to sometimes rescue a damaged system.   Don't suppose it was enabled temporarily during dev, and they just forgot to disable it before release?     

Thought some of you'd be amused though, including you, Stuart.   

Interesting. Three Macs in the house. Two never showed the "other" account in Mac High Sierra. The other did. All three now updated with today's patch and on the machine that showed "other" user - not there now.

It seems it was as you suggest a relic of development.

[broadstairs]

Interesting. Three Macs in the house. Two never showed the "other" account in Mac High Sierra. The other did. All three now updated with today's patch and on the machine that showed "other" user - not there now.

It seems it was as you suggest a relic of development.

If indeed it was a relic as you suggest it is even more of an issue that it got left live in the code. Totally inexcusable on all fronts.

Stuart

[sevenlayermuddle]

I noticed the update, released, yesterday, is summarised as "...recommended for all users and improves the security of macOS".

Well yes, I think we'd all agree, the fact that the fix "improves security" cannot be denied.   

More seriously, credit to them for getting a fix out same day the story broke.   All software has bugs, I wrote and released plenty of bugs in my own software when I worked for a living.  I tend to judge software vendors by how quickly they fix the bugs, rather than the fact that bugs exist.   

[broadstairs]

I tend to judge software vendors by how quickly they fix the bugs, rather than the fact that bugs exist.   

That's reasonable in most circumstances but this strikes me as someone not doing their job properly. I spent my working life fixing bugs in operating systems as well as client systems.

Stuart

[sevenlayermuddle]

That's reasonable in most circumstances but this strikes me as someone not doing their job properly. I spent my working life fixing bugs in operating systems as well as client systems.

Stuart

Small world. I spent much of my life writing bugs (among intended features) in operating systems.

I tend to take the view that bugs found in released software need two fixes...

1) The incorrect behaviour of the software needs to be rectified.
2) The hole in test / validation procedures, that allowed the bug to escape, needs to be rectified.

I'd bet good money that Apple will be putting effort into both of these.

[licquorice]

I think the problem is that testers tend to concentrate on testing that the software does what it is supposed to do rather than testing that it doesn't do what it isn't supposed to do.

[stevebrass]

As well the update on the 29th, I have just installed another security update today. The OS build number has changed so it doesn't seem to be a repetition of the update of the 29th.

**UPDATE**

Okay - the first update cobbled file sharing for some users so the second puts it right.

****UPDATE OF UPDATE****

Just looked for the file sharing bug on our machines and yes Nov 29th update introduced and the 30th update has rectified it.

Now waiting for the next fix to a fix to a fix.