Whether you are a seasoned Terminal user or just getting your feet wet, you may find yourself somewhat limited by the text based interface of the Terminal. Though powerful, the single line entry point, fixed font size, and scrolling history behavior of the Terminal’s output may have you squinting, scrolling, and otherwise jumping through some hoops to see what you are working on. However, there are a few built-in tricks in the OS X Terminal that may help you overcome these frustrations. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Bash
How to create a ‘Shell Shock’ Bash Update installer for OS X 10.6
In response to the Shell Shock bug found in the Bash command line interpreter included in OS X, Apple issued several updates to tackle the issue. However, these updates are for supported versions of OS X only, meaning those who are using OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or earlier will not receive an update.
If you are one of these people who is still using Snow Leopard, then there are a couple of approaches you can take Continue reading
Apple issues fix for ‘Shell Shock’ Bash vulnerability
Following its acknowledgement of the Shell Shock bug, Apple has issued an update to OS X versions 10.7.5 and above, which installs a new version of Bash that fixes some of the recently found holes in this small but critical aspect of OS X. The fix, called “OS X Bash Update 1.0,” should be available for download through Apple’s Software Update service, which can be accessed by going to the Apple menu. Continue reading
Apple responds to ‘shell shock,’ fix coming soon
Apple is responding to the Shell shock vulnerability that was recently found (and unofficially patched). Apple has recognized the issue and will be out with a fix very soon. The bug, which affects the commonly used Bash shell in Unix and Linux systems, affects Mac systems because OS X contains a BSD layer that includes the Bash shell. However, in a statement to iMore, Apple claims the issue is not a serious concern for Mac users unless they have enabled specific remote connectivity. Continue reading
How to unofficially fix the ‘Shell Shock’ bash vulnerability in OS X
The recent vulnerability that has affected systems running the popular Bash shell can allow an attacker to arbitrarily run code on any system that has a running installation of the unpatched bash shell. This includes every version of OS X, so if you have a Mac that you regularly use, then you can be sure it is updated first and foremost by applying any security updates that Apple issues; however, if you wish to update your system right away then you can download and compile the latest Bash version for OS X, which to date is version 3.2. Continue reading
Bash ‘shell shock’ vulnerability affects unix-based systems, including OS X
In the OS X Terminal you run commands in an interpreter called a shell. In general, you open a shell and then specify commands to execute within it; however, researchers have found a long-standing vulnerability in the popular shell called “bash” (the default for user accounts in OS X), where with a clever use of environmental variables for running the bash shell, an attacker can inject code to run in the shell without needing to directly enter it in the shell itself. Continue reading