Apple patches dire bug

Fruity cargo cult Apple has no problem with viruses, it just pretends it does not have them and quietly pushes a fix to its users usually months afterwards.

This time though Apple has made the unusual step of issuing a fix for a security flaw within days and telling people.

Part of the problem is that the flaw was a big one and that it allows hackers to intercept data such as email.

The security update for users of Apple's OS X computer operating software follows a fix issued for iPhones last week, meaning all Apple device users now have access to the patch.

However, security analysts are wondering how the flaw could be in Apple software in the first place. The flaw was in the way iOS handles sessions, in what are known as secure sockets layer (SSL) or transport layer security. The flaw is such a basic software howler that it is a wonder it was not spotted.

Researchers have said the bug could have been present for months. Some have suggested that the flaw might have been an intentional backdoor that Apple was operating in agreement with the NSA. Jobs’ Mob has to be seen to shut it down, or else ordinary hackers might use it.

The bug let attackers with access to a mobile user's network, such as a shared unsecured wireless service offered by a cafe, to see or alter exchanges between the user and protected sites such as Google Gmail or Facebook.