OS X :: Will These Snow Leopard Security Bits Work For 32 Kernel
Aug 8, 2009
Apple's site about Snow Leopard says that 64-bit *apps* under Snow Leopard will be more secure than ever due to several things:A more secure function argument-passing mechanism and the use of hardware-based execute disable for heap memory.
Memory on the system heap is marked using strengthened checksums, helping to prevent attacks that rely on corrupting memory.
Nerdly question, but does anyone know if any of these types of security enhancements require the 64-bit *kernel* (not just a given app)? My white Macbook (C2duo) is unlikely to run 64-bit unless Apple lets it in their final release (it apparently won't so far as they haven't written drivers for my lowly machine).
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Sep 2, 2009
As jingle-pundits desperately try to denigrate Snow Leopard as a "Service Pack," Apple's new operating system reference release actually expands the reach of the Mac platform in several important and under-reported new directions. Here's the second in a series looking closer at some of Snow Leopard's well-known, but often misrepresented or misunderstood features.
The 64-bit Kernel
It seems fashionable to describe Snow Leopard's new 64-bit kernel as a problem for Mac users with 32-bit EFI (the startup firmware that launches the operating system). It's true, 64-bit Core2 Duo machines prior to 2008 still run Snow Leopard's 64-bit apps using a 32-bit kernel, because Apple's 64-bit kernel requires both a 64-bit processor (a Core2 Duo or better) and 64-bit EFI.
The 64-bit edition of Windows XP or Vista will run on 64-bit Macs with 32-bit EFI via Boot Camp because Windows doesn't use EFI; it still lives in the simpler world of BIOS.
However, running a 64-bit kernel on these machines is of limited benefit. While there are certain advantages with the move to a 64-bit kernel, including new security enhancements, the primary benefit of a 64-bit kernel is being able to directly work with significantly more than 4GB of RAM, something that most existing consumer Macs and generic PCs can't do anyway.
For this reason, Snow Leopard also defaults to running its 32-bit kernel even on consumer models with 64-bit EFI. This prevents mainstream users from running into problems related to incompatible kernel extensions and device drivers (such as printer software), which aren't yet 64-bit.
This problem has helped repress the popularity of the 64-bit editions of Windows over the last several years, but won't hold up 64-bit Mac adoption because there is only one edition of Snow Leopard, one that runs on all Intel Macs and simply adjusts itself to the limitations of the given hardware.
Users who want to run the new 64-bit kernel on late modeled Macs (pretty much anything released after early 2008) can do so by booting with the 6 and 4 keys held down. If you're wondering whether your Mac has a 64-bit EFI firmware, you can type the command "ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi" into the Terminal. The response will identify the machine as either having 32-bit or 64-bit EFI.
64-bit System Apps
What Snow Leopard does do is bring all Core2 Duo, 64-bit Macs (pretty much everything sold since 2007) up to speed with 64-bit system apps, from the Finder and Dock to iChat and Mail to background processes such as launchd and the system-wide spell checker. Running the 64-bit kernel or not, the singular version of Snow Leopard always runs 64-bit apps when running on 64-bit hardware; in contrast, no 32-bit editions of Windows can run 64-bit apps, even on 64-bit capable hardware.
Snow Leopard's upgrade to 64-bit system apps provides an overall speed boost due to limitations in the original design of Intel's 32-bit chips; the move to the new 64-bit x64 processor model, originally developed by AMD, solves these issues. Moving to 64-bit apps on other processor families, such as PowerPC, does not yield the same boost, but rather only incurs additional overhead, one of the reasons Snow Leopard is Intel-only.
Windows XP/Vista/7 users also benefit from running 64-bit apps, but Windows can only run 64-bit apps using the 64-bit kernel provided with the 64-bit "edition." This prevents mainstream generic PC users from realizing the benefits of the move to 64-bits unless they are equipped to make the full jump, which requires lining up 64-bit kernel drivers for all their hardware. This sticky bit has kept 64-bit adoption on Windows very low despite the significant advantages related to making the move.
Snow Leopard does not share this problem, because it has no problem running 64-bit apps using its 32-bit kernel. Additionally, Apple's unique Universal Binary specification packs both 32-bit and 64-bit code into each application, making Snow Leopard's 64-bit capable apps backwardly compatible with 32-bit Macs.
64-bit Third Party Apps
Snow Leopard also lays a strong foundation for 64-bit third party apps. While Leopard could run 64-bit graphical apps and even Tiger could run 64-bit background processes, the delivery of 64-bit Mac apps is just getting started. Even Apple is behind the curve on that front, with iWork, iLife, iTunes, and even its Pro Apps all still in 32-bit land. Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite are also waiting for a 64-bit overhaul.
Snow Leopard's 64-bit kernel enables new generations of Macs that can use far more memory, unlocking new potential and more efficient performance by easing existing bottlenecks and allowing more aggressive caching, particularly for kernel i/o such as disk access. Third party Mac software titles that can benefit from the jump to 64-bits will likely begin to transition to full 64-bit capable binaries at a faster pace than the Windows side overall, because the majority of the installed base of Windows PCs are still running the 32-bit edition of XP, which unlike Snow Leopard, can't run 64-bit apps at all.
Snow Leopard delivers a performance boost to existing users of 64-bit Macs, but it really lays a foundation for 64-bit, high performance computing in the next few years. Thanks to the long standing 32-bit barrier that has held up the PC demand for large amounts of memory, RAM is now cheaper than ever, making the ability to install large amounts of memory that the operating system can actually use something that mainstream Mac users will hold as an advantage over the mainstream of 32-bit PC users.
That's because mainstream generic PCs are limited not just to 4GB of RAM, but also incur additional artificial limitations under Windows, where the operating system takes 2GB leaving only 2GB available for the running application. Mac OS X, like Linux, has always allowed applications the full 4GB available on the Intel architecture. This difference has given Windows a translation lookaside buffer performance advantage in the past, but Snow Leopard's new 64-bit applications erase this lead and instead provide Macs with the upper hand relative to the billion installed base of Windows PCs.
Additionally, as all modern Macs transition to 64-bit apps in a single leap, the Windows installed base will effectively splinter between the mass market of low end, 32-bit offerings (including the large increase in netbooks) and the higher end of 64-bit pros and gamers who will collectively amount to a population not dramatically larger than the Mac installed base, dramatically leveling the competitive playing field in the 64-bit arena.
64-bit Cocoa
Meanwhile, Apple is now arriving back to its original strategy in delivering Cocoa as the primary graphical API for Mac OS X applications. This marks the end of Apple's decade of compatibility appeasement to Adobe and Microsoft, both of whom led a third-party refusal to update existing apps from the old Mac OS routines to the advanced new frameworks Apple acquired from Steve Job's NeXT. Going forward, anyone who wants to deliver 64-bit graphical apps has to build them using a Cocoa interface.
Apple was powerless to force the issue a decade ago, when the Mac platform didn't seem to have much potential left and the new Mac OS X could not offer any guarantees of its survival or success to third party developers. That has all changed. Apple now operates a strong platform that has been rapidly outpacing the growth in generic PC sales by a significant factor for several years now.
Developers now know there is money to be made in shipping third party apps for Mac OS X. Additionally, the tools used to build new Mac apps are essentially identical to those used to develop apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, the leading mobile platform by a wide margin.
Apple's singular focus on Cocoa will greatly simplify the company's development efforts, as it won't be having to move both Cocoa and Carbon into graphical 64-bit land. While Adobe has complained that Apple's decision to freeze Carbon in a 32-bit maintenance mode has prevented it from delivering a 64-bit version of CS4, the simplified Cocoa roadmap will force Adobe to get on the ball with the next release, upgrading Creative Suite in two directions (Cocoa and 64-bit) rather than dragging along the Carbon past into another decade.
Microsoft and other significant Mac developers will also have to get on the Cocoa bandwagon in order to stay relevant on Apple's 64-bit Mac platform for the next decade. The Mac already has much more visibility, market relevance and software profitability than its market share would suggest, thanks in part to Apple's bold capacity to decisively burn its legacy bridges in order to give developers a single, clear option for future development, just as it did on the iPhone.
Of course, Apple itself needs to deliver 64-bit versions of its own Logic Studio, Final Cut Studio, and Aperture, too. The company was previously outpaced by its third party developers in the move to PowerPC, and to a lesser extent, in the move to Intel Macs. Apple's position as both a platform vendor and an application developer should help it to deliver practical, usable tools for its own developers.
Apple's leadership in laying out a strong 64-bit future in Snow Leopard has created a strong foundation that will enable the Mac to move ahead in important ways. However, there's more going on in Snow Leopard than just new progress in supporting 64-bit CPUs. The next segment will look at how Apple has pioneered efficient use of GPUs, and what it means for today's Macs and for coming generations.
Inside Mac OS X Snow Leopard: QuickTime X
Inside Mac OS X Snow Leopard: GPU Optimization
Inside Mac OS X Snow Leopard: Exchange Support
Inside Mac OS X Snow Leopard: Malware Protection
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Aug 16, 2009
Anyone else with the GM of Snow Leopard?
Have you tried the arch=x86_64 modification to the com.apple.boot.plist ?
When I use arch=x86_64, I get 100% true 64 bits on my Macbook Pro and my iMac, but my 2009 Mac Mini is stuck in 32 bits.
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Aug 13, 2009
Yes you read that right. Your brand spanking new MBP will use a 32-bit kernel as default.
You can force 64-bit kernel but some of your hardware will not be working.
So all that marketing crap about the benefits of 64-bit etc are all B.S.
I don't want a million threads about how this will not effect the running of 64 bit apps, etc. because it will. Your 64-bit app will run but it will not be able to address more than 4Gb of RAM.
There are also many more advantages to having a 64-bit kernel.
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Jul 11, 2009
Im interested in trying Windows 7 RC, but don't know which version to download. Im planning to install it on a MacBook Pro (May 2008), in Boot Camp and in VM.
It has a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of RAM.
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Jun 15, 2012
I'm using LogicPro 9, and it runs on 32-bits mode. And I can't seem to find a way to change that to 64-bits.
Info:
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
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Apr 8, 2012
like most apple users i have no security suite.with recent scare, time has come to install good security software with reliable updates.which offering work most effectively?
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Mar 31, 2012
After downloading security update can't seem to get adobe flash-player to work?
Info:
MacBook (13-inch Aluminum Late 2008), iOS 5.1
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Apr 18, 2010
This popped up today, I did a search and didn't see anything about it.
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Jul 25, 2009
I've seen something about com.apple.boot.plist, but I need a little more further information. After type: Code:
ioreg -p IODeviceTree -w0 -l | grep firmware-abi
I receive the following from terminal:
Code:
|| "firmware-abi" = <"EFI64">
Looks that I am able to run 64-bit kernel.
My computer is a white macbook early 2008. Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4GHz.
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Aug 31, 2009
Just wondering what the thoughts everybody was having regarding loading Snow Leopard with a 32bit kernel (i.e. "normal" install) or 64 bit kernel (i.e. holding down the "6" and "4" keys during reboot).
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Feb 22, 2010
I am using the native NTFS read/write support via the /etc/fstab "hack" for lack of a better term. Since I routinely transfer files bigger than 4GB on a jumpdrive between Windows 7 and OSX I don't really have a choice but to use NTFS. I would rather use this than MacFuse/ntfs-3g since I think it is faster. When I write something to the drive and take it to the Windows 7 machine, the security on the newly written file is set to admin - I have to log in as the admin on the Win7 machine, right click and change the security settings. When I formatted the drive initially (on the Win7 machine), I set it for full control for everyone. Is there a way to force OSX to write the file with the same permissions as the drive?
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Apr 30, 2012
I have been able to open pdfs perfectly well up until I changed the security settings on Adobe Reader. As I read somewhere that Apples have an inbuilt pdf reader I trashed everything Adobe, but still can't open pdfs. Tried using Preview to no avail.Â
Is there some other way of opening pdfs without reinstalling Adobe?
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May 4, 2012
I'm installing a 2010 version of Eudora and it wants the software security device password. Well, I have no idea what that is. My user password, admin password, and other usual passwords don't work.
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Jul 11, 2009
Is there something about the hardware on this iMac that will not let SL run in full 64 bit glory? It loads 64 bit kernel, but did that in Leopard as well. SL loads the 64 bit kernel but not the rest of it... of course holding the 6 and 4 keys results in no joy. So now I suspect it is not just the CPU that must be a 64 bit ready chip but the rest of the hardware must be like wise optimized.
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Sep 4, 2009
I am pretty new to the forums but I installed snow leopard on an 2008 iMac 2.4 ghz, 3gb of ram and 250gb hard drive on September 1, 2009 and had no problems shutting down.
Then on Wednesday when I shut down it goes into a kernel panic and tells me to restart. When I go into the other user account it does not do that. I have a picture of the error log that i got when I started the computer up to submit to Apple. Can someone please help.
I have reset PRam, repaired permissions, and reinstalled Snow Leopard but recovered it from a Time Machine Backup. I do not know what to do.
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Oct 14, 2009
I have been trying to boot into 64-bit kernel in Snow Leopard on my Late 2008 Aluminum MacBook (2.4 GHz), but it is not working. It is running the 64-bit EFI firmware and is updated to 10.6.1.
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Dec 13, 2009
First the bad news - consistent kernel panics
Good news - found a remedy in disabling my screen saver.
I'd like to use my screen saver without getting kernel panics. I've tried erasing my drive and restoring from a back up. resetting PRAM, repaired permissions and ran Tech Tool Pro 5 (file structures and repaired permissions, everything else checked out fine).
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Mar 16, 2012
I'm running a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) and am getting daily (sometimes multiple daily) kernel panics. It's been months since hardware changes (upgraded to 8Gb RAM, quality modules that work fine on other identical Macs). Today is the first day that it's happened more than once, but I hope that's not a sign of things to come... Here are Pastebin dumps of the Problem Report, System log, and Console log.Â
I haven't done any serious software updates in a while, but I did set up a Windows XP VM in Parallels Desktop, which has been running during most kernel panics. Maybe bad drivers that are incompatible or need updating? It sometimes runs for hours before a panic, so I don't think running in Safe Mode would be effective (unless I take it home overnight, which I may try). It seems that my problem is similar to another thread I found on this forum, but mine is a bit different, and I don't run any microsoft hardware (Logitech keyboard and mouse).
Info:
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 15" 2009, 2.66GHz, 8Gb RAM
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Feb 2, 2012
After installing the update AppleWorks and Eudora crash any time I try to access any kind of file dialog: Save, Save As, Open, etc.
Info:
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Intel
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Feb 3, 2012
Adding to Security Update woes. Appleworks quits and quits and quits, always when Print command given. Printer works fine for Text Edit and Mail,
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Feb 5, 2012
Can't print from Appleworks after installing latest Security Upgrade and latest Brother printer software. Other apps seem to be OK. Appleworks crashes when it tries to bring up the print dialog box.
Info:
MBP 13" and iMac (late 2006), Mac OS X (10.6.2)
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Mar 26, 2012
The last security update I downloaded maybe a month ago totally wiped out a 10 Gb encrypted .dmg file I made with Disk Utility. Disk Utility can't find it. It's gone. Is there a way to recover it?
Info:
PowerBook G4 (17-inch Double Layer SD), Mac OS X (10.6.8)
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Aug 29, 2009
I've upgraded my MBP to Snow Leopard today from Leopard and I'm getting a Kernel Panic when I login as one user. Logging in as an Admin user or a new user account is fine, and I still get the Kernel Panic if I boot up in to Safe Mode. It's obviously a problem with the user account and looking at the dump log it seems to be caused trying to mount something, but I can't for the life of me track it down.
[Code]
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Aug 30, 2009
Installed Snow Leopard (retail box) onto a last-gen Aluminum MacBook Pro (2.6Ghz model). Did a time machine backup. Put in CD and upgraded. Rebooted with no peripherals plugged in and I get a kernel panic. There's only one user on this machine so I can't see if it's an account problem. I did the same thing on both my Macbook Air and 17" MacBook Pro.
Question: Do I have to now Reinstall Leopard (fresh)
Then update Snow Leopard
Then restore from Backup?
OR
Install Leopard
Recover from time machine backup
Then install Snow Leopard
I don't have all day and really don't want to screw up the process. Is there any thing else that might say why this kernel panic is happening?
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May 18, 2012
Model Name:Â MacBook ProModel Identifier:Â Â MacBookPro3,1Processor Name:Â Â Intel Core 2 DuoProcessor Speed:Â 2.4 GHzNumber Of Processors:Â 1Total Number Of Cores:2L2 Cache:Â 4 MBMemory:Â 8 GBBus Speed:800 MHzBoot ROM Version:Â MBP31.0070.B07SMC Version (system):1.18f5Â Â
I know this has been asked numerous times, but most of the answers I found were old and archived. I was wondering whether or not an update or a guide has been released which allows a successful boot into 64bit kernel? Â On a side note, I have verified my computer does have EFI64. However I know in the past that this stil didn't enable a 64bit boot.Â
Info:
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
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Feb 2, 2012
I downloaded the security update today for snow leopard, and now I can't save my MS Word documents. When I click the save button, nothing happens.
Info:
MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy), Mac OS X (10.6.8)
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Mar 20, 2012
Got a suspicious email wanting security updates on my bank accounts. Didn't use the link in the email & didn't knowingly download anything from the email. Went to another server & accessed my bank account to get an address to forward the email to. Went back to my mail & found that the suspected phishing email had vanished. My bank says I most likely got a virus from the email, thinks my account(s) has been compromised & advised me to scan my computer for malware before trying to go to my account again.My Software update shows I have the latest security, I never got a message advising me of suspicios sites or downloads. So how do I check for a virus or malware???Â
Info:
iPad 2, iOS 4.3.3
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Aug 25, 2009
I am using an HP Color Laserjet 3505n. Will snow leopard work with this printer?
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Jun 13, 2009
Whether anybody got Snow Leo build 10A380 (WWDC'09) successfully running with 64-bit kernel? If 'yes' - please share your method. I've tried every approach that i know: "6+4" keys, arch=x86_64 flag specified for both nvram and com.apple.Boot.plist, lipo command against mach_kernel.
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