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My guess is that the App Store preferences isn't even meant to have the padlock. iCloud prefs doesn't have it, so I can only assume it's there by mistake. If y
by christoph 9y ago
My guess is that the App Store preferences isn't even meant to have the padlock. iCloud prefs doesn't have it, so I can only assume it's there by mistake.
If you try the same thing with say "Time & date prefs", it pauses with an incorrect password for a few seconds, then visually shakes indicating it's a wrong password. With the App Store prefs, it just instantly closes the authentication dialog, even with a blank password.
I don't really understand the logic as to why some panels in preferences have padlocks and others don't... Why does date/time need admin rights whereas Network (delete/add/reconfigure networking), Internet Accounts (delete/add any accounts?), iCloud (do all manner of things), Time Machine (back a machine up elsewhere?) don't require it?
- ryanianian 9y agoIt's concerning there's a UI element that displays as a padlock and shows the standard auth dialog but then doesn't actually do any auth. If this is easy to do by mistake, where else is this hiding?
- dkonofalski 9y agoI would imagine it's because changing the system date/time could be used nefariously whereas iCloud, Internet Accounts, and Network would all require passwords for the individual accounts/networks to do anything with them.
- pishpash 9y agoDate time manipulation can be used to bypass expired certificates.
- dkonofalski 9y agoExactly my point.
- ZoFreX 9y ago> it pauses with an incorrect password for a few seconds, then visually shakes indicating it's a wrong password This is also the behaviour of the App Store preferences in version 10.13.1
- pishpash 9y agoIndeed, App Store pref box has no lock in 10.11.
- briffle 9y agoMost OS's require admin rights to change the date/time because of the ability to mess with things like kerberos ticket TTL's, and other security issues.
- christoph 9y agoI can understand why it would be there for date & time. I guess I more don't understand why it's not there for networking - you can add a proxy in (or even a whole new network adapter) for all network traffic without admin rights!?
- derefr 9y agoI don't think "sharing-only" accounts can; only regular accounts. Keep in mind that a non-"sharing only" account is an account with a special privilege: it can log in through the local-framebuffer LoginWindow. This translates to an assumption that the computer is–at least temporarily—in the physical possession of said user. They're at least sitting down in front of it; they may have been leased it by their employer. The global prefs that can be reconfigured by "regular users" (i.e. non-"sharing only" users) are precisely those prefs required to keep the system in a working state if you're physically in possession of it and doing the things that possession of a computer implies. For example, you can move a computer you physically possess to a new location–at which point the same wireless networks won't be available, and maybe you won't be able to get online without a proxy. So, in order to ensure that just going places doesn't necessitate a call to corporate IT, the default† is to let any non-"sharing only" user configure networking. † "Default" because these prefs can be locked down using a configuration profile (like a windows Group Policy Object) by corporate IT if they need a computer specifically secured against these changes, such as a public-use kiosk.
- Pharaoh2 9y agoTo further support your point, if you switch to a pane that does require the padlock and then switch back, the padlock is gone. Looks like someone forgot to set the padlock bar to invisible on that perf plane. It's a minor UI glitch, nothing to see here.