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From: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple HDBackup Zaps Applications
Message-ID: <44674@improper.coherent.com>
Date: 15 Jan 90 06:03:27 GMT
References: <21738@uflorida.cis.ufl.EDU> <3716@mit-caf.MIT.EDU> <1990Jan14.222952.3465@oswego.Oswego.EDU>
Reply-To: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Coherent Thought Inc., Palo Alto CA
Lines: 42

In article <1990Jan14.222952.3465@oswego.Oswego.EDU> ostroff@oswego.oswego.edu (Boyd Ostroff) writes:

> This is interesting, since just two days ago someone from our user group
> came by and described the same thing  happenning to him using HDBackup.
> 
> He was very specific, however, that all his *documents* had the correct
> icons, but his *applications* appeared as generic document icons (blank
> sheet of paper with the corner folded over).  He said he rebuilt the
> DeskTop file, but that didn't help....

The commonest situation in which I've seen this, is if you're running
with a mis-configured copy of Gatekeeper.  Gatekeeper prevents
applications from creating new files whose types are 'APPL', 'INIT,
'cdev', etc. unless the application doing the work is on the list of
programs that have been granted "File/other" permission.  If you run HD
Backup (or any other backup utility), and haven't added the utility to
the list that Gatekeeper knows about, all of the application-files (and
INITs, etc.) written to the backup-disk will end up with a "generic"
file type.

This usually doesn't happen with the current version (1.1.1) of
Gatekeeper, because [a] it comes pre-configured for most applications
that need privileges, and [b] it warns you when it applies a veto, and
[c] it defaults to "Warn, but do not veto" mode when it's first
installed, and advises you to switch it over into "veto" mode to enable
the antiviral protections.

However, these points do not hold true if you install the original (1.0)
version of Gatekeeper... it vetos "suspicious" operations with no notice
or warning.  You can easily end up with applications that have been
rendered "generic", if you don't configure it right when you install it.

Anyone who is still running version 1.0 of Gatekeeper should upgrade to
1.1.1 immediately if not sooner... and then run a new set of backups, in
case the old ones aren't clean.


-- 
Dave Platt                                             VOICE: (415) 493-8805
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