The Zoom installer skips these additional steps and instead runs “pre-requirement” scripts, which are usually meant to be run before the installation to check if the software is compatible with the machine.Usually, pkg installers contain multiple pages where users can customize and confirm the installation.When users join a meeting, they are prompted to download and run the software.PKGs are a well-known installer format, similar to MSI on Windows. Zoom uses the pkg format to distribute their client on macOS.Your point is well taken and we will continue to improve.īelow is a step-by-step technical description of what is happening: To join a meeting from a Mac is not easy, that is why this method is used by Zoom and others. Thank you for your feedback! We implemented to balance the number of clicks given the limitations of the standard technology. The post has received over 3,000 retweets and prompted the CEO of Zoom to respond: The same tricks that are being used by macOS malware. The application is installed without the user giving his final consent and a highly misleading prompt is used to gain root privileges. This is not strictly malicious but very shady and definitely leaves a bitter aftertaste. In a clear case of “good apps behaving badly”, I noted in my original Twitter post that Zoom’s Mac app installer uses pre-installation scripts and displays a password dialog pretending to be an OS prompt.Įver wondered how the macOS installer does it’s job without you ever clicking install? Turns out they (ab)use preinstallation scripts, manually unpack the app using a bundled 7zip and install it to /Applications if the current user is in the admin group (no root needed). Our own team is no exception, so it came as a surprise that the widely-used application installs itself on Macs by working around Apple’s regular security, demonstrating behavior commonly associated with malware. It seems like overnight half the world switched to working from home and depending on Zoom for daily human interaction. This post was updated on Apto reflect Zoom’s response.
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