Report: FaceTime For Mac Beta Has Huge Security Hole
October 21, 2010
One of the nicest announcements to come out of yesterday’s Back To The Mac event was the immediate availability of FaceTime for Mac. Now, anyone with a Mac can make video calls to others. Users can be on another Mac or using their iPhone 4/iPod touch with a Wi-Fi connection.
However, you should be aware that FaceTime For Mac is in beta. And, as with any beta product, it isn’t without its problems. One issue already uncovered: users can change their iTunes password without reentering their existing password. This is troubling since someone else could change your iTunes password and then use your account elsewhere.
This can be accomplished by going into the preferences for the FaceTime application and selecting the iTunes account that was entered when the application was first set up. Users can then choose "View Account," where there are two password fields that can be used to change the account password.This is a major security flaw, especially for users planning to use FaceTime for Mac in an office environment where wandering eyes are prevalent. Certainly, Apple is aware of this problem and an update to the beta will be announced soon. In the meantime, use FaceTime for Mac knowing this risk.
