Zoom Updates macOS Installer To Remove Malware-Like Exploit

Zoom’s explosion in popularity has put the company under a microscope, where it was discovered that there were certain practices made by the company that were a bit concerning. One of which involved the way they approached the installer for the macOS version of the app, which was discovered to be a bit shady.

For those unfamiliar, basically the way Zoom’s installer on macOS works is done in a similar vein to how malware on macOS is installed. The installation process is done without users providing the final step of consent. According to Zoom’s CEO, this was done to help simplify the process to make the installation a breeze.

However, the good news for those who might feel a bit uncomfortable with these shortcuts is that it appears that Zoom has since updated its macOS installer to remove that malware-like exploit.

Speaking to The Verge, software engineer Felix Seele, who made the initial discovery, said, “They completely removed the preinstall stuff, so you now need to click through the installer as it ought to be. I must say that I am impressed. I expected them to maybe change the dialog, but since the ‘zero-click’ aspect was so important to them, I thought they would stick with the preinstall-trick.”

Zoom has recently pledged that over the course of the next 90 days, they will be hitting pause on feature updates while working towards improving on its software’s privacy and security.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Computers
Tags: Hack, macOS, Security, zoom