Apple Acknowledges Productivity Slowdown On Older MacBooks Updated With Big Sur
Image via Apple
Since the launch of Apple’s new macOS Big Sur, many users with older 13-inch MacBook Pros have complained of issues like black screens and error messages.
Security researcher Jeffrey Paul shared a blog post stating that one of the slowdowns many have experienced is the inability to open apps on Macs.
He also shared his concerns that it could be a potential privacy problem, as he discovered the new macOS version sends a unique identifier to Apple when a user runs any program.
Soon, Apple addressed the issue with a support document called “Safely open apps on your Mac.” Apple attributed the possible slowdown to a technology called Gatekeeper, which ensures the user runs software without any malware in it. The tech giant stated that the technology does not infringe on user’s privacy.
The Gatekeeper tool performs online checks to authenticate whether an app carries malware, or if the developer’s signing certificate has been revoked, Apple noted.
“We do not use data from these checks to learn what individual users are launching or running on their devices. Notarization checks if the app contains known malware using an encrypted connection that is resilient to server failures,” Apple’s document read.
Apple also confirmed that it has stopped logging IP addresses linked with Developer ID certificate checks and makes sure that any collected IP addresses were removed from its logs.
As a form of reassurance, Apple promises to introduce adjustments to how the Gatekeeper operates “over the next year.”
The company will work on a new encrypted protocol for Developer ID certificate revocation checks, rigorous protections against server malfunctions, and provide users options to pull out from these security systems.
For now, the company has not given an immediate solution for MacBook Pro users who are experiencing problems with the Big Sur, so it’s best to wait before updating if you use the late 2013 or mid-2014 13-inch MacBook Pro models.
[via Mashable, cover image via Apple]
Also check out these recent news
