As far as i can tell, the izPack uninstaller (which appears to be auto-generated during install or something), is completely broken on Mac.
I did a test install with the offline installer, set it up and let it run a bit, then ran the uninstaller. It only has 2 buttons and a checkbox, clicking the uninstall button appears to do nothing but delete the uninstaller itself (making it impossible to run again). However, ticking the "force deletion of /Applications/Freenet folder" box, and then clicking uninstall, appears to work fine, the node stopped and the entire Freenet directory disappeared. So in short, I can't replicate any situation where the files are being used and unable to be deleted, but the uninstaller indeed does nothing unless you tick that box i mentioned, so perhaps on some systems it tries to do this while the node is still running, or moves the files into the trash (which i didn't see it do), and the "empty trash" function in OS X doesn't delete files that are in use, so........yea. On Jan 11, 2010, at 1:31 PM, Matthew Toseland wrote: > On Monday 07 December 2009 12:51:24 Matthew Toseland wrote: >> On Sun, Dec 06, 2009 at 04:58:21PM -0600, Ian Clarke wrote: >>> This guy raises concerns about uninstalling Freenet: >>> >>> http://truefalsebollox.blogspot.com/2009/11/freenet-users-watch-your-back.html >> >> "First of all, there is talk in the scant guide offered with Freenet of ?a >> panic button? ? I imagined something to hit if the heavy jackboots start >> thudding up the stairs. What would the panic button do? Immediately wipe all >> Freenet-associated files from my hard disk? Hmm, I don?t know, because I >> couldn?t find the panic button in the copy I downloaded and ran. Even if >> there was one somewhere, the fact that it isn?t under my nose means it >> wouldn?t be much use in a hurry." >> >> The "panic button": >> - Shows up on the downloads/uploads page. >> - Doesn't show up in LOW physical security level. You already said you have >> nothing to hide, right? Maybe we should change this. >> - Wipes everything that might relate to incriminating data: the client >> cache, downloads in progress etc (but not files already downloaded to disk, >> only files downloaded to temporary space). > > What documentation refers to the panic button? Maybe we could improve it... >> >> IT EXPLICITLY DOES NOT DELETE FREENET ITSELF. Writing a portable >> without-a-trace uninstaller is a seriously nontrivial project which we are >> not competent to embark on, and it is outside our mandate. >> >> "The uninstaller provided with each download merely removed the program >> files from my Applications list into my Trash list. It did not remove them >> from the computer." >> >> This is some OS/X bull****. mrsteveman1 can you fix this? > > Can we fix this? >> >> "Further, even though I was running my browser in ?Privacy mode?, links to >> Freenet ?keys? were stored in my browser Cache history." >> >> Then your browser is defective! Privacy mode by definition should not >> persistently store any trace of your browsing after you close it. If it does >> IT IS NOT A MEANINGFUL PRIVACY MODE. If anyone is aware of browsers which >> behave in this way, providing a dangerously false sense of security, please >> let us know and we can warn users against them. > > Maybe we should warn users about Safari? If the browser history is wiped on > shutdown then I guess there's no problem? >> >> "This is particularly worrying if you don?t bother to check, since the >> advice from Freenet is to use a separate and dedicated browser ? meaning >> everything in your cache will be freenet related. No need for anyone >> examining your computer to sort through thousands of innocuous logs to find >> the Freenet ones." >> >> Any browser that stores cache or history on disk in plaintext for "privacy >> mode" is broken by design and SHOULD NOT BE USED. The advice we give is >> based on the simple fact that if you use the same browser, with the >> exception of a meaningfu,l non-history-preserving privacy mode, for browsing >> the internet as for browsing freenet, the internet sites you visit can probe >> your freenet browsing history. >> >> "Still, none of that is of as much concern as this: manually deleting >> Freenet from my computer was not as simple as emptying the cache and Trash >> files. The cache went into the trash, so to speak, but the Trash folder with >> Freenet files in it could not be emptied from the desktop no matter what I >> did. Some files had been automatically locked by Freenet, and the whole >> Trash application froze trying to unsuccessfully delete them. In short, I >> had to do a ?sudo? from the command line to forcibly remove them, a process >> that if you don?t know how to do you?d better learn if you plan on using >> Freenet in a hostile environment. I?d also say you?d better learn how to do >> it quick (maybe write yourself a script), because wiping all trace of >> Freenet off my computer took me the best part of an hour the first time I >> tried it." >> >> This is more Mac bullshit. We should work around it. > > mrsteveman1, any suggestions? >> >> HOWEVER, there is a deeper fundamental fact here: No portable application is >> going to wipe every trace of its presence when you uninstall it. It's just >> not practical in terms of the amount of deeply platform specific work >> involved. There are third party tools that may provide such functionality. >> >> Or is it? Most unixes have "shred" now?? >> >> All this is a matter of poor documentation. However, better documentation >> would involve more reading for the user and therefore put users off running >> Freenet at all. Thus it is a largely unsolvable problem, apart from the OS/X >> perversities which hopefully mrsteveman1 will have time to resolve. >> >> So we cannot expect to tell the user the full range of things they need to >> know to keep their privacy in the installer. The solution is to bundle a >> README file that nobody will read, and then when somebody gets killed >> because of our negligence we can say it was because they didn't read the >> README. Oh and we can make it prominent by e.g. making it available from the >> web interface. > > Thoughts on this? >> >> Thoughts? > _______________________________________________ > Devl mailing list > Devl at freenetproject.org > http://emu.freenetproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/devl
