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suspicious package app
#60105 12/08/21 11:38 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Likes: 7
jchuzi Online OP
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Suspicious Package has received many laudatory ratings. Does anyone have experience with it?


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: suspicious package app
jchuzi #60109 12/09/21 02:00 AM
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I d/l'ed Suspicious Package a few years back, and it did its job as expected in the few instances in which I tried it, but I trashed it, because Pacifist, which I was (and still am) running, provides its basic functionality plus much more.

Personal opinion: If "you" aren't running Pacifist, but think you need SP, you're probably dealing with apps with which you shouldn't be dealing, and further, probably won't have the foggiest idea of what you're looking at when SP reveals their inner workings.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: suspicious package app
jchuzi #60113 12/09/21 05:00 AM
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I have used SP for many years now and find it quite useful for inspecting downloaded packages prior to installation and seeing what they are doing.

Some points for context:
I am quite comfortable with the command line and know how to interpret the packages and especially the scripts.

The Mac App Store does not play well; the package is downloaded and installed as a single action with no window of opportunity to inspect the contents.

SP does have a QuickLook extension, so it very convenient to inspect a downloaded package with just a tap of the spacebar.

Re: suspicious package app
David #60115 12/09/21 11:21 AM
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Even running Pacifist (which, by the way, also includes QuickLook functionality), I never examine packages, because I'm just plain not knowledgeable enough to interpret an apps contents.

In my situation, and, I'm quite certain, that of the vast majority of users, SP and Pacifist are no more than feel-good apps that make us think we've accomplished something when, in fact, we've accomplished nothing.

Should I ever be wary enough of an app to think that I REALLY need to examine it in depth, I'll d/l it to an isolated, expendable clone and see what happens when I double-click it.

As for App Store d/l's, if you're really curious, you can control-click > Show Package Contents after the apps are installed, which, on the one hand, is belated, but on the other hand is unnecessary because Apple has already done the job.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: suspicious package app
artie505 #60117 12/09/21 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by artie505
Even running Pacifist (which, by the way, also includes QuickLook functionality), I never examine packages, because I'm just plain not knowledgeable enough to interpret an apps contents.

In my situation, and, I'm quite certain, that of the vast majority of users, SP and Pacifist are no more than feel-good apps that make us think we've accomplished something when, in fact, we've accomplished nothing.

Should I ever be wary enough of an app to think that I REALLY need to examine it in depth, I'll d/l it to an isolated, expendable clone and see what happens when I double-click it.

As for App Store d/l's, if you're really curious, you can control-click > Show Package Contents after the apps are installed, which, on the one hand, is belated, but on the other hand is unnecessary because Apple has already done the job.

I CONCUR WITH EVERYTHING ARTIE SAYS!

When I looked at the information provided by Suspicious Package, I did not see that it provided enough information for me to make an informed decision while Apple's built-in platform security measures have far more threat knowledge than I do and will examine everything installed. Added to that, I have MalwareBytes and its ability to recognize and quarantine all PUP (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and the malware protection far exceeds my knowledge and ability to analyze an install package even with the help of Suspicious Package or Pacifist. My principal contribution to software installation security is in being careful where I get downloads and if at all possible always going directly back to the developer's site or the App Store.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: suspicious package app
joemikeb #60125 12/10/21 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by joemikeb
My principal contribution to software installation security is in being careful where I get downloads and if at all possible always going directly back to the developer's site or the App Store.
After years of d/l'ing from MacUpdate (Wasn't there a site that preceded it?), I've come around to d/l'ing directly from developers' sites, but I prefer to get to them via MU, because its users' comments give me insights that I can't get from the horse's mouth.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire

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