Apple releases OS X 10.6.2 and Security Update 2009-006

Apple has released the 10.6.2 update to OS X, which addresses a number of issues in Snow Leopard pertaining to graphics, systems unexpectedly logging out, the guest account bug, incorrect icons being used for contacts, and application support for Apple's application suites and built-in programs like Safari.

OS X 10.6.2 Update

The 10.6 system update is available through Software Update, and is also available at the following locations:

OS X 10.6.2 Combo updater
OS X 10.6.2 Delta updater

The update is pretty large, weighing in at 473MB and 479MB for both the delta and combo updaters, respectively. This indicates that the update addresses a number of items that were already addressed (in part) in the 10.6.1 update.

UPDATE: These sizes are what is reported on Apple's site, and does not observe what will be updated for specific machines and current OS installations. When you use Software Update your machine will specify what it needs to download from Apple (approx 500MB for some, and 150MB for others); however, if you download the delta updater then the all the changed files will be downloaded in the package and your machine will then install the needed ones from there. The combo updater, however, will install and overwrite all files to bring your system from any version of 10.6.x to 10.6.2, so it will always be bigger than the delta updaters.

Specifically, this update addresses the following areas:

• an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly
• a graphics distortion in Safari Top Sites
• Spotlight search results not showing Exchange contacts
• a problem that prevented authenticating as an administrative user
• issues when using NTFS and WebDAV file servers
• the reliability of menu extras
• an issue with the 4-finger swipe gesture
• an issue that causes Mail to quit unexpectedly when setting up an Exchange server
• Address Book becoming unresponsive when editing
• a problem adding images to contacts in Address Book
• an issue that prevented opening files downloaded from the Internet
• Safari plug-in reliability
• general reliability improvements for iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, and iDisk
• an issue that caused data to be deleted when using a guest account

More detailed information on the update can be found in this Apple knowledgebase document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3874

Specifics on the security content of this update are outlined in this knowledgebase document: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3937

Security update 2009-006 for OS X 10.5

In addition to the 10.6 update, Apple has released a security update for OS X 10.5, which provides the same fixes for the 10.6 update that pertain to Leopard users. This update is 143MB and should be available through Software Update, and also at the following link:

Security Update 2009-006

As always, be sure to fully back up your system before applying these updates. Additionally, unless the update is needed, give it a few days to allow others to test it out before installing, so you can be sure the update properly addresses problems and does not introduce new ones.

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