Intuit Mac bug creeps back through public wi-fi

Users of a popular accounting package have been warned not to use the software at public wi-fi hotspots, such as those found in airports, coffee shops and hotels.

Users of the 2006 Mac version of Intuit's QuickBooks software could find that a serious bug manifests itself again under certain conditions in wi-fi hotspots.

Wireless from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more…

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

QuickBooks is one of three key product lines for Intuit, whose software has been sold to thousands of small businesses across the world.

The bug, which was contained in a flawed product update released in December, has already been responsible for deleting documents, including financial files, from users' PCs.

QuickBooks released a patch for the bug on Saturday but warned users two days later of the dangers of using the QuickBooks software when connected to wi-fi hotspots.

Ian Vacin, leader for Mac financial software at Intuit, wrote on the company's website: "We have determined that the prior bug remanifests itself when QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac is initiated at public internet hotspots and a redirection error occurs (for instance, when you are at a cafe that requires you to pay to use its services)."

He added: "If you must use QuickBooks Pro 2006 for Mac at internet hotspots over the next few days, please contact us directly... so that we can provide you [with] a temporary workaround."

Vacin said Intuit would release a patch in the "next few days" which will disable the software's upgrade mechanism and so cure the issue.

Intuit also urged users to download Saturday's patch because, if they don't, a refresh of the users' preferences could result in the original bug occurring again.

Although the company is releasing patches to address the problem, it has so far been unable to recover lost data from users' machines.

Data-recovery companies can often recover deleted Mac data, as long as the files have not yet been overwritten.

Richard Thurston writes for ZDNet.co.uk