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OS X auto-updates leave a bit to be desired

On my test Mac running the OS X Yosemite Beta, I recently enrolled in auto-updates. Today, while simply browsing the web I got the following Installation Alert:

In order to continue installation, please close the following application: iTunes

This was a bit alarming as I wasn’t doing any installation and I wasn’t prompted for any installation ahead of time. Coming from the Windows world, a drive-by-download like this is exactly the sort of thing UAC is designed to prevent.

Since this was just a test Mac, I closed iTunes and allowed the install to proceed (I guess, since the installation alert modal dialog box disappeared.). Check into software updates shortly after, I saw iTunes updated in that timeframe, so it seems a perfectly legitimate install occurred. However, a less than pleasant user experience when you have no context as to whether you should allow an installation to continue or not.