[tubbyjr]

So what measure of relatively little in your mind would yield it not to be spyware?

In my mind, no phoning home, and open-source at the very least. So to me, it's spyware indeed, because as you just said yourself, it phones home.

[outworlder]

Hash checks for malware is not the same as spyware. If anything, it's the opposite.

One could argue that these hashes should be downloaded and then checked against a local database and I can't really argue against that, sounds like a standard anti-virus MO and I would prefer that.

You can block those connections if they bother you.

[dylan604]

>checked against a local database

Is this ripe for being manipulated by an infected system though? By keeping it central to the home office, they have control over the single location rather than trying to ensure every single system stays current.

[upbeat_general]

They can be blocked but not in a simple way for most users. If it was a preference synced with iCloud or at the very least in system preferences I’d be okay with it but I shouldn’t have to fight with my OS. Plus I had to unblock ocsp.apple.com at one point because it was causing an issue with something else.

In any case, defaults matter.

[Dylan16807]

It's not the "opposite". It's very much a "lesser evil" situation.

> One could argue

Could and should.