• Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security

    Mac OS X Server 10.5: Introduction to RADIUS

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) can help to take the security of your wireless network to the next level beyond standard WPA authentication. Prior to Leopard RADIUS communications could be obtained using Elektron or OpenRADIUS running on OS X – but in Leopard no 3rd party software is required beyond Leopard Server. So how difficult is it to setup RADIUS on Leopard? You be the judge after reading this quick walkthrough. For the purpose of this walkthrough we are going to assume that you are using the Advanced Mac OS X Server style. Before you begin this walkthrough, make sure that the…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac Security

    Mac OS X: New Trojan Discovered

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Monday, October 29th, 2007 – Intego issued a security alert about a new Trojan Horse called OSX.RSPlug.A targeting the Mac. OSX.RSPlug.A changes the DNS (Domain Name Server) address that infected systems use to access web sites and installs a new task on infected systems to change the DNS server again if the end user changes it back to what it was before. This is similar to many attacks against the Windows Hosts files. However, if anyone is going to get this worm they have to authenticate as an administrative user for their system to get infected. OSX.RSPlug.A has been found on some pornographic Web…

  • Football

    Football: Georgia-Florida

    Ah, the memories.  Nights in Jacksonville, getting ready for the “Worlds Largest Cocktail Party” – heading out to the game, usually too early to be up – but rallying to go – and then loosing our shirts to a team in the title race. It never got any easier.  But today, we went out there, with all their hype and put up a 12 point win on the University of Florida.  Ya’ll can have your Heisman – we’ll take one sweet victory at a time. Till next year…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Mac OS X Server 10.5: Self Updating Directory Entries

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal If you’re migrating to Leopard and Leopard Server then you’ve likely noticed the welcome addition of a new program in /Applications/Utilities called Directory. Directory allows users bound into an Open Directory environment to update LDAP records provided they have access to do so. Using LDAP ACLs it’s possible to give users access to update their own directory information using an LDAP directory browser such as Directory. When you open Directory you should see a listing of all of the directory information that has been created. From here you can create Shared Contacts, Groups, Locations and Resources. Each of these can be connected to a…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security

    Mac OS X 10.5: Advanced Networking Options

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Slight change from how things were done in Tiger/Tiger Server, but all the old options are there if you look. The first change is that now there is a wizard that you can use to configure your network interface. Since this is on more advanced topics we’ll skip that but it’s worth noting. Another shift is that a network interface is now referred to as a Service. So when you go to add a interface you will associate it with a Service Name. If you remove a Service using the – icon in the list you can always readd it by clicking on the…

  • Uncategorized

    Logout via ARD

    The following AppleScript (via osascript) can logout of a system running OS X: tell application "System Events" to log out alias maclogout="osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to log out'"

  • Mac OS X

    Mac OS X 10.5: Custom Installations

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Installing Mac OS X is a fairly simple task to complete and can typically take up to an hour or more depending on the installation options you choose. However, you should review all of your options in the installer as many items are not needed unless you have a specific need for them. Installing any operating system involves choices, which we will reveal throughout this chapter. If you are reinstalling your operating system, just make sure to have a valid backup before you continue on with this chapter. The Installation Process Installing Mac OS X requires little of a user other than agreeging to…

  • Mac OS X,  Mass Deployment

    Fun Times with the JAMF Binary

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Casper is an incredibly useful tool for package deployment, maintaining records of the systems in your environment and policy management. But for those of you already using Casper (or considering it) you’ll be glad to know that you can use the jamf binary to do all kinds of fun stuff that can help with troubleshooting computers in your environment. For example: The following command will setup a hidden SSH user and restrict SSH access to be allowed by only that user: jamf createAccount -username casperadmin -realname "Casper Admin" -password capseradmin -home /Users/casperadmin -hiddenUser -admin -secureSSH This command can be used to display a popup…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Mac OS X Server 10.5: Parsing and Formatting for CalDAV

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal A key aspect of any groupware solution is the ability to share calendars. Leopard server brings the long-awaited ability to share calendars to the Mac OS X Server platform. Leopard uses CalDAV as the back end protocol for Calendar sharing. CalDAV is currently supported by Facebook, Novell Evolution, Zimbra, Drupal, Microsoft Exchange, Kerio and now Mac OS X Server. CalDAV looks at each event as an HTTP resource, giving users the ability to view events in a web browser. Each event is stored in the iCalendar format. A typical event in the iCalendar format: BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Apple Calendar//Calendar1//Charles Edge BEGIN:VTODO DTSTAMP:19980130T134500Z SEQUENCE:2 UID:uid4@host1.com ORGANIZER:MAILTO:riaa@us.gov…

  • Consulting,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    Apple's New Certification Track

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal The Tiger Apple Certified Systems Administrator (ACSA) track allowed certification candidates to accomplish the ACSA by getting an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) and then obtaining 7 points. Points were obtained by taking a variety of exams whose point values were based on the number of days of the corresponding class. Apple has now posted the ACSA requirements for 10.5. There is no longer a point system, which was a unique approach in the IT industry for achieving certifications. Instead, for the Leopard ACSA, Apple has now trimmed down the number of courses that are provided and require that all exams be completed to…