What do you do when iTunes launches with an error that a file is missing? Reinstall it. But if it isn’t in the Mac App Store, how do you do that? Easy peasy. Go to https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ provide an email address and click on download. Once downloaded, run the package installer and you’re done.
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The Apple Toolchain
The following is a list of common tools used to manage Apple devices. Do you use something that isn’t on this list? Comment it and I’ll try and add it! In order to remain vendor agnostic I am trying to list solutions in alphabetical order by category. A brief explanation of each category, being as follows: Antivirus: Solutions for scanning Macs for viruses and other malware. Automation Tools: Scripty tools used to automate management on the Mac Backup: I highly recommend bundling or reselling some form of backup service to your customers, whether home, small business, or large enterprises. The flexibility to restore a device from a backup when needed…
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Check the EFI Version of a Mac
I’d written an efi version checker. But the lovely Andrew Seago texted me one that’s better than mine. So I present it here: current_efi_version=`/usr/libexec/efiupdater | grep "Raw" | cut -d ':' -f2 | sed 's/ //'` echo "current_efi_version $current_efi_version" latest_efi_version=`ls -La /usr/libexec/firmwarecheckers/eficheck/EFIAllowListShipping.bundle/allowlists/ | grep "$current_efi_version"` echo "latest_efi_version $latest_efi_version" if [ "$latest_efi_version" == "" ]; then echo "EFI FAILED" exit 1 else echo "EFI PASSED" exit 0 fi
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Enable Automatic Certificate Renewals In High Sierra
When you push a certificate out in a profile, the certificate is statically stored on a Mac. If you are delivering a certificate over the air and in a device profile that is seperate from the MDM payload then the Active Directory Certificate payload can enable automatic certificate renewals. You can enable automatic renewals with a defaults command (or manage the preference domain via MDM) using the following command: defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mdm-client AutoRenewCertificatesEnabled -bool YES Note: Because they’re already dymanic and all, SCEP payloads cannot be automatically renewed.
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MacSysAdmin Presentation
Below is my pesentation from MacSysAdmin, if you’re into such things. MSA_2017
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Disable Password Hints in macOS
You can easily disable password hints in macOS by opening the System Preferences, clicking on the “Users & Groups” System Preference pane and then clicking on Login Options. From there, uncheck the box for “Show password hints” You can also disable this feature using the com.apple.loginwindow defaults domain. Send the following through a script to do so: defaults write com.apple.loginwindow RetriesUntilHint -int 0
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SIP-Protected Apps In macOS
The following is a list of application bundles that come pre-installed with macOS that are protected by SIP: /Applications/App Store.app /Applications/Automator.app /Applications/Calculator.app /Applications/Calendar.app /Applications/Chess.app /Applications/Contacts.app /Applications/DVD Player.app /Applications/Dashboard.app /Applications/Dictionary.app /Applications/FaceTime.app /Applications/Font Book.app /Applications/Game Center.app /Applications/Image Capture.app /Applications/Launchpad.app /Applications/Mail.app /Applications/Maps.app /Applications/Messages.app /Applications/Mission Control.app /Applications/Notes.app /Applications/Photo Booth.app /Applications/Photos.app /Applications/Preview.app /Applications/QuickTime Player.app /Applications/Reminders.app /Applications/Safari.app /Applications/Siri.app /Applications/Stickies.app /Applications/System Preferences.app /Applications/TextEdit.app /Applications/Time Machine.app /Applications/Utilities /Applications/iBooks.app /Applications/iTunes.app /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app /Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app /Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup.app /Applications/Utilities/Bluetooth File Exchange.app /Applications/Utilities/Boot Camp Assistant.app /Applications/Utilities/ColorSync Utility.app /Applications/Utilities/Console.app /Applications/Utilities/Digital Color Meter.app /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app /Applications/Utilities/Grab.app /Applications/Utilities/Grapher.app /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app /Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant.app /Applications/Utilities/Script Editor.app /Applications/Utilities/System Information.app /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app /Applications/Utilities/VoiceOver Utility.app /Applications/Utilities/X11.app Note: Files located in /System, /usr, /bin, and /sbin are recursively protected as well.
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macOS Startup Modifier Keys
The macOS High Sierra update has netted a few weird upgrades where I had to start over, restore, or boot into safe mode (e.g. if you DEP a device that forces encryption in Sierra and then gets into a loop after a High Sierra update is started). So I’ve been using modifier keys more than usual. The following startup modifier keys are available in macOS High Sierra: Alt or Option key: Access Mac Startup Manager, which allows you to select a wireless network and then choose which volume you want to boot to. C: Mostly legacy, boots to volumes on a CD, DVD, or USB drive. Command-Option-P-R: Resets the parameter RAM (or…
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Setup The Caching Service On macOS High Sierra
High Sierra sees the Caching service moved out of macOS Server and into the client macOS. This means administrators no longer need to run the Server app on caching servers. Given the fact that the Caching service only stores volatile data easily recreated by caching updates again, there’s no need to back the service up, and it doesn’t interact with users or groups, so it’s easily divested from the rest of the Server services. And the setup of the Caching service has never been easier. To do so, first open System Preferences and click on the Sharing System Preferences pane. From here, click on the checkbox for Content Caching to…
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Create Bootable Installation Media For High Sierra Installations
A bootable installer is one of the fastest ways to install a Mac. Rather than copy the installer to a local drive you can run it right off a USB disk (or Thunderbolt if you dare). Such a little USB drive would be similar to the sticks that came with the older MacBook Air, when we were all still sitting around wondering how you would ever install the OS on a computer with no optical media or Ethernet otherwise. Luckily, Apple loves us. To make a bootable USB/flash drive of High Sierra like the one that used to come with the MacBook Air, first name the USB drive. I’ll use hsinstall…