• Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    Creating a LaunchAgent

    May 17, 2007

    If you want to make a program start at a certain time or always run on Mac OS X then you should use launchd. Launchd can start your web, FTP or SMB daemon’s or even an application or open a file. Launchd uses property lists to identify various parameters for the agents you will be creating. Using Property List editor, create a new list and add the following items: Root dictionary Label string ProgramArguments array OnDemand boolean Set if we are going to use TextEdit as an example, then set them like so: Label: com.apple.TextEdit OnDemand: false ProgramArguments: one child, a string: /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit Save this file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.TextEdit.plist or /Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.TetEdit.plist…

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  • Kerio,  Mac OS X,  Microsoft Exchange Server

    Entourage 2004 and Exchange 2003

    April 18, 2007

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal Microsoft Entourage interacts with Microsoft Exchange differently than a typical Microsoft Office client. There are some fundamental concerns that an organization should have when using Entourage with Exchange. One difference that is important to point out early in the process is the fact that Microsoft Entourage can cause Exchange database files to become bloated with streaming information in the *.stm files that is not otherwise needed. There are 3 ways to combat this when/if it occurs: 1) Run a eseutil command while the database is stopped to defrag the database. When using eseutil you will need a minimum amount of freespace available that is…

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  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Ubuntu,  Unix,  Windows Server,  Windows XP

    TrueCrypt

    April 15, 2007

    Great encryption software, although there is no full disk encryption for the Mac from TrueCrypt I hope to see it eventually.  By the way, I didn’t mention this yet: it’s free. http://www.truecrypt.org/ UPDATE: While TrueCrypt does not do full disk encryption (FDE) for the boot volume still, it does do FDE for other volumes fairly easily and of course free.  If you need FDE for boot volumes on Mac OS X check out PGP and CheckPoint FDE.  PGP Desktop is easy to install and use and has a great command line interface.  CheckPoint though seems to be a bit more mature and has an easier methodology for mass deployment.

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  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    Mac OS X: Command Line Disk Management

    April 11, 2007

    Now that you are looking at a command prompt on the target server use the diskutil command to prepare the hard drives for installation.  As with the Disk Utility application, double (nay, triple) check your drives to make sure that either they are backed up or you absolutely positively do not need any of the data they contain, or you will not ever likely see your data again (my precious).  When you run diskutil list you will see a listing of all partitions on your disk as can be seen below:    #:                       TYPE NAME         …

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