Ever wonder what binaries have dependencies on a given binary? The otool command allows you to look up what dependencies a binary has, but there’s some extra work to get to reversing it. So looto.sh. https://github.com/krypted/looto https://github.com/krypted/looto.git
-
-
Reset Connections To ApplePay and Health With ckksctl
I’ve seen a few issues now where ApplePay and Health stopped working properly on a Mac and iOS device and when you fixed one, it seemed to wreck the connection with the other. Turns out that the information on a local system is managed with the new(ish) ckksctl command. Using ckksctl is pretty straight forward. First, let’s look at what’s on the Mac, using the ckksctl command with the status verb: /usr/sbin/ckksctl status There will be a section for ApplePay and another for Health. Here, if the services are configured, you should see the following in that section: CloudKit account: logged in Now, let’s force a pull of what’s in…
-
Inspecting and creating Mac installer packages on Linux
Awhile back, I wrote a tool to rewrap ipa files that I called ipasign: https://github.com/krypted/ipasign/blob/master/ipasign.py. But I wanted to do something similar for the Mac, and specifically have it run in Linux. So looking at what you’d need to be able to do, let’s start with viewing the contents of a flattened Apple package. This command will show you the files installed as a part of the Node JS package. Why did I choose that package? It was sitting on my desktop… pkgutil --files org.nodejs.node.pkg Now, this logic is available because you’re running pkgutil on a Mac. But that can’t run in Linux. So what would you do if you wanted…
-
The ins and outs of using tmutil to backup, restore, and review Time Machine backups
Since some of the more interesting features of Time Machine Server are gone, let’s talk about doing even more than what was previously available in that interface by using the command line to access Time Machine. As with any other command, you should probably start by reading the man page. For Time Machine, that would be: man tmutil Sometimes, the incantation of the command you’re looking for might even be available at the bottom of the man page. Feel free to use the space bar a few times to skip to the bottom, or q to quit the man interface. In addition to the man page, there’s a help command,…
-
Use Backblaze to Backup Mac
Backblaze is a great cloud and on-prem backup tool for Mac and Windows. You can download Backblaze at https://secure.backblaze.com/download.htm. Once downloaded, extract the DMG and open the Backblaze Installer. At the Installer screen, enter your existing credentials or create a new account and click Install Now.The drive will then be analyzed for backup.By default, once the analysis is complete, the computer will immediately start backing up to the Backblaze cloud. Let’s click on the Settings button to configure how the Backblaze app will work.This opens the Backblaze System Preference pane. At the Settings tab, you’ll see a list of drives to back up and an option to set when to receive warnings…
-
Backup A Mac With Acronis True Image
Acronis True Image is a cloud-based backup solution. Acronis True Image is available at https://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/trueimage/2018mac/. To install, download it and then open the zip. Drag the Acronis True Image application to your /Applications directory. Then open Acronis True Image from /Applications. The first time you open it, you’ll be prompted to access the licensing agreement. Once accepted, you’ll be prompted to create an account with Acronis. Provide your credentials or enter new ones to create a trial account. At the activation screen, provide a serial or click Start Trial.At the main screen, you’ll first want to choose the source (by default it’s the drive of the machine) and then click on the…
-
Migrate From macOS To A Synology Based VPN
Synology is able to do everything a macOS Server could do, and more. So if you need to move your VPN service, it’s worth looking at a number of different solutions. The most important question to ask is whether you actually need a VPN any more. If you have git, mail/groupware, or file services that require remote access then you might want to consider moving these into a hosted environment somewhere. But if you need access to the LAN and you’re a small business without other servers, a Synology can be a great place to host your VPN services. Before you setup anything new, first snapshot your old settings. Let’s…
-
Export data from Open Directory for migrating users and groups
Before we have this conversation, I want to give you some bad news. Your passwords aren’t going to migrate. The good news is that you only do directory services migrations every decade or two. The better news is that I’m not actually sure you need a directory service in the traditional sense that you’ve built directory services. With Apple’s Enterprise Connect and Nomad, we no longer need to bind in order to get Kerberos functionality. With MCX long-dead(ish) you’re now better off doing policies through configuration profiles. So where does that leave us? There are some options. On Prem Active Directory. I can setup Active Directory in about 10 minutes.…
-
Lecture Your Sudoers
/etc/Sudoers is a file that controls what happens when you use sudo. /etc/sudo_lecture is a file that Apple includes in macOS that tells your users that what they’re about to do is dangerous. You can enable a lecture, which will be displayed each time sudo is invoked. To turn on the lecture option in sudo, open /etc/sudoers and add the following two lines (if they’re not already there): Defaults lecture=alwaysDefaults lecture_file = “/etc/sudo_lecture” Then save the file and edit /etc/sudo_lecture. Apple has kindly included the following Warning: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your typing when…
-
New Page Explaining Apple MDM Even Further
Apple has published a new page that goes through all of the settings and commands available via MDM and explains many in much more detail. This is available at http://help.apple.com/deployment/mdm/. The new guide is a great addition to the work @Mosen has done at https://mosen.github.io/profiledocs/ in terms of explaining what each setting, command, and payload do. And let’s not forget the definitive MDM protocol reference guide, available at https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/Miscellaneous/Reference/MobileDeviceManagementProtocolRef/1-Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40017387-CH1-SW1. Overall, I’m excited to see so much information now available about MDM, including how to develop an MDM properly, what each setting does, and now what you should expect out of an MDM!