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…
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Install Directory Services on a Synology
People who have managed Open Directory and will be moving to Synology will note that directory services really aren’t nearly as complicated was we’ve made them out to be for years. This is because Apple was protecting us from doing silly things to break our implementations. It was also because Apple bundled a number of seemingly disparate technologies into ldap. It’s worth mentioning that LDAP on a Synology is LDAP. We’re not federating services, we’re not kerberizing services, we’re not augmenting schemas, etc. We can leverage the directory service to provide attributes though, and have that central phone book of user and group memberships we’ve come to depend on directory…
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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…
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Install DNS Services on Synology
DNS is an integral service to most modern networks. The Domain Name System, or DNS is comprised of hierarchical and decentralized Domain Name Servers, or DNS Servers. This is how we connect to computers and the websites that reside on computers by their names, rather than having to memorize the IP addresses of every single computer out there. So you get to type https://krypted.com/ and come to my website instead of typing the IP address. Or more likely, Facebook.com, but just because my website is older, I’m not mad about that. No really… So you have a macOS Server and you need to take your DNS records out of it…
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Install the RADIUS Server on a Synology
Don’t let the name fool you, RADIUS, or Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service is more widely used today than ever before. This protocol enables remote access to servers and networks and is frequently a fundamental building block of VPNs, wireless networks and other high-security services that have nothing to do with dialup bulletin boards from the 80s. I’ve run RADIUS services on Mac servers for years. But as that code starts to become stale and no longer supported, let’s look at running a basic RADIUS service on a network appliance, such as a Synology. To get started, open Package Manager, click All in the sidebar and then search for RADIUS. Click Install for…
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Update Packages on Synology
Services that run on a Synology are constantly being updated. Software updates for the binaries and other artifacts can quickly and easily be updated. To do so, open the Synology web interface and then open Package Center. From Package Center, click Update for each or Update All to upgrade all services at once, as seen below.You will then be prompted to verify that you want to run the update. Any services that are being updated will restart and so end users might find those services unresponsive or have to log back in after the service comes back online.
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Configure Access To File Shares On WD MyCloud
The WD MyCloud is a pretty single-purpose device. It’s a disk with a network interface, and as with Direct Attached Storage, the MyCloud Network Attached Storage is pretty easy to connect to. First, let’s look at connecting to the web interface via the menu item, where you can drag and drop files to the device. Once the device is configured, use the WD menu item to see your device. From there, click on the name of your device. Alternatively, you could visit mycloud.com and sign into the web interface there. In both cases, you’ll see a list of files and then in the sidebar, you’ll see those options to configure settings,…
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Install mySQL on macOS
macOS might be the easiest platform to install MySQL on. To do so, simply download the MySQL installation package from the MySQL Download site. I like to use the third link (the DMG). Once downloaded, run the package. The package will ask you a few questions and you can easily just select the default choice during the installation process. Once installed, you’ll be prompted that a temporary password has been used for your MySQL instance. The password will get you in the first time, so you can change it. Once you have documented the password, open System Preferences and click on MySQL in the bottom row of System Preference Panes. Click Start MySQL…
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Replace the VPN Server from macOS Server
Export macOS Server DataWe’re not going to import this, as it only takes a few seconds to configure new settings. Additionally, if you have outstanding services built on macOS Server, you might be able to pull this off without touching client systems. First, let’s grab which protocols are enabled, running the following from Terminal: sudo serveradmin settings vpn:Servers:com.apple.ppp.pptp:enabled sudo serveradmin settings vpn:Servers:com.apple.ppp.l2tp:enabled Next, we’ll get the the IP ranges used so we can mimic those (or change them) in the new service: sudo serveradmin settings vpn:Servers:com.apple.ppp.pptp:IPv4:DestAddressRanges Now let’s grab the DNS servers handed out so those can be recreated: sudo serveradmin settings vpn:Servers:com.apple.ppp.pptp:DNS:OfferedServerAddresses:_array_indexsudo serveradmin settings vpn:Servers:com.apple.ppp.l2tp:DNS:OfferedServerAddresses:_array_index Finally, if you’re using…
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Embracing (and managing) tech for your iGen child
I have a new article for Thrive Global (another Arianna Huffington property) available at Thrive Global. This one is on “Tools and best practices on monitoring and teaching your kids responsible mobile device use.” It starts out like this: My world changed when I awoke one day to find my 4-year-old daughter with a tablet in her hands, watching Transformers. The sight unleashed a handful of worries I hadn’t before experienced. Prior to that morning, I knew her to be fan of Star Wars figures, Legos and stuffed animals. And while I wasn’t displeased by her choice to watch a Michael Bay movie, I did start thinking about what else…