If you were expecting a quiet pre-holiday time, think again. We got the (expected) RC for iOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2 this week (and a second RC for macOS), which makes the release next week very likely. Of course, this will only disturb your holiday spirits if you haven’t been testing, or if you have and found issues…
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In other news, the service that I have been using to send the email edition of this news summary for more than six years and 294 (!) editions, TinyLetter, will be discontinued by the end of February. It had been purchased by MailChimp a while back, so the writing had been on the wall. This is actually quite timely, since I had been dragging my feet on the rebranding for the email version, after moving the web part to MacAdmins.news.
I have already identified a new service that seems like a good fit and started testing. I will of course notify subscribers beforehand the actual switch, but consider this an early warning that there are changes coming!
📰 News and Opinion
Apple joins AI fray with release of model framework
Apple released MLX, a framework to build AI models.
⚙️ Apple Updates
- Apple School Manager: Welcome, Document revision history
- Apple Business Manager: Welcome, Document revision history
- Apple Business Essentials: Welcome, Document revision history
🔐 Security and Privacy
Jamf Threat Labs: Fake Lockdown Mode proof of concept
JTL security researchers discover how Lockdown Mode on iOS can be manipulated by a threat actor on compromised or jailbroken iPhones to trick users into believing that their device is protected by Lockdown Mode when in reality when in fact, it's not.
New proxy malware targets Mac users through pirated software
Cybercriminals are targeting Mac users with a new proxy trojan malware bundled with popular, copyrighted macOS software being offered on warez sites.
🔨 Support and Tutorials
Terminal Secure Keyboard Entry and sudo with Touch ID on macOS – Alan Siu's Blog
But keep in mind that Secure Keyboard Entry serves a purpose. It protects from other (malicious) apps listening in on Terminal keystrokes. Since you frequently enter passwords in Terminal, this is quite sensitive. So, I don’t necessarily recommend disabling this setting, but I appreciate Alan documenting this behavior.
Screen Recording Options - Dan K. Snelson
Free and Paid Options for Capturing macOS Screen Recordings
How to prepare for the Apple Device Support Exam | SimpleMDM
Ready to push your career forward and ace the Apple Device Support Exam?
Apple IT Training and Certification: What You Need to Know
Apple has created two new online training programs for IT admins, covering device support and deployment. Arek Dreyer took them both, and here's what he thinks.
🤖 Scripting and Automation
Breadcrumbs - Dan K. Snelson
Good, better and best methods to leave and retrieve client-side breadcrumbs with Jamf Pro
Microsoft 365 Reset (2.0.0b1) via Jamf Pro Self Service - Dan K. Snelson
A quick-and-dirty hack to allow Jamf Pro admins to easy deploy the entire Microsoft_Office_Reset_2.0.0.pkg during the beta phase before the app-specific .PKGs are available.
♻️ Updates and Releases
📺 Watch
JamfNation User Conference 2023 videos now available on YouTube
There is, unfortunately no playlist grouping the videos, which makes it a bit hard to link to them, I am linking to the video section which shows the latest uploaded videos, instead.
🎧 Listen
Apple @ Work Podcast: Layered security - 9to5Mac
In this episode of Apple @ Work, I talk to Peter Membrey, Chief Engineering Officer at ExpressVPN, about its new Keys password product, passkeys vs one-time passwords, building for simplicity, and more.
Episode 344: Kevin M. White on Apple Docs Updates – Mac Admins Podcast
The Apple Platform Deployment Guide is one of the most impressive and important documents that Apple updates about device management with Apple Devices. This week, we’ll be talking about all the up…
Why a ransomware gang tattled on its victim, with Allan Liska: Lock and Code S04E24 | Malwarebytes
This week on Lock and Code, we speak with Allan Liska about why a ransomware group tattled on its own victim, and what to expect next year.