Apple re-released the third beta of the 2024 operating systems (macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, etc.) as the Public Beta last week. If you have not started testing the next major releases, this is when you really should start. This week we got the fourth round of betas and also a release candidate for the sixth update of the 2023 operating systems (macOS Sonoma 14.6, iOS 17.6, etc.) (Release likely next week.)
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This is Summer Camp issue #3 which means we are half way through the summer already! Two more Summer Camp editions to go before MacAdmins.news resumes its weekly schedule on September 6.
I think the bi-weekly (or "fortnightly" as our British friends say less ambiguously) schedule is working out great. The issues are less "thin" than they would be and I get to spend a Friday writing some other post.
See you in two weeks!
📰 News and Opinion
Steve Jobs’s Predictions from the 1983 International Design Conference
The Steve Jobs Archive has unveiled a new digital exhibit, “The Objects of Our Life,” that features exclusive footage of the 28-year-old Jobs at the 1983 International Design Conference. It’s a fabulous time capsule of the pre-digital era
⚙️ Apple Updates
Mac Security Compliance Tutorials
New tutorial from Apple on how to use the macOS Security Compliance tools. Note that you can avoid a lot of the command line interactions with Jamf Compliance Editor (regardless of which MDM you are using).
Apple's Next Operating Systems: How and Why to Test Them Now
We say it every year at this time: Now that Apple’s Apple’s beta software programs for its next operating systems are open (this year, that includes macOS Sequoia, iOS and iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, and visionOS 2), it’s time for you as an Apple admin to begin testing them.
Apple Maps Launches in Beta on the Web
Today, Apple has launched Apple Maps on the web in a surprise announcement. This beta version of Apple Maps on the web is accessible via the url beta.maps.apple.com
My first reaction to this was: "They didn't have this already!?"
Private Browsing 2.0
So, we decided to take Private Browsing further and add even more protection beyond the normal Safari experience. Last September, we added a whole new level of privacy protections to Private Browsing in Safari 17.0. And we enhanced it even further in Safari 17.2 and Safari 17.5. Plus, when a user enables them, all of the new safeguards are available in regular Safari browsing too.
The Real System Requirements for Apple’s 2024 Operating Systems
Not all devices that can install these operating systems can avail themselves of all features. Carving these features out of the support matrix creates a bit of additional confusion, but it’s better than dropping support entirely.
🔐 Security and Privacy
I was 7 words away from being spear-phished
If “Gregory” had added just 7 extra words to this page - “THIS PAGE MUST BE VIEWED IN FIREFOX” - I would have been screwed.
This Meeting Should Have Been an Email
A DPRK stealer, dubbed BeaverTail, targets users via a trojanized meeting app
How a North Korean Fake IT Worker Tried to Infiltrate Us
a series of suspicious activities were detected on that user account. Based on the SOC teams evaluation of the activities it was found this may have been intentional by the user and suspected he may be an Insider Threat/Nation State Actor
Dock Tile Plugins Could Be Used to Escalate Privileges
I recently came across a persistence feature in macOS that's tied to Dock tile plugins.
🔨 Support and Tutorials
Building a LaunchD Installer pkg for desktoppr (and other tools)
I admit I glossed over the process of building a package that installs and launches a LaunchAgent (or LaunchDaemon). Since that is not a trivial configuration, I will describe the details in this post.
How to enroll in Apple Automated Device Enrollment (ADE)
Apple Automated Device Enrollment (ADE) is a feature in Apple Business Manager (ABM) and Apple School Manager (ASM) that streamlines the deployment and setup of Apple devices by automatically enrolling them into Mobile Device Management (MDM) systems during activation, allowing preconfiguration and supervision.
How to Make Device Management Work for End Users
you also need to consider another impact that device management can have on your organization: How does it help your users?
How to Plan an Active Directory Migration
AD is a 25+ year-old technology that was built for a Window’s centric, on-premises world. It’s officially a legacy product that’s often the weakest link in any security platform.
If you're using the SOFA feed, please take note!
we have made some changes in the Extension Attribute scripts we provided in the SOFA project’s GitHub repo, and if you are using those scripts, we are asking you to use the new versions of these scripts in your Jamf Pro instances.
The feed URLs have also changed, see the articles for details.
🤖 Scripting and Automation
Publishing PowerShell Modules to PowerShell Gallery
Now that I have Get-MacInfo working correctly on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, it was time to post it to the PowerShell Gallery so that it can be installed the correct way for PowerShell modules.
The module is now available here.
When AppPkgCreator Isn’t Enough
The open source developer of this app provides separate downloads for Intel and Apple Silicon CPUs (I still have to support both architectures). There are two ways to workaround the lack of a Universal macOS installer
Command Line in Swift: the Different Alternatives
When building a command line tool using Swift, there are a few different approaches you can choose.
Also notable that [swift-argument-parser], which is my favored solution to build command line tools in Swift was updated to version 1.5.
Learn How to Use Jamf Pro API Roles and Clients
Unlike the credentials required to obtain a bearer token using Basic Authentication, API Clients provide a dedicated interface for controlling access to the Jamf Pro API and the Classic API, and, importantly, have no access to the Jamf Pro user interface.
How to get MacBook Display Size via Script
a way to programatically capture the size of the physical hardware display in inches for use in renaming the Apple laptops
🎧 Listen
Blue Friday
Alcyr Araujo about 'Blue Friday,' and we look at how Apple prevents it from happening on macOS.
The Hunger Games: Call Center Edition - One Headset, One Rep, You vs. Everyone Else
Joe grapples with a series of technical issues while trying to start his stream.
Patreon Show: From Chateau Chillaxin' to Client Chaos: Joe's French Fantasy and Sam's News
In this special episode of Command Control Power, the team shares engaging and personal stories ranging from client interactions to unique experiences.
Mike Boylan on Kandji Assignment Maps
Mike Boylan from Kandji joins the pod to talk about Kandji’s new approach to configurations management as part of their new Assignment Maps feature.
IT survey for small and medium-size enterprises
Chase Doelling about a new survey on SME IT trends for Q3 2024.
🎈Just for Fun
Literally iPhone
Introducing Literally iPhone, a colourful and fun wallpaper set for, you guessed it, iPhone.