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Big release week ahead
As expected, Apple released the release candidates for the dot-one update for all their platforms this week, in some cases there were two.
Somewhat unexpected, though: there was no invitation for an event. Even though all the signs and rumors still point to the OS releases with major new Apple Intelligence features, as well as new Macs with the M4 chip. Apple has even been teasing the releases on social media.
The lack of an event, even a pre-recorded one, is a change from past years. Very curious…
📸 Focus
Mac Admins Community Survey
Just a reminder to please participate in this MacAdmins Community Survey, to share your input on moderation practices and overall community experiences. Your thoughts will help make the Mac Admins Slack even better. You opinion is important, even (or especially) when you don't log in to Mac Admins Slack every day.
📰 News and Opinion
Community is Valuable; A List of My Favorite Community Resources
Jordy Thery on Tech Thoughts:
Some websites, blogs, articles and resources that I use as a Mac Admin.
⚙️ Apple Updates
Security research on Private Cloud Compute
To build public trust in our system, we’re making it possible for researchers to inspect and verify PCC’s security and privacy guarantees by releasing tools and resources including a comprehensive PCC Security Guide, the software binaries and source code of key PCC components, and — in a first for any Apple platform — a Virtual Research Environment, which allows anyone to install and test the PCC software on a Mac with Apple silicon.
Apple has published a trove of information in that post with links to a SecurityGuide and a Virtual Research Environment and much more.
Hands-On With Apple's Genmoji AI Emoji Generator in Beta
the Genmoji feature allows users to generate emoji-like stickers through text prompts entered directly into their Apple keyboards.
macOS Sequoia 15.1 next week
it’s likely that 15.1 will be released early next week, probably on Monday 28th. This article looks at what that brings, whether it’s safe to upgrade to Sequoia yet, and what comes next.
Apple implements six of OWA's DMA compliance requests
Apple has fixed 6 important issues with allowing browsers and Web Apps to compete on iOS (including allowing browser vendors to test their own browsers outside the EU) but a massive list of issues remain to be fixed in order to be in compliance with the DMA.
AirPods Firmware updates
Nearly all AirPod models received a new firmware version this week, but the AirPods Pro 2 received new feature: a hearing test, hearing aid, and hearing protection.
- Apple Business Essentials: Release notes, User Guide Revision History
🔐 Security and Privacy
DISA releases the Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide
The Defense Information Systems Agency recently approved the Apple macOS 15 (Sequoia) Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) which is effective immediately upon release.
macOS sometimes leaks traffic after system updates
We have found that you could be leaking traffic on macOS after system updates. To our current knowledge a reboot resolves it. We are currently investigating this and will follow up with more information.
New macOS vulnerability, “HM Surf”, could lead to unauthorized data access
The vulnerability, which we refer to as “HM Surf”, involves removing the TCC protection for the Safari browser directory and modifying a configuration file in the said directory to gain access to the user’s data, including browsed pages, the device’s camera, microphone, and location, without the user’s consent.
Is that authentication request genuine or fake?
it’s all too easy to give your password away to malware, or to a badly-behaved app that’s trying to work around macOS security rules.
It’s About The Journey: Fake Cloudflare Authenticator
we came across a suspicious-looking file on VirusTotal named Cloudflare Security Authenticator/cloudflare-auth-tauri
🔨 Support and Tutorials
Successfully run sudo commands are no longer logged by default to unified logging on macOS Sequoia
on macOS Sequoia if you run the same set of successful and unsuccessful attempts and then run the log command shown above, you would only see the unsuccessful attempts in the unified logs
Surprise! Deleting macOS’s /tmp directory can break things…
But there is what I’d consider a critical directory that isn’t part of SIP—that’s the /private/tmp or /tmp directory.
SOFA: OS Deferrals
I have mentioned SOFA, the Simple Organized Feed for Apple Software Updates by MacAdmins Open Source before. They have been continuously improving the data and interface. This week they added a new overview of the release dates of the OS releases and the 30, 60 and 90 day deferral dates for each.
Renew your SCIM Token for Directory Sync between Apple Business Manager and Microsoft Entra ID
If you federated your Apple Business Manager (ABM) with Microsoft Entra ID and turned on Directory Sync using System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM), you will be asked to renew the token.
Managed Apple Accounts which were out of scope for ABM or ASM federation may be changed to be in scope by the federation process
if there’s no actual user account in the IdP for that MAA, authentication becomes impossible if ABM or ASM is forwarding authentication requests to the IdP.
🤖 Scripting and Automation
JNUC 2024 Inspiration for DownWitVPP
The script checks for a Mac app bundle receipt to determine if a given Mac app is from the Mac App Store, and if so, determines whether or not it’s volume purchased from Apps and Books.
IntuneBrew
IntuneBrew is a PowerShell-based tool that simplifies the process of uploading and managing macOS applications in Microsoft Intune.
♻️ Updates and Releases
- Jamf Notifier (formerly DataJar Notifier)
- Power Monitor 1.2.3
- swiftDialog 2.5.3 Beta 2
- JamfSync 1.3.3
- kmfddm 0.6.0
🎧 Listen
Navigating Business Management with Benjamin Morales of Cirrus Partners
hosts dig into the business acumen of Benjamin Morales, owner of Cirrus Partners.
This industry profits from knowing you have cancer, explains Cody Venzke
On the internet, you can be shown an online ad because of your age, your address, your purchase history, your politics, your religion, and even your likelihood of having cancer.
🎈Just for Fun
iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max Internals Wallpapers
The iPhone 16 Pro & Pro Max were made entirely from scratch, with every component drawn inside Sketch.