"Safely" is strong language that implies software digitally signed by Apple does not contain malware. In my experience, their system is more a sieve than the condom it purports to be.
Safely open apps on your Mac
31–40 of 61 posts
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#32This page was updated yesterday to remove the following text from the final section, which was added in November 2020: In addition, over the the next year we will introduce several changes to our security checks: • A new encrypted protocol for Developer ID certificate revocation checks • Strong protections against server failure • A new preference for users to opt out of these security protections
> A new encrypted protocol for Developer ID certificate revocation checks Done. > Strong protections against server failure Unknown, but presumably done. > A new preference for users to opt out of these security protections Never done. Apple lied. https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/ocsp-privacy.html
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
> as a developer you should expect that none of your users will have disabled those protections and your release plan should have notarizing as a step. I don't want to spend $99/year for the rest of eternity for the privilege of having a slightly less scary warning when my users run my app for the first time. Thus, the readme for the one macOS app I made that has gained a bit of popularity instructs users to right-cl…
Apple is probably lucky that so few people use Macs, because the EU would have a field day with this notarization bullshit if they'd managed to get a 10% market share on computers.
windows is/was laden with malware, requiring antivirus, just full of crap for decades.
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple is probably lucky that so few people use Macs, because the EU would have a field day with this notarization bullshit if they'd managed to get a 10% market share on computers.
Yet somehow, Windows 10 and 11 are dripping with contempt for the user, but the EU still hasn't acknowledged that as an antitrust problem worth investigating. Their insistence on pushing users into Edge alone should be enough IMO. Stuff like Edge "accidentally" opening on startup and some links "accidentally" opening in Edge instead of your default browser and your default browser setting getting "accidentally" reset…
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple is probably lucky that so few people use Macs, because the EU would have a field day with this notarization bullshit if they'd managed to get a 10% market share on computers.
how is it bullshit? windows is/was laden with malware, requiring antivirus, just full of crap for decades.
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s helpful. Broadly speaking, as a developer you should expect that none of your users will have disabled those protections and your release plan should have notarizing as a step. Asking users to disable system protection, or at the very least fiddle with system settings is a non-starter.
> as a developer you should expect that none of your users will have disabled those protections and your release plan should have notarizing as a step. I don't want to spend $99/year for the rest of eternity for the privilege of having a slightly less scary warning when my users run my app for the first time. Thus, the readme for the one macOS app I made that has gained a bit of popularity instructs users to right-cl…
In that sense yes that is understandable.
As an American developer, $99/year is something I can afford, can write off as a business expense, and hopefully make back with software proceeds.
It should be noted, keeping the bar annoying but not prohibitive with a token fee does cut down on both junk submissions and malware.
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple is probably lucky that so few people use Macs, because the EU would have a field day with this notarization bullshit if they'd managed to get a 10% market share on computers.
Yet somehow, Windows 10 and 11 are dripping with contempt for the user, but the EU still hasn't acknowledged that as an antitrust problem worth investigating. Their insistence on pushing users into Edge alone should be enough IMO. Stuff like Edge "accidentally" opening on startup and some links "accidentally" opening in Edge instead of your default browser and your default browser setting getting "accidentally" reset…
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#38What Apple probably doesn't want you to know is that you can also run these two commands to disable the notarization requirement, effectively reverting your security level to non-paranoid pre-Catalina: sudo spctl --master-disable sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security GKAutoRearm -bool false This reveal add and select a third option, "any source", under "allow applications downloaded from". The s…
> The setting will still occasionally reset after installing some system updates because it's 2023 and computers these days are extremely unreliable when it comes to remembering user preferences. The sudo touchid mod gets reset so often now that I've stopped bothering with it. Ok, you win apple!
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't want to necessarily disable it. What I do want is to be able to click "yes yes, I don't care this time / ever for this binary, fuck off." I don't even mind if you make me fingerprint auth for it. What drives me insane: the inconsistent/invisible functionality around this stuff. In Ventura, if you double-click an unsigned app, it won't run, with a big scary message that it cannot be verified. ...except if you…
This is not remotely obvious Apple stopped emphasising discoverability a long time ago.
But this makes me curious! What versions of Mac OS nailed discoverability and how? I'd love to look at old videos and/or emulate hardware for them and play around.
Re: Safely open apps on your Mac
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Making the option that bypasses the security measures less obvious is a feature. This is a case of assuming that developers are Apple’s model user when it’s non-developers who are likely to install “Macsweeper” because a popup ad told them they had a virus.
Additionally, discoverability is relative to experience: I’m a developer and, as such, I can be assumed to know about right-click menus. So putting something there that’s more intended for me _is_ designing a discoverable user interface.