So, we got a surprise update this week. macOS 11.6 and iOS 14.8 and despite the version numbers it does look as if they are “merely” security updates. They patch fairly serious vulnerabilities and there seem to be no other fixes or features, but the version numbering seems odd for a security update.
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Even worse, there was no full installer, even after waiting a day or so. At first the communication from Apple was that there would be no full installer. This is problematic because the full installer is the best or only way to automate updates on Big Sur. Surprisingly, that message changed, “due to overwhelming feedback.” So great job on the feedback, everyone! (And keep providing it through all your available channels.)
Also in security, a malware-laden version of iTerm2 appeared this week. Apple has since revoked the certificate in question and most Malware tools should recognize it. This is a reminder that it can be fairly easy to be tricked into installing something malevolent.
Oh, and yes, there was an Apple Event with new iPhones, Watch, and iPads. Is it weird that the new iPad mini excites me most!?
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News and Opinion
macOS 12 Monterey and iOS 15
macOS and iOS Updates
- About the security content of macOS Big Sur 11.6
- About the security content of Security Update 2021-005 Catalina (Download)
- About the security content of iOS 14.8 and iPadOS 14.8
- About the security content of watchOS 7.6.2
- Apple has just released macOS Big Sur 11.6, a Catalina Security Update, and MRT 1.84 – Howard Oakley
- macOS 11.6 – Michael Tsai
- macOS Big Sur 11.6 Update (20G165) Patches 2 Serious Exploits – Mr. Macintosh
- What has changed in macOS 11.6? – Howard Oakley
- Zero-click iMessage Attacks – Michael Tsai
- Apple releases emergency update: Patch, but don’t panic – Malwarebytes Labs
- Victor (groob): “We’ve now heard that due to overwhelming feedback, Apple created an “exception” and the 11.6 installer is coming later this week. Please file feedback asking that Apple always release full installers, not just this one time. It’s critical that enterprises/edu users have one.”
MacAdmins on Twitter
- Darren Wallace: “TIL if you have two Jamf Pro instances linked to the same Intune instance, and enrol a device fully via Jamf Pro ‘A’ you need to trash the computer record in Jamf Pro ‘A’ before you can register the device in Intune properly through Jamf Pro ‘B'”
- Peter Bukowinski: “Working in a remote shell with a tool that writes binary files (e.g. tcpdump) and don’t have an easy way to transfer files locally?
bzip2 -9 filename; base64 filename.bz2Copy the resulting text. Then in a local shell,echo "[PASTED_TEXT]" | base64 -d > filename.bz2“ - Howard Oakley: “Also worth noting that, among others, SMB is updated from 3.6 to 3.6.1. How significant that might be is something Apple doesn’t seem to want to explain.”
- Felipe Baez: “If you try installing an application that requires Rosetta on a M1 Mac, make sure you’re online otherwise you’ll get a very deceiving message from Apple. They should definitely rephrase that error.” (Image)
- John Opdenakker: “The plural of regex is regrets.” (via Andrew Laurence)
- Derek Parker: “I once read a tweet which explained tar commands in the form of two mnemonics: Need to untar?
-xzf— “extract ze files” Need to tar?-czf— “compress ze files” And I think about it every single time I use tar. Wish I knew who to attribute this to, but it’s really great.”
Security and Privacy
Support and HowTos
- Setting up software deployment groups using a Jamf Pro Extension Attribute – Rich Trouton
- Jamf & LDAP for fun and profit – Richard Purves
- Authentication and Identity Integration options for macOS – Richard Mallion, dataJAR
- Running software automatically using launchd – Howard Oakley
- How to keep a Jamf Pro instance healthy – MacStuff
- Working with Extension Attribute Templates – MacStuff
- Speed up your Adobe package creation and downloads – Patrick van Nerum
- How to run an app or tool at startup – Howard Oakley
- Enrolling with management server failed with 500 status – Alan Siu
- How to work with configuration profiles – MacStuff
Scripting and Automation
- Writing resilient docklib scripts – Elliot Jordan (I missed this post last week, sorry!)
- Trusting Certificates in System Keychain without Prompting – Twocanoes Software
- adamselby/apple-ports-test: Script that tests for Apple services connectivity including APNS
- How to run commands and scripts on Efficiency cores – Howard Oakley
- Setting up an ad-hoc TCP listener for connection testing using Python’s web service – Rich Trouton
Apple Support
Updates and Releases
To Listen
- Red Team Mac-hinations at Defcon – Mac Admins Podcast
- Why backups aren’t a “silver bullet” against ransomware, with Matt Crape – Lock and Code, Malwarebytes Labs
- Education Leadership at Jamf – Jamf After Dark
- Living & Dying By The Sword — Command-Control-Power
- Flashcast 06: California Streaming – Mac Admins Podcast
- Real or Fake: examining Apple’s top reasons for using a Mac at work – Apple @ Work Podcast, 9to5Mac
Just for Fun
Support
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