Category: MacAdmins

Nudge deadlines in local timezones

Kevin M. Cox March 22, 2023 4 Comments

Nudge icon A frequent request for the open source tool Nudge is local timezone support. Nudge was coded to use UTC for configuring and enforcing the installation deadline for macOS updates.

This means that global companies have had to pick a single deadline for their entire fleet. Alternatively they could deploy multiple configurations for different regions. Neither option is ideal.

Bob Gendler set out to code a local timezone feature only to find out, to everyone’s surprise, that it already exists!

Read on for the details…

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Microsoft Outlook for Mac switching to weekly releases

Kevin M. Cox March 20, 2023 1 Comment

Starting with the release of Office for Mac 2016 then continuing with 2019, 2021 and O365, Microsoft has always released updates for the core Office apps on a monthly basis.

That’s about to change, kind of…

In February, Microsoft announced (login required) that updates to Outlook for Mac would soon start releasing weekly. That change goes live tomorrow, March 21, 2023.

Read on for the details…

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DFU Blaster: An even easier method to put a MacBook into DFU mode

Kevin M. Cox February 22, 2023 6 Comments

DFU Blaster icon Only a month after my post An easier method to put a MacBook into DFU mode, Timothy Perfitt has one-uped himself.

Over the weekend Perfitt shared his latest app, DFU Blaster, on YouTube and Mastodon.

I’m happy to report that it is by far the easiest method yet to put an Apple Silicon Mac into DFU mode.

Read on for the details…

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Nudge signing certificate changed

Kevin M. Cox February 7, 2023 2 Comments

Nudge icon The signing certificate for the popular MacAdmins tool Nudge was changed tonight and action may be needed on your part.

Nudge version 1.1.11 was released but contains no code changes, only those related to the build process and the signing certificate.

This will require a configuration profile update if you are managing the login item for Nudge in the com.apple.servicemanagement payload.

Read on for the details.

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Configuring Nudge for macOS delta upgrades

Kevin M. Cox January 31, 2023 3 Comments

Nudge icon A great new feature introduced with macOS 13 Ventura is the ability for users to perform a delta upgrade. As opposed to the traditional “Install macOS Ventura.app”, which is still available, the delta upgrade takes place entirely in System Preferences’ Software Update pane and is less than half the size.

This new delta method also means that for the first time standard (non-admin) users can perform a major macOS upgrade if they are running 12.3 or higher.

Nudge is an open source application from Erik Gomez that allows MacAdmins to encourage their users to install macOS updates. Because it is no longer possible to install macOS updates without user input, a tool like Nudge is needed. Old methods to script and automate softwareupdate no longer work.

However, Nudge was written before the introduction of these new delta upgrades, and traditional configurations need adjustment to account for them. Thankfully members of the MacAdmins community worked out the needed changes. Read on for the details.

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An easier method to put a MacBook into DFU mode

Kevin M. Cox January 23, 2023 6 Comments

Apple Configurator icon Using DFU mode and Apple Configurator is the fastest way to erase and perform a clean installation of macOS on an Apple Silicon Mac.

Unfortunately Apple’s official documentation to Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator has always given users trouble.

Thankfully there is an easier method I’ve been using with near 100% success for the past year and a half. This method isn’t new but I frequently come across users who struggle to initiate a DFU so I want to help spread the word further.

Read on for the details…
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Deploying Docker Desktop 4.15+ with Munki

Kevin M. Cox December 31, 2022 1 Comment

Docker Desktop icon Docker made significant changes to the unattended installation process of Docker Desktop on macOS in the minor update between versions 4.14.1 and 4.15 this month, causing automated installation of the new version to fail.

Daz Wallace was the first MacAdmin to notice the change and begin digging in. I’m not going to rehash all his discovery here so make sure to read his blog post for the details.

Read on for the new scripts I am using with my Docker Desktop deployments via Munki going forward.

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Change even more Finder options using defaults

Kevin M. Cox July 24, 2022 1 Comment

Last month Charles Edge shared a blog post titled, “Change Default Finder Views Using defaults” where he outlined how to switch to List view in Finder from the command line. I’m a big fan of that change and the command shared was just one of a dozen options I configured for new users at my old job.

My list is by no means comprehensive, but read on for same additional commands.

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This Mac is Locked. Try again in 24,284,826 minutes

Kevin M. Cox July 23, 2022 20 Comments

My team recently had an unusual MDM lock ticket escalated to us. The user had already been provided with the PIN from our MDM, however the lock screen said they needed to wait 24,284,826 minutes (over 46 years!) before they could enter the PIN.

This was a new one for me so I immediately jumped on the MacAdmins Slack to see if anyone had dealt with this problem before. The fix turned out to be relatively simple, read on for the details.

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Deadline timer preference added to Microsoft AutoUpdate

Kevin M. Cox July 17, 2022 1 Comment

Microsoft quietly added a new preference for AutoUpdate last month that allows MacAdmins to override the length of the default 60 minute deadline timer. The preference works starting with version 4.48 of MAU.

More details about update deadlines and this timer are available in my article Forcing Microsoft Office update deadlines with MAU from July 2019.

The new preference key is “UpdateDeadline.FinalCountDown” and is under the “com.microsoft.autoupdate2” preference domain. The data type is an integer that represents minutes.

I have already added the new preference to the ProfileManifests project that powers ProfileCreator, iMazing Profile Editor and Jamf JSON Schemas.

If you have any questions please join us in the #microsoft-autoupdate channel of the MacAdmins Slack.

Thanks to Darrin Pertschi for making me aware of this new preference.