Enterprise Mac | Tom Yager

OS X Security: How I became a spam kingpin, went legit and turned detective

Tom Yager — 2008-05-13T17:07:06-08:00

I'm picking up the first-person account of a Leopard Server root exploit where it left off from my preceding post. I did slam the door on the ClamAV exploiter, and close observation for a couple of weeks allayed my concerns that any lasting hole had been blown in my OS X Leopard Server's security. I felt quite pleased with myself. My mail server was back on-line and healthy, and days of backed-up e-mails, including the requisite quantity of spam, started streaming in. I was a happy camper in April. Then came May, which has been an unkind month thus... READ MORE

OS X Security: Diary of an OS X Leopard Server root exploit

Tom Yager — 2008-05-10T17:37:03-08:00

Check for updates daily! The "weekly" default got my Xserve cracked. First things first: Go to each of your systems running Leopard Server, up through release 10.5.2, and make sure that Security Update 2008-002 is installed. Download it from http://www.apple.com/support and install it manually if you're not sure. There is no harm in attempting to install an Apple update twice. There is great potential danger in leaving a Leopard Server system on-line without it. In mid-April, I was set upon by some 'nethole that I managed to flush out of my Xserve while he was still wriggling and, by... READ MORE

Ahead of the Curve: Back to the Mac

Tom Yager — 2008-04-16T11:36:41-08:00

Several months ago, I determined that my years-long fondness required reexamination. I quietly took a break from the Mac to get some perspective, to check out Vista, AMD, and Longhorn (Windows Server 2008) untainted by Apple's PR and uninfluenced by other journalists and bloggers. I elected to take a break from reviews of new Mac hardware, the occasion of which always piques my interest in Apple's platform. There were times when I felt I'd chosen the worst possible time for this hiatus. I ended up passing on MacBook Air, Time Capsule, Harpertown Mac Pro, and most painful of all,... READ MORE

Corrections to "Back to the Mac"

Tom Yager — 2008-04-16T01:28:47-08:00

I made a couple of statements in my recent "Ahead of the Curve" blog that Apple contscted me to correct. First, contrary to my claim that the iPhone SDK is the first time that Apple has released a public preview editions of Xcode in the past, Apple claims to have done so. Apple tells me that it is not incorporating FORTRAN into beta 3 of its iPhone SDK, a release that includes the newest stable build of the GNU Compiler Collection toolchain. MacOSForge lists FORTRAN as a default language in its distributions of gcc after v4.0, This accounted for... READ MORE

OS X Server break-in: Probably isolated, but a heads-up

Tom Yager — 2008-04-15T13:02:12-08:00

On Sunday, I encountered a break-in on an Xserve running OS X Leopard Server 10.5.2. All Apple-issued fixes had been applied. I cannot locate the vector of intrusion, but following the break-in I noticed the following: Kerberos authentication was disabled, making the system extremely slow to respond to LAN-based secure shell (ssh) initiation requests. Screen sharing sessions would not connect at all. However, Server Admin was fully functional All e-mail was down A launch script for Communigate Pro 5.2.x had been placed in /System/Library/StartupItems, causing Postfix and Cyrus to abort on launch after logging that SMTP, IMAP and POP... READ MORE

iPhone SDK: Interface Builder added; WebKit kicks into overdrive

Tom Yager — 2008-03-31T11:30:18-08:00

Apple isn't shipping the official iPhone SDK until June, but if you're planning to create apps for iPhone or iPod touch, the pre-release SDK just became more than a curiosity for those writing native code. Interface Builder, the Xcode tool for creating graphical user interfaces for Mac applications, has been added to the iPhone SDK. This not only gives developers the ability to add non-HTML GUIs to their native applications, but Interface Builder also makes it easier to carry hardcore Mac coding skills to iPhone. The SVG Animation in WebKit (Safari) is still under development, but in its latest... READ MORE

iPhone 2.0: Safari hosts local apps; SQL on a smartphone!; go get Safari 3.1 now

Tom Yager — 2008-03-19T19:14:12-08:00

I have a secret: I love JavaScript. It has an extremely simple C-like grammar--it has far more in common with C than Java--and is readable and compact. I can teach it to a child in an hour. With just a few days of messing around, a beginner can write powerful client and server applications in JavaScript, and the minimum required toolset is a browser and a text editor. To test changes to your code, you refresh its browser page. I developed my appreciation for JavaScript by using it to create applications of surprising scale. In 1999, I wrote a... READ MORE

New iPhone enterprise developer program, $299; musings about iPhone app licensing

Tom Yager — 2008-03-10T07:06:17-08:00

Companies and organizations that don't want to make their iPhone/iPod touch software publicly available through AppStore can now apply for a special $299 enterprise development license that entitles them to create and distribute custom software strictly for internal use. The application must be submitted by an individual empowered to make legal commitments on their employer's behalf. This raises some questions in my mind. If you run a consulting shop that creates commercial iPhone software for clients' (say, government agencies') private use, does each client need an iPhone enterprise license? $299 is not prohibitively expensive, but some clients might balk... READ MORE

iPhone/iPod touch Q & A

Tom Yager — 2008-03-06T16:31:29-08:00

Q: Why is Apple the exclusive distributor of third-party software for iPhone and iPod touch? A: Somebody has to take full responsibility for customer security. Apple is taking responsibility for security by issuing developer certificates that irreversibly link every app a traceable, physical creator. Apple is a good groundskeeper, too; the site's always going to look splendid. Q: Why do I have to pay $99 to write code for iPhone, and what's that buy me? A: You can write code for iPhone for $0; download the tools from developer.apple.com. Mess around in the simulator to see if it piques... READ MORE

Apple's iPhone software strategy moves me

Tom Yager — 2008-03-06T15:43:17-08:00

A colleague scolded me for applauding during Apple's press conference to announce iPhone 2.0, next-generation firmware that will bring a host of enterprise features and support for a native software development kit (SDK) to iPhone and iPod touch. In my defense, I kept my pen and pad in my hands while the room went berserk over Apple's deal with Microsoft to bring an extraordinary array of Exchange Server connectivity to iPhone. I was moved, but not to clapping, by Apple's implementation of Cisco VPN compatibility, WPA2 security and other touches that IT administrators set as requirements for devices that... READ MORE

Apple distributes 3rd-party apps through AppStore and iTunes; how developers can get it

Tom Yager — 2008-03-06T11:04:17-08:00

Third-party developers can distribute their apps through Apple facilities. AppStore is exclusive way to get software to iPhone users. Dev gets 70 pct of sales price, paid monthly. FREE APPS DISTRIBUTED FREE on AppStore and iTunes. IPhone 2.0 beta with all new features ships to developers today, ships to all as free update in June. IPod Touch users will pay for update. Developers can get SDK with simulator for free, and develop directly on a device for a $99 membership.... READ MORE

iPhone native SDK opens Apple's own dev tools to public

Tom Yager — 2008-03-06T10:21:26-08:00

As of today, Apple has opened the native Application Programmaing Interfaces (APIs) and tools that Apple uses for iPhone and iPod Touch development. Coding for all layers, covering: Core OS X, Core Services such as address book and database, Media (including H.264 MPEG-4, positional audio, PDF) and Cocoa Touch for UIs. Xcode supports full set of iPhone/iPod Touch interface elements. Software is downloaded, debugged and profiled (with Instruments a.k.a. Xray or DTrace) live using the regular USB cable. IPhone Simulator simulates entire API stack for local debugging. Details follow.... READ MORE

iPhone gets Exchange support, aims for BlackBerry

Tom Yager — 2008-03-06T10:08:01-08:00

Apple has licensed ActiveSync from Microsoft and will build push e-mail, calendar, contacts, and global address lists in the next release of iPhone software. Apple will also roll in essential enterprise features, such as stronger authentication and more broadly compatible remote access (VPN). But most important for large enterprises, Apple's next release will support Exchange Server's central management for policies, fleet configuration and remote data wiping. Apple wants to tag BlackBerry, which Apple claims is the only enterprise handset outselling iPhone. My next entry will be on iPhone's native application software development kit.... READ MORE

On the demise of Xserve RAID

Tom Yager — 2008-02-22T17:56:46-08:00

Once the Xserve RAID storage arrays in Apple's inventory sell out, the product will still be supported, but no longer sold. It is simply Xserve RAID's time to go. There were several vendors at Macworld Expo showing quieter, cooler, cheaper and more compact alternatives. Apple can't build Xserve RAID for as little money as other vendors do, and I don't think there's a revenue justification for Apple to go back to the drawing board to cook up a modernized array. Xserve RAID's impending demise was predictable when Apple set Xserve and Mac Pro up with (optional) hardware RAID controllers... READ MORE

10.5.2 update: Way more than security, and Apple fixed Stacks

Tom Yager — 2008-02-12T10:58:06-08:00

Apple's 10.5.2 update is a whopper. It addresses several issues that have been at the top of my list, many with regard to accessibility. Apple has heard the pleading and has reworked Stacks (e.g. the Downloads icon in the Dock) so that it's useful when you have more than a handful of items. Here are my other picks for most welcome changes in 10.5.2: - An option to make the menu bar opaque (like Tiger) - A reduction in the transparency of menus - New list and folder views in Stacks, and a more eye-compatible grid view background -... READ MORE