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As most folks know, I am waiting for TechTool Pro to be updated for Sierra compatibility. However, I just saw a "potentially" bothersome issue with Gatekeeper and OS 10.12.x, Sierra. Let me explain.
Right now, I am still using the latest version of El Capitan, OS 10.11.6. In the System Preferences > Security & Privacy Pane, the options under "Allow apps downloaded from:" are:
Mac App Store
Mac App Store and Identified Developers
Anywhere
Anywhere is somewhat "dangerous", as one needs to be careful when that option is checked/enabled. However, I definitely need it for one of my critical apps, Onyx, as apparently that software is not from an "Identified Developer".
Well, on the site www.macupdate.com, there is an update for Cocktail (a product very similar to Onyx, but it is not free). Here is part of the description of the update:
"Added ability to disable Gatekeeper - Gatekeeper is a feature in macOS designed to help protect your Mac from malware and misbehaving apps downloaded from the Internet. Though most Mac users will want to keep Gatekeeper enabled for security purposes, some advanced users find that Gatekeeper is overly zealous in preventing third party apps from being used in macOS. The Gatekeeper settings can be found in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Gatekeeper offers two settings of increasing security: "App Store" and "App Store and identified developers". The first choice limits users to running apps obtained from the App Store only, the second choice allows users to run apps from the App Store as well as from software developers who have registered with Apple and securely sign their applications. By disabling Gatekeeper you can add third "Anywhere" option that allows users to launch applications from any source."
So, it seems the "Anywhere" option is gone in Sierra!
Well, I "jumped" the gun, per se. On the site https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/macos-sierra-security-and-privacy-features-overview/, here is what it says about that:
"In macOS Sierra, the Anywhere option is gone. Now you only have two options. However, you can still open any app by right-clicking its icon, choosing Open, and then confirming that you want to open it. So you are not prevented from opening any apps, you are simply protected against opening apps from unidentified developers.
This said, I installed Sierra on two Macs and both of them offer the Anywhere option. Other people I know still see this option as well, and it's not clear why some do and some don't. There is a Terminal command you can run to disable this new limit, but I have never run this command."
That "seems" to clear things up, although note the sentence "So you are not prevented from opening any apps, you are simply protected against opening apps from unidentified developers.". Hmm, I wonder which is it!
It looks like, though, there is a way to add that option back in, via a Terminal Command. This site shows how:
http://osxdaily.com/2016/09/27/allow-apps-from-anywhere-macos-gatekeeper/
I am therefore wondering if someone that is using Sierra can confirm what is going on here. That would be helpful.
Right now, I am still using the latest version of El Capitan, OS 10.11.6. In the System Preferences > Security & Privacy Pane, the options under "Allow apps downloaded from:" are:
Mac App Store
Mac App Store and Identified Developers
Anywhere
Anywhere is somewhat "dangerous", as one needs to be careful when that option is checked/enabled. However, I definitely need it for one of my critical apps, Onyx, as apparently that software is not from an "Identified Developer".
Well, on the site www.macupdate.com, there is an update for Cocktail (a product very similar to Onyx, but it is not free). Here is part of the description of the update:
"Added ability to disable Gatekeeper - Gatekeeper is a feature in macOS designed to help protect your Mac from malware and misbehaving apps downloaded from the Internet. Though most Mac users will want to keep Gatekeeper enabled for security purposes, some advanced users find that Gatekeeper is overly zealous in preventing third party apps from being used in macOS. The Gatekeeper settings can be found in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Gatekeeper offers two settings of increasing security: "App Store" and "App Store and identified developers". The first choice limits users to running apps obtained from the App Store only, the second choice allows users to run apps from the App Store as well as from software developers who have registered with Apple and securely sign their applications. By disabling Gatekeeper you can add third "Anywhere" option that allows users to launch applications from any source."
So, it seems the "Anywhere" option is gone in Sierra!
Well, I "jumped" the gun, per se. On the site https://www.intego.com/mac-security-blog/macos-sierra-security-and-privacy-features-overview/, here is what it says about that:
"In macOS Sierra, the Anywhere option is gone. Now you only have two options. However, you can still open any app by right-clicking its icon, choosing Open, and then confirming that you want to open it. So you are not prevented from opening any apps, you are simply protected against opening apps from unidentified developers.
This said, I installed Sierra on two Macs and both of them offer the Anywhere option. Other people I know still see this option as well, and it's not clear why some do and some don't. There is a Terminal command you can run to disable this new limit, but I have never run this command."
That "seems" to clear things up, although note the sentence "So you are not prevented from opening any apps, you are simply protected against opening apps from unidentified developers.". Hmm, I wonder which is it!
It looks like, though, there is a way to add that option back in, via a Terminal Command. This site shows how:
http://osxdaily.com/2016/09/27/allow-apps-from-anywhere-macos-gatekeeper/
I am therefore wondering if someone that is using Sierra can confirm what is going on here. That would be helpful.
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