Will Admin account get prompted for password for (hidden) app authentication?

[Awassh]

I want to confirm something. I run admin account. I have installed Apps and it asks me password for this.

I heard that one thing Mac uses for security is when files that might be malware, but are masked as innocent image/video/something else files, Mac will prompt user for password as it sees it is executive file.

If I'm running Admin account, would I get such warning with malicious software? If it is type that tries to hide what it is and sneak in pretending being innocent image/video file?

If I click on it, would Mac always ask if I want to run it? I have "Mac App Store and identified developers" setting in Gatekeeper.

In short: will Mac always ask me if I want to install app even if it is hiding it's executive nature?

 

[honestone]

First, what do you mean by "executive"? Do you mean "executable"? If it's executable, that type of file is for the Windows OS.

Secondly, regarding your Gatekeeper setting, that is for software, not for "data" files, like videos. By the way, there is a method for getting around Gatekeeper that is useful for known, non-problematic software. The venerable freeware utility software Onyx is a perfect example. It has been around for quite some time, has had numerous excellent reviews, and is rock solid. All one needs to do is after installing it, right click on its icon, and select Open. A small dialogue appears, stating something to the effect about the program being from an "unknown developer", but do you want to open it anyway. I of course select yes, and that is the only time it appears (until I download and install a newer version, like I did yesterday).

 

[Awassh]

First, what do you mean by "executive"? Do you mean "executable"? If it's executable, that type of file is for the Windows OS.

Secondly, regarding your Gatekeeper setting, that is for software, not for "data" files, like videos. By the way, there is a method for getting around Gatekeeper that is useful for known, non-problematic software. The venerable freeware utility software Onyx is a perfect example. It has been around for quite some time, has had numerous excellent reviews, and is rock solid. All one needs to do is after installing it, right click on its icon, and select Open. A small dialogue appears, stating something to the effect about the program being from an "unknown developer", but do you want to open it anyway. I of course select yes, and that is the only time it appears (until I download and install a newer version, like I did yesterday).

I meant installer files that try to hide what they are - basically, will Mac in admin setting tell me if I'm trying to open installer that is hiding it is installer.

 

[honestone]

One would hope that Gatekeeper would catch such issues, and not let you open it. Again, though, it is only useful for software. If, say, you download a video file and launch whatever program you use to watch it (VLC is the best), any potential "file" issues will not be made apparent when you play it.

 

[Awassh]

One would hope that Gatekeeper would catch such issues, and not let you open it. Again, though, it is only useful for software. If, say, you download a video file and launch whatever program you use to watch it (VLC is the best), any potential "file" issues will not be made apparent when you play it.

I see. So if it is installer masked as video, Gatekeeper should detect it and ask if I want to run it. That's what I was worried about most.
I use VLC Player only and try to keep updated with all vulnerabilities found. So that should be best method to deal with this potential issue.

 

[honestone]

Just to clarify, if the software you are downloading, "masked as video", is recognized by Gatekeeper, yes, what you stated should happen. But again, just a plain, "generic" video file has nothing to do with Gatekeeper at all.

And yeah, agree 100% about VLC. I've been using it for so many years, it is second nature to me.