Over the years, Apple has put its vast resources into making it's operating systems more secure for end-users. In macOS Catalina, the company has taken this to all-new levels by introducing beneficial security changes that make it even harder for miscreants to play havoc with our computers. However, because security is a tricky business, so-called improvements for some might not work for others. Specifically, Apple's decision to make Gatekeeper even more difficult crack is a significant step forward for everyday Mac users. For developers, perhaps not so much. Luckily, there's a workaround.
Installation glitch doesn’t allow the extension to be enabled – There are several reported situations where the blocked extension couldn’t be re-enabled because of the Allow button was greyed out. In this case, the solution is to move the whole Fusion install folder into a different folder and reinstall it.
Feb 23, 2016 The Show All button has a secret. If you launch System Preferences manually and then click on an icon to change the related system settings, and then want to open another pane, you would typically click the Show All button.It’s like the Home button on your iPhone, only for System Preferences: click it and you get back to the main view from wherever you happen to be. Enable remote login on the Mac. To set up the Mac build host, first enable remote login: On the Mac, open System Preferences and go to the Sharing pane. Check Remote Login in the Service list. Make sure that it is configured to allow access for All users, or that your Mac username or group is included in the list of allowed users. If prompted, configure the macOS firewall. Jul 22, 2016 I tried looking under applications, but handbrake is not there. It shows under devices. I tried ejecting, it left the devices listing, but the warning in mac preferences remained for a time. Spotlight can't locate it. At this point, my allow apps area in security preferences is greyed out, it appears permanently, even after a restart. The padlock icon should change to unlocked and the 'Allow apps downloaded from:' field should no longer be greyed out. Select the Allow button to allow 'Mcafee Inc' to be a trusted developer. Select OK on the Mcafee Alert window for the message to close.
Warning: This terminal trick disables important security aspects of Gatekeeper, which leaves your Mac vulnerable to malware. We highly recommend you reinable the default security settings if you chose to follow this guide at your own risk.
What is Gatekeeper?
Gatekeeper has been an essential part of macOS for years. As its name suggests, the tool has been designed to check recently downloaded apps for known malware and sends it to quarantine. In his June article, The Great Mac Balancing Act, Rene Ritchie explains:
Currently, when you download an app, whether it's off the Store or the Web or even from AirDrop, that app is quarantined. If and when you try to open a quarantined app, Gatekeeper checks it for known malware, validates the developer signature to make sure it hasn't been tampered with, makes sure it's allowed to run, for example matches your settings for App Store apps and/or known developer apps, and then double checks with you that you really want to run the app for the first time, that it's not trying to pull a fast one and autorun itself.
Until now, Gatekeeper didn't take the same approach with apps launched via Terminal. It also didn't check non-quarantined apps and files for malware. In other words, it checked an app only once for malware.
Significant changes have arrived with macOS Catalina.
Now, apps started through Terminal are also checked. These files get the same malware scan, signature check, and local security policy check. The difference: even on the first run, you only need to explicitly approve software launched in bundles, like a standard Mac app bundle, not for standalone executables or libraries.
With macOS Catalina, perhaps more significantly, Gatekeeper will also check non-quarantined apps and files for problems. Not just once or twice, but every time you run it. When your Mac detects a problem, it blocks the file, then sends you an alert.
If all this sounds fantastic to you, terrific. That's undoubtedly Apple's intent. However, some developers might view this differently and find the changes cumbersome, at best.
A Workaround
Even though Gatekeeper in macOS is now stricter than ever, there is a way around it -- including macOS Catalina's newest tools. The workaround makes it possible to download and use apps downloaded from anywhere on macOS Catalina and earlier versions without a check.
First published in 2016 by OSX Daily, but still valid, the 'fix' works like this:
Changing your settings
Now, it's time to allow your Mac to open any app.
With this change, Gatekeeper no longer monitors your computer for malware coming from apps and files.
Restoring to the original setting
If you'd like to return to the default Gatekeeper settings, perform these steps:
View the change
To confirm your Mac has returned to the default settings:
Under Allow apps downloaded from, notice the select is now App Store and identified developers.
Should you make this switch?
For nearly every Mac user, there's no reason to make the listed change under Security & Privacy on macOS Catalina. It should only be performed if you can quickly determine whether apps are legitimate or not. Keep this in mind.
Questions?
If you have any questions or concerns about Gatekeeper or the rest of the macOS Catalina update, let us know in the comments below.
macOS CatalinaMain
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What is a “sandbox”?¶
Sandboxing is a technique for confining the execution environment of untrusted programs and processes. In the context of Adobe’s PDF products, an ‘untrusted program’ is any PDF and the processes it invokes. With sandboxing enabled, Acrobat and Reader assume all PDFs are potentially malicious and confines any processing they invoke to the sandbox.
Sandboxes are typically used when data (such as documents or executable code) arrives from an untrusted source. A sandbox limits, or reduces, the level of access its applications have. For example, creating and executing files and modifying system information such as certain registry settings and other control panel functions are prohibited. If a process P runs a child process Q in a sandbox, then Q’s privileges would typically be restricted to a subset of P’s. For example, if P is running on a system, then P may be able to look at all processes on the system. Q, however, will only be able to look at processes that are in the same sandbox as Q. Barring any vulnerabilities in the sandbox mechanism itself, the scope of potential damage caused by a misbehaving Q is reduced.
Sandbox features¶
Acrobat products leverage several types of sandboxes:
Note
Acrobat begins support for Protected Mode late spring 2020 via a phased rollout. A small number of users may see the PM option for Acrobat during this time. Wider deployment will appear through the summer. .mts to .mov converter for mac free software site.
User interface configuration¶
Admins can configure the setting pre or post deployment, lock the feature so that end users cannot change application behavior, or control the features via the user interface:
Sandbox protections user interface
Protected View¶
Protected View (PV) is a highly secure, read-only mode for Windows that blocks most actions until the user decides whether or not to trust the document. Adobe strongly recommends that you use Acrobat in Protected View if you are concerned about security or frequently interact with PDFs on the Internet.
The experience should be familiar to Microsoft Office users: simply choose whether or not to trust a document from the yellow message bar. Admins also have a variety of configuration options.
Note
Protected View is only available when Protected Mode is enabled.
Configuration¶
The following features are available:
Registry configuration¶
You can configure the feature prior to deployment manually or via the Customization Wizard. The basic setting is:
For more preference detail, see the Preference Reference.
Trusting PDFs¶
As described in Trust Methods, there are several ways to assign trust so that PDFs are exempt from Protected View:
Verifying PV is enabled¶
There are three ways to verify PV is enabled:
Protected view FAQs¶
When should Protected View be disabled?
Protected View should be enabled all the time for casual users who interact with PDFs in unsecure environments. There are a limited number of cases where you might want to disable Protected View:
How many processes should be running when I use Protected View?
Open the process explorer or task manager. When in Protected View, two AcroRd32.exe processes will be running alongside the Acrobat.exe process. More processes may appear depending on the number of browser instances you have viewing a PDF, invoked shell extensions, etc.
Protected View: processes
Protected Mode¶
Note
Protected Mode is gradually being extended via a phased rollout to Acrobat’s DC/Continuous track beginning June, 2020. Classic track versions will likely see similar support later this year.
Protected Mode (PM) is specifically designed for use on Windows. It transparently protects users against attacks by sandboxing application processes. The sandbox leverages the operating system’s security controls, and processes execute under a “principle of least privileges.” Thus, processes that could be subject to an attacker’s control run with limited capabilities and must perform actions such as reading and writing through a separate, trusted process. This design has two primary effects:
While different users will have different security needs, casual PDF users in unsecure environments should enable Protected Mode all the time. There are a limited number of cases where you might want to disable Protected Mode:
Note
Acrobat begins support for Protected Mode late spring 2020 via a phased rollout. A small number of users may see the PM option for Acrobat during this time. Wider deployment will appear through the summer.
Configuration¶
You can configure the feature prior to deployment manually or via the Customization Wizard. The basic setting is:
For more preference detail, see the Preference Reference.
Trust overrides¶
None. PM is designed to protect users transparently and without impacting other features.
Logging setup¶
Logging helps you troubleshoot problems when Protected Mode is enabled. The log may provide guidance as to whether a custom policy file should be used to re-enable broken workflows or plugins.
In addition to enabling logging via the UI (above), you can turn on logging and configure a log file location via the registry.
To enable logging, specify a log file location:
Policy logging for a policy violation:
Verifying PM is enabled¶
There are two ways to verify if Protected Mode is enabled:
PM and shell extensions¶
While Protected Mode can be disabled for PDFs viewed with the product, Adobe continues to protect you when 3rd party software invokes a process; that is, Protected Mode sandboxing cannot be disabled for shell extensions. For example, when you use Windows Explorer to preview a PDF in the Preview Pane, it starts a process to display the preview. In such cases, the Task Manager shows that two AcroRd32.exe or Acrobat.exe processes spawn and that the operation is occurring with Protected Mode enabled.
Policy configuration¶
Protected mode prevents a number of actions which IT can bypass by creating a white list of allowed actions. The component that reads these policies is called a “broker.” The broker performs actions based on those policies, and when an admin provides a properly configured policy file, the broker can bypass the application’s default restrictions.
The broker first reads and applies all custom policies prior to applying the default policies. Since custom policies take precedence, they are useful for fixing broken workflows, supporting third party plug-ins, etc.
Configurable policies have two requirements:
Default read policy¶
The sandboxed exe process only has read access to those files and folders under the
%USERPROFILE% for the following:
While
%USERPROFILE% is protected, the actual implementation is not based on folder names but rather on the ACL (access control entry) of the folders. Any folder or file that grants Everyone or BUILTINUsers groups read access is not protected with read-restrictions. Other folders such as the per-user profile folder that don’t grant such an access are protected. Note that many user-account protected network shares don’t grant access to everyone. So, again, those would be protected.
The read policy includes the new FILES_ALLOW_READONLY rule that works just like the FILES_ALLOW_ANY rule, but grants read-only access to a specific path. Admins can use the FILES_ALLOW_READONLY rule of the config policy to grant read-only access to certain areas of the user’s disk.
Enabling custom policies¶
To allow the application to read and use a policy file, registry configuration is required. To enable policy files:
Creating policies¶
Once you’ve enabled policies as described in Enabling custom policies, you can write and deploy a policy file. A policy file is a set of policy-rules. There can be one per line, empty lines, or full-line comments that begin with a semi-colon. Each policy rule (one on each line) has the format:
Pattern strings denote file names, registry locations, exe paths, etc. These strings support the following:
Adobe-provided policy rules include those shown below.
Policy configuration file
3rd party plugin support¶
New June 2020: To ensure that changes in policy files aren’t overwritten by other vendors, Acrobat allows plugins to use individual custom policy files. The new policy files adhere to same format and syntax as existing policy files.
To create a policy configuration file for specific vendor (file extension):
Protected Mode dialogs¶
Read-warning dialogs
Protected Mode should be transparent to users, but there are some confirmation dialogs which appear under certain scenarios such as when the app needs to read arbitrary files. These files include files that were neither explicitly opened by the user nor required by the app to store its preferences and so weren’t white-listed for access. In such cases, the broker is forced to check with the user before granting the Protected Mode sandbox read access to those files.
A confirmation dialog is shown for the following cases:
Note that dialogs rarely appear in the browser since read warnings are associated with access to the user’s disk or network share. For example, in a browser context, access to a FDF or PDF in cases such as those above occur on an HTTP(S) server, and so will not be impacted. Also, most “interdoc PDF links” in online PDFs refer to other online PDFs rather than a user’s machine or network share.
Search-warning dialogs
It is impossible to securely support the index search and the app’s desktop search features via Edit > Advanced Search > Show more options with read-restrictions enabled. So if the user tries to use any of the following features, a warning is thrown: “The operation you are trying to perform potentially requires read access to your drives. Do you want to allow this operation?”.
If the user allows the operation, read-restrictions are temporarily disabled while that process is running. In this case, Protected Mode is ON, but it will temporarily grant the sandbox read access to all of the user’s files. Once the user restarts the app process, Protected Mode read-restrictions will again be in place. The idea is that rather than having the user turn Protected Mode completely off to use these index-search or desktop-search features, it is better to turn off just read-restrictions temporarily.
The dialog appears in the following scenarios:
FAQs¶
What configurations are not supported?
For a current list of issues, see http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html.
Is Windows Terminal Services supported?
Yes.
What is the difference between Microsoft’s Application Virtualization Sandbox technology and Protected Mode?
Sandboxing leverages the Operating System’s security model to sandbox an application. Virtualization uses another software program to segregate the application from the host operating system. With virtualization, there is overhead associated with managing and patching the OS and the application separately and there is also the performance impact of rendering the application in a virtualized environment. For more information please refer to our technical blog posts.
What is the difference between Protected Mode in Microsoft IE browser and Protected Mode?
The sandbox we have implemented is more effective at mitigating threats in applications on desktop windows than just running a process at low integrity. While our sandbox runs at a low integrity, it is a much more constrained computing environment. For more information please refer to our technical blog posts.
What effect does Protected Mode have on a PDF viewed in Citrix?
Citrix is supported.
What is the percentage increase in memory footprint because of Protected Mode?
Very little.
Will Protected Mode have any effect on viewing LC Reader-Extended PDFs?
It should work fine out of the box.
Is there any special status for certified documents so that one can disable Protected Mode only with certified documents?
No.
Can the security policies for the broker be configured through Customization Wizard or downloaded from a server?
No. Custom policies should be tailored to meet your business requirements and deployed by an administrator.
Are there any unforeseen major issues with the rich PDF types containing content e.g. interactive multimedia, geo, and 3D?
Not many. The feature is designed to be transparent.
Do plug-ins have read and write permissions to things like config files that maybe stored on the user’s system?
Plug-ins will not be able to write log files to non-whitelisted locations. They can continue to write logs to the Temp directory (as returned by
GetTempPath() Windows API or equivalent Acrobat API). Another white-listed location is the app’s own Appdata area.
Does the Protected Mode impair a PDF’s ability to access trusted web sites?
No.
If multiple PDFs are open (either standalone or within the browser), is the number of spawned processes the same?
Yes. There will only be two processes. However, if PDFs are open in both the browser and standalone application, one process pair are used for each.
Can my plug-in create and update a preference file in the ``%appdata%AdobeAcrobat(version)Preferences`` directory?
Yes, the app allows writing to these type of locations.
Will plug-ins that access web services via an URL work?
Yes.
Will Protected Mode affect the functioning of URLs in a PDF?
No.
Do shell extensions work in the app ?
Shell extensions run inside a sandbox when the app is the default owner of PDFs. The shell extensions we support include Thumbnails, Properties, Preview, and they all operate as usual except that they will run sandboxed.
Is PM a pure whitelisting mechanism to allow/deny access to the OS, or is it a mix of blacklisting and whitelisting policies working together in the broker?
Both.
Mac Security Preferences Allow System Software Developer Greyed Outlook
If the app needs to make OS calls through the broker, is there additional overhead (such as more threads) which has a performance impact?
Mac Security Preferences Allow System Software Developer Greyed Out Windows 10
There are no additional threads.
What if I inadvertently kill one of the processes?
Killing any of the processes closes the app.
When custom policies fail for certain workflows, what are the options other than disabling Protected Mode?
One option is to add custom policies to bypass protected mode restrictions.
Can plug-in developers write their own broker?
Yes, plug-in developers can write their own broker using the Acrobat SDK.
Mac Security Preferences Allow System Software Developer Greyed Out Mac
Do the Broker and the Sandbox processes share both the WindowStation and the Desktop?
Yes.
AppContainer¶
Microsoft Windows provides an application-level sandbox called the “AppContainer”. Like the app’s Protected View and Protected Mode, the AppContainer sandbox blocks application processes from writing and reading outside of its boundaries. Both Acrobat and Reader leverage the AppContainer’s security features.
The AppContainer requires Protected Mode is enabled, and both are designed to be transparent to end users. Together these provide multiple layers of protection from malicious attacks that might try to access your system and data. Like Protected Mode, AppContainer has an HKCU preference as well as an HKLM preference which you can lock.
Note
All tracks of Acrobat and Reader support AppContainer.
Configuration¶
You can configure the feature prior to deployment manually or via the Customization Wizard. The basic setting is:
For more preference detail, see the Preference Reference.
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