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Mac OS X

Welcome to the Fermilab Mac OS X support page. We currently Support Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) on Intel only and  Leopard (10.5) on both Intel and PPCs. There is no support for earlier releases of Mac OS.


Current Issues    (last updated: April 16, 2012)

1. 04/17/2012: New Mac Update Rules
Due to the recent Trojan viruses and malware that have affected the Mac OSX environment, we will begin deploying all required Mac software updates as they become available.
 
Who is affected: Those with centrally managed, Fermilab-owned Mac computers.

How the updates work: The Mac OSX and developer teams will test all updates. Once approved, each update will be released to the general OSX population. All updates that are seen on your computer will have already been approved, but most updates will install automatically without you needing to do anything.

Some of these updates may require a reboot of your computer. For such updates, a window will pop up with a warning asking you to click “OK” to reboot your system.
The system will reboot exactly ten minutes after you click OK, so if you are in the middle of work, do not click OK until you are ready. To prevent automatic system updates, you can update your Mac regularly yourself and reboot when convenient.

How to perform updates yourself:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required". 
4. Click "install".

If you need further assistance, please submit a Service Desk ticket.

2. 1/30/2012: Safari 5.1.2 - update approved for install
This update affects Mac OS X v10.6.8 and OS X Lion v10.7.2. This update fixes the issue with safari 5.1 which caused Safari to crash when using the KCA certificates and prevented users from being able to log into FTL. However, FTL approvers who use Safari should NOT update.  Approvers still have the option of using Remote Desktop to the FTL terminal Server. Instructions can be found here.

Note: This update requires a reboot to your system. Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required".  Select "Safari 5.1.2 update".
4. Click "install".

3. 1/30/2012: Java 10.6 update 6 / lion update 1 - approved for install
This update affects Mac OS X v10.6.8 and OS X Lion v10.7.2. This update delivers improved compatibility, security and reliability by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_29.
Note: This update requires a reboot to your system. Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required".  Select "Java update".
4. Click "install".

4.  11/30/2011: OS X 10.7.2 Lion - update approved for install
This update affects OS X 10.7 (Lion).
This update includes many product updates including Kernel update in OS X Lion and Root Certificate updates.
Note: This update requires a reboot to your system. Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required".  Select "Security Update 2011-006 update".
4. Click "install".

5. 11/30/2011: Apple Security Update 2011-006 - approved for install
This update affects Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and OS X 10.7 (Lion).
This update includes many product updates including Kernel update in OS X Lion and Root Certificate updates. 
Note: This update requires a reboot to your system. Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required".  Select "Security Update 2011-006 update".
4. Click "install".

6. 11/30/2011: Safari 5.1.1 - update approved for install
This update affects Mac OS X v10.6.8 and OS X Lion v10.7.2. This update fixes the issue with safari 5.1 which caused Safari to crash when using the KCA certificates and prevented users from being able to log into FTL. However, FTL approvers who use Safari should NOT update.  Approvers still have the option of using Remote Desktop to the FTL terminal Server. Instructions can be found here.

Note: This update requires a reboot to your system. Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update".
3. Check "updates required".  Select "Safari 5.11 update".
4. Click "install".

7. 9/9/2011: Apple Security Update 2011-005 update - approved for install. Click here for more information.

8. 7/11/2011: Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

Lion is now approved for use at Fermilab. Although it includes a number of enhancements, there are some things that don't work properly in the Fermilab environment. See known issues and workarounds.

9. 7/1/2011: Mac OS X 10.6.8 and Java for Mac OS X 10.6 update- approved for install.

Before installing this update, please back up your system.

To update:
1. Select "Apple" from the Menu bar.
2. Select "software update."
3. Check "updates required."
4. Click "install."

10. DO NOT download or install the MAC Defender (MacDefender.app) application for OS X that appears in search engine results. This is malware. Contact the Service Desk if you have any questions.

11. Office 2011 has been approved for install

12. How to install Remote Desktop Client for your Mac machine.

 

If you need further assistance, please contact the Service Desk at (630) 840-2345 or submit a Service Desk ticket.

 


 

 

Supported Applications

There are tons and tons of software that work on the Mac.  Here is the link for officially Supported Software. If there is no link to download the software then it is licensed Software and you need to contact the service desk to request it.

Adium

Apple iChat (Contact Service Desk)

Apple Mail (Contact Service Desk)

Apple iWork (Contact Service Desk)

Cisco VPN Client (Contact Service Desk)

Firefox

Kerberos (latest Fermilab krb5.conf file)

Microsoft Office Including Entourage (Contact Service Desk)

Microsoft Remote Desktop Client

OpenAFS

QMX SMS (Contact Service Desk)

GetCert & RunGetCert

Sophos Anti Virus (Contact Service Desk)

Related Services

Apple Security Updates

Change Services Account Password

Change Gateway (smtp) Account Password

Change Kerberos Account Password

DOE Grid Certificates

Fermilab Computer Security

Fermilab Computing Policy

Fermilab Mac Users mailing List

Fermilab Apple Store (KCA certificate Required)

Hardware Support (Contact Service Desk)

KCA Certificates (see GetCert in Supported Applications)

OS X Leopard 10.5 Desktop and Laptop Baseline

    pdf version         doc Version

Software Update Service (Coming Soon)

Fermilab Standard Computers (includes mac laptops!)

Supported Resources

Fermilab Apple Store (KCA Certificate Required)

EPEAT information from Apple

EPEAT information from the EPEAT Site

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is my system 32 bit or 64 bit?

A: See this apple link to find out.

Q: Is Casper installed on my machine?

A: See this page to find out.

Q: How to connect to Fermilab VPN on an iOS device, e.g. iPhone or iPad?

A: The instructions are here.

Interesting Information

Compatability List for 10.6 from Apple

Unofficial Compatability List for 10.6

Apple Kerberos

MIT Kerberos

Purchase Apple Products for home

Who to Contact:

Web:servicedesk.fnal.gov
Phone: 630-840-2345

 

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