MacTech 02082022

MacTech Groups Agenda
Tue, Feb 8, 2022
2:30 to 4:30 pm
Hillsborough B16-B  &
https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/98050685794?pwd=bU9aQUVqaW5ydU5JS0k1bzA5V0Jqdz09

Announcements – 5 min

OIT only supports macOS 10.15.7 or newer after Dec 31, 2021
Status page for jamfcloud.com services see http://status.jamfsoftware.com
OIT Macintosh Support Web Site go.ncsu.edu/mac for updates.
Slack group ncstateit.slack.com #macintosh
Apple Sales: Paul Petrogeorge-paulpetro@apple.com & Sys Eng: Dave Andersen-andersen1@apple.com
Vintage and Obsolete Apple Products: support.apple.com/kb/HT1752
Apple Education Support Line 800-800-2775 use this number only. Always verify Applecare Coverage.
Antivirus for university owned devices – go.ncsu.edu/antivirus
Unity Macintosh MultiUser Workflow uses NoLoAD configuration with local home directory at /Users/$uid$
OIT supports only Apple branded Intel (intel64) and Apple Silicon(arm64) hardware for macOS and software. Only unmodified iOS/iPadOS/tvOS is supported.
Please remember to verify prices at www.apple.com/education/pricelists/ with NC State Marketplace
Authorized NC State personnel wanting to get training and tools for Apple Certified Technician should request an invitation by opening a help desk ticket at  help@ncsu.edu Must login to GSX monthly!!
JAMF Pro Enterprise service go.ncsu.edu/jamf,  go.ncsu.edu/jamfinfo and go.ncsu.edu/uwc for details
Required Jamf Pro Implementation of Endpoint Protection Standard – go.ncsu.edu/jamfeps
JAMF Pro Cheat Sheet at go.ncsu.edu/jamfcheat for details on common configuration management tasks

Training – 5 min

Virtual Quick Start Jamf Pro at NCSU course – 1 Hour – available by scheduling Everette at calendly.com/ncsuega

Hands On only:

OIT-Managing Apple Devices with Jamf Pro – Feb 24 – 1:30-4:30 pm Hillsborough B3
reporter.ncsu.edu/link/instanceview?courseID=OIT-JPro01-JPro01&deptName=OIT&instanceID=000007

OIT-Jamf Pro Best Practices for Packagers – Mar 15 – 1:30-4:30 pm Hillsborough B3 reporter.ncsu.edu/link/instanceview?courseID=OIT-JPro03-JPro03&deptName=OIT&instanceID=000006

OIT-Advanced Apple Device  Management with Jamf Pro – Apr 19 – 1:30-4:30 pm Hillsborough B3
reporter.ncsu.edu/link/instanceview?courseID=OIT-JPro02-JPro02&deptName=OIT&instanceID=000006

CrashPlan for Sub-Org Administrators – Request –  reporter.ncsu.edu/link/courseview?courseID=OIT-CPlan1-CPlan1&deptName=OIT

Local Based Commercial Training – training.computertree.com/course/

JAMF Pro Training – www.jamf.com/training/

Service Updates – 20 min

Configuration Management  -Jamf Pro production is currently 10.35.0, test on nccloudtest is 10.35.0, and current beta is 10.36.0B1.  Jamf Pro is the only approved Configuration Management system for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, and tvOS.  See oit.ncsu.edu/it-security/eps-implementation/config-mgt-systems/
Discussion

Patch Definition Management
No change.  Waiting for Jamf to release App Management.

Backup for Endpoints – The Code42  production service is at version 8.8.2.
For NEW installs only the package in JAMF is “NCSU-Campus-Install Code42-871.pkg”(will be updated when 8.8.2 is available as a universal install). The “NCSU-Campus-Install Code42CrashPlan License and Config.pkg” is required in the policy as before for new installs.

Internet Recovery – https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904.
Also see: https://mrmacintosh.com/restore-macos-firmware-on-an-apple-silicon-mac-boot-to-dfu-mode/
No change

Software Packaging – No change.

AntiMalware – No change.  DetectX Swift (intel) is still available and should be installed see oit.ncsu.edu/help-support/apple/jamf-pro/detectx-setup-in-jamf-pro/
The Jamf Pro Extension Attribute “DetectX Issues” was rewritten in zsh and deployed Jan 2, 2022.
The scanning script is rewritten in zsh and is available to deploy as run-detectx-search.sh (replaces run-detectx-search.pl)
There is some internal OIT testing of Crowdstrike Falcon Sensor but there is no plan or money to go beyond testing at this point.

Apple School Manager – No change. REMINDER Make sure you *unassign* any devices you have sent to surplus.

Endpoint Protection Standard  – Required Jamf Pro Implementation of Endpoint Protection Standard is at  go.ncsu.edu/jamfeps

Python is going away in macOS 12.3 – 10 min
As widely announced macOS 12.3B does not have python2 installed in  /usr/bin/python (or anywhere else) and calling python3 prompts the user to install Xcode command line tools (admin access required).
Safe bet is to move any scripts to zsh or use osascript to run javascript which will not be deprecated.
Python 3 can be installed from python.org  with a universal .pkg installer.  Don’t forget to add the python to all the shell PATH variables.
% which python3
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.9/bin/python3

% python3 –version

Python 3.9.6

ALSO: be aware that perl and ruby are set for future deprecation and php was already removed in macOS 12.2.
Resources:
www.jamf.com/blog/python2-is-gone-apple-macos/
macmule.com/2022/01/29/macos-monterey-12-3-will-remove-python-2-7-usr-bin-python/
Note that *a lot* of packages and scripts written in sh,bash, etc will call out to python for things like getting the logged in user.  These should all be found and replaced with code using scutil
scriptingosx.com/2019/09/get-current-user-in-shell-scripts-on-macos/
Tips on using javascript in macOS instead of python (handy for parsing json like in the DetectX EA)
www.macblog.org/posts/using-jxa-with-jamf-pro/
github.com/scriptingosx/pkgcheck
github.com/laurentpertois/Search-Scripts-In-Jamf
Discussion

JSON Configuration Templates for Jamf Pro – 10 min
Jamf Pro now imports Configuration Profile Templates in JSON format making it easy to configure Custom configuration profiles in a web form.  See github.com/Jamf-Custom-Profile-Schemas/ProfileManifestsMirror and developer.jamf.com/developer-guide/docs/application-and-custom-settings
Discussion

Adobe Quarterly Updates – 5 min
All the latest 2022 versions of Adobe products for intel64 and arm64 are complete and have been tested.
Note in  https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/operating-system-guidelines.html
Adobe provides support for
macOS 12 (Monterey), macOS 11 and macOS 10.16 (Big Sur), and macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
Also we found out today that the Adobe Admin console now allows us to create packages that install universal versions of Adobe products. The installers are still NOT signed binaries.
Discussion

EIT Apple Management Strategies – Jason Robinson  – 45 min
The CALS EIT group manages Apple devices in remote and far flung corners of North Carolina.  Her Jason Robinson talk about their deployment cycle, software support, and strategies
Discussion

Q&A – 15 min
You ask we try to answer

Next meeting:

MacTech – Tue. Mar 8, 2022  In person/Zoom hybrid
MacTech – 2nd Tuesday each month: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
MacTech does not meet in July.
Meetings usually held in B16-B Hillsborough Bld.
Please mark your calendar.