Starting with OS X Mountain Lion, Apple introduced Gatekeeper so users couldn’t easily install downloaded apps from outside the Mac App Store.
How To Change Download Security Preferences On Mac Catalina
Download items from the web. Share or post webpages. Add passes to Wallet. Save part or all of a webpage. Print or create a PDF of a webpage. Change Security preferences in Safari on Mac. In the Safari app on your Mac, use Security preferences to turn security warnings on or off. Also enable or disable JavaScript.
When someone downloads an app from somewhere other than the Mac App Store they will get one of a few warning messages depending on what security settings they’ve set in System Preferences. We’ll show users how to set the security settings in Security & Privacy section of the OS X System Preferences using any version of OS X after Mountain Lion so they can install downloaded apps from outside the Mac App Store.
Why Can’t I Install 3rd-Party Apps By Default?
If you don’t care about why this works, skip to the next section. Here’s why Apple sets OS X to disallow 3rd-party apps by default, for those who like to understand why things work as they do.
Cynics will say that Apple does this because they don’t get a 30% cut from applications bought directly from third-party apps instead of their curated app store. A $10 app nets Apple $3 and the developer gets only $7. The developer gets the entire $10 if the app is sold directly.
Apple says they set things blocking third-party apps because they want to protect users who might install downloaded apps with malware or viruses. They take the 30% cut to cover the cost of hosting the Mac App Store and testing apps to keep malware out of the store. In other words, they want to help protect us from our own mistakes.
Apple offers three setting options in the Security & Privacy Settings in System Preferences. Apple set the default to help protect users from Malware or to lock down computers depending on which explanation you prefer.
Apple created Gatekeeper, a program to protect users from Malware. Developers can get a security certificate from Apple through the Apple Developer program. If a developer distributes their app on the Mac App Store, they have to follow certain guidelines to get approved. These guidelines try to keep malware out of the store. Developers can also add a security certificate to their apps. The certificate is some code inserted into the app code. Users can set their machines to allow third-party apps downloaded from the Internet, but only if they include one of these security certificates.
Find out how to change the settings below so you can install downloaded apps from trusted third-party websites. Don’t install apps from just any site because relaxing security settings could potentially open the door to malware and viruses.
How to Install Apps from Outside the Mac App Store
To install third-party apps, the user must change a setting in the Security & Privacy section of System Preferences, the Settings app in OS X.
Open OS X System Preferences by clicking on the app icon from OS X Dock or by clicking the Apple icon in the Menu Bar in the upper left corner of the screen. When the menu pops up, click on System Preferences.
Click on Security & Privacy from the top row of the System Preferences app. Choose the General tab to see the settings below.
There’s a lock icon at the bottom of the dialog box. Click it to enable all the settings in the box. The OS will ask the user to enter their administrator’s password. Click OK and the grayed out settings become clickable.
The settings we need to work with show up at the bottom half of the dialog box. There are three options under Allow apps downloaded from:. Here are the descriptions taken from Apple’s support site.
If the user chooses the first two options, they can close the dialog box and continue. However, if the user chooses Anywhere, the above warning pops up to scare the user from using this setting. It says:
Choosing “Anywhere” makes your Mac less secure.
The warning box explains that OS X resets this setting after 30 days. Users will have to come back here and do the above steps again. Further, it explains that it’s safer to let the OS warn you each time you launch an app, which includes an option to allow it by clicking an OK button if you select the middle option of the three.
Which Option Should You Choose?
Those who only install apps from the Mac App Store should not bother changing the default settings. Make sure to select the first option labelled Mac App Store and close the box. If you want to install and run any app you want and don’t worry at all about malware, then choose the third option labelled Anywhere. I use the second option since I can still install third-party apps, but they have to come from developers who take the time to add an Apple Developer security certificate to their app. These are safe, but can come from outside the Mac App Store.
Related Posts
Starting with Version 16.28 of Office for Mac, there are new preference settings that allow you to control settings related to the following:
In addition, there is a new preference setting related to a Required Data Notice dialog for Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU).
For more information about diagnostic data and connected experiences, see Overview of privacy controls.
Note
Setting preferences
These new preference settings are CFPreferences API compatible and can be set using the
defaults command in Terminal, or enforced through a Configuration Profile or Mobile Device Management (MDM) server. When the preferences are enforced, the user cannot change the values, and any in-app controls will appear disabled.
Note
You can also use the Office cloud policy service and these 5 policy settings:
For more information on using the Office cloud policy service, see Overview of the Office cloud policy service.
Preference setting for diagnostic data
Diagnostic data is used to keep Office secure and up-to-date, detect, diagnose and remediate problems, and also make product improvements. For more information, see Diagnostic data sent from Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise to Microsoft.
Starting with new installations of Version 16.30, if you don't set this preference, only required diagnostic data is sent to Microsoft if users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription are signed in with a work or school account or if users have a volume licensed version of Office 2019 for Mac. Also, these users can't change the level of diagnostic data regardless of how you set this preference.
Note
For other users, such as home users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription, only required diagnostic data is sent, unless the user chooses to also send optional diagnostic data by going to Preferences > Privacy.
Preference setting for connected experiences that analyze your content
Connected experiences that analyze your content are experiences that use your Office content to provide you with design recommendations, editing suggestions, data insights, and similar features. For example, PowerPoint Designer or Researcher in Word. For a list of these connected experiences, see Connected experiences in Office.
If you don't set this preference, connected experiences that analyze content are available to users.
If the user has an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription and is signed in with a work or school account or if the user has a volume licensed version of Office 2019 for Mac, then the user can't turn off connected experiences that analyze content.
For other users, such as home users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription, the user can choose to turn off connected experiences that analyze content by going to Preferences > Privacy.
Preference setting for connected experiences that download online content
Connected experiences that download online content are experiences that allow you to search and download online content including templates, images, 3D models, videos, and reference materials to enhance your documents. For example, Office templates or PowerPoint QuickStarter. For a list of these connected experiences, see Connected experiences in Office.
If you don't set this preference, connected experiences that download online content are available to users.
If the user has an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription and is signed in with a work or school account or if the user has a volume licensed version of Office 2019 for Mac, then the user can't turn off connected experiences that download online content.
For other users, such as home users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription, a user can choose to turn off connected experiences that download online content by going to Preferences > Privacy.
Preference setting for optional connected experiences
In addition to the connected experiences mentioned above, there are some optional connected experiences that you may choose to allow your users to access with their organization account, which is sometimes referred to as a work or school account. How to download youtube videos mac using vlc. For example, the LinkedIn features of the Resume Assistant in Word or the Weather Bar in Outlook, which uses MSN Weather. For more examples, see Overview of optional connected experiences in Office.
Mac Your Security Preferences Allow
If you don't set this preference, optional connected experiences are available to users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription that are signed in with a work or school account or users who have a volume licensed version of Office 2019 for Mac. Unless you have set this preference to
FALSE , these users can choose to turn off optional connected experiences by going to Preferences > Privacy.
For other users, such as home users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription, there isn't an option to turn off optional connected experiences. https://zxkgjq.weebly.com/blog/how-to-download-pokemon-emerald-randomizer-on-mac.
Preference setting for most connected experiences
You can use this preference to control whether most connected experiences are available to your users.
If you don't set this preference, all connected experiences are available to your users, unless you have set one of the other preferences for connected experiences previously mentioned, such as
OfficeExperiencesAnalyzingContentPreference .
For example, if you set this preference to
FALSE , the following types of connected experiences won't be available to your users:
In addition, if you set this preference to
FALSE , most other connected experiences are also turned off, such as co-authoring and online file storage. For a list of these other connected experiences, see Connected experiences in Office.
But even if you set this preference to
FALSE , limited Office functionality will remain available, such as synching a mailbox in Outlook, and Teams and Skype for Business will continue to work. Essential services, such as the licensing service that confirms that you’re properly licensed to use Office, will also remain available.
If the user has an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription and is signed in with a work or school account or if the user has a volume licensed version of Office 2019 for Mac, then the user can't turn off most connected experiences.
For other users, such as home users with an Office 365 (or Microsoft 365) subscription, a user can choose to turn off most connected experiences by going to Preferences > Privacy.
Preference setting for the Required Data Notice dialog for Microsoft AutoUpdate
The first time Version 4.12 or later of Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is launched, users will see a Required Data Notice dialog which provides them with information about what data from MAU is sent to Microsoft.
If you don't want your users to see this Required Data Notice dialog for Microsoft AutoUpdate, you can set the following preference. Regardless of which value you set, the dialog won't be shown to your users.
Mac Security Preferences For Downloads
If you let your users see this dialog, then when the user chooses OK, the value
RequiredDataOnly is written to AcknowledgedDataCollectionPolicy and the dialog is not shown to the user again.
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