CIS 110: Apple Administration

How do you make OS X associate a new local user account with a manually migrated or restored user's home folder?

Before the local user account is created on a system, you must first copy the restored user's home folder to the /Users folder. Then, once you've created the new user in Users & Groups preferences with the same account name, the system automatically associates the new account with the restored home folder.

What does OS X use bundles or packages for?

Bundles and packages are used to combine complex items into individual folders. Packages have the additional advantage of appearing as a single item in the Finder.

What OS X application is set as the default for opening archive files?

By default on OS X, double-clicking a zip archive causes the system to expand the zip archive into a folder next to the same location as the original zip archive.

What does CUPS do?

Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) manages all printing for OS X, including both local and shared printing.

What are some of the common file flags used by OS X?

Common file flags include the locked flag, which locks files from changes, and the hidden flag, which hides the item in the Finder.

How do network devices acquire and use self-assigned TCP/IP addresses?

DHCP

Mac OS X is based on what open source UNIX operating system?

Darwin, a POSIX UNIX based operating system.

Which two built-in OS X applications can be used to gather information about storage devices?

Disk Utility and System Information can both be used to gather information about storage devices.

Which OS X application is responsible for the creation and management of disk images?

Disk Utility is the primary application for creating and managing disk images.

How are disks, partitions, and volumes different from one another?

Disks are the actual storage hardware; partitions are logical divisions of a disk used to define the storage space; and volumes, contained inside partitions, are used to define how the individual files and folders are saved to the storage.

How deep is the version history of a file when shared via email?

Documents sent via email or otherwise copied to a shared location do not retain any version history.

What options can you select from during the OS X El Capitan installation?

During installation of OS X, the only optional choice is to define an installation destination other than the Mac computer's current default system disk.

Where are the keychain files stored?

Each user starts with a login keychain saved at /Users/<username>/Library/Keychain/ login.keychain and a Local Items/iCloud keychain saved in the /Users/<username>/ Library/Keychains/<UUID> folder. Administrative users can manage systemwide authentication assets with the /Library/Keychain/System.keychain. Finally, Apple maintains several items in /System/Library/Keychains/ for OS X system use.

What does firmware do?

Firmware initializes the Mac computer's hardware and locates the booter file on a system volume.

What three security options does the Gatekeeper system allow? Which Gatekeeper option is the OS X default?

Gatekeeper can restrict software to Mac App Store applications only, or Mac App Store and identified developer applications only (this is the default option), or any application regardless of origin.

Which keyboard shortcut can be used to temporarily choose another startup disk?

Holding the Option key at startup opens Startup Manager, which allows you to temporarily choose another startup disk.

In the Network preferences, how can you tell which interface is currently being used for network activities?

In the Network preferences, all network service interfaces with a green status indicator are being used for network activities.

Which items are not loaded when OS X Safe Boots?

It does not load third-party KEXTs, third-party launch agents, third-party launch daemons, third-party startup items, third-party fonts, any user login items, or any user-specific launch agents.

What type of items can be found in a keychain?

Keychains are used to store secrets such as resource passwords, digital certificates, and encryption keys. The keychain system can also securely store Safari AutoFill information, Internet Account settings, and secure text notes.

What application is used to manage keychain settings?

Keychains can be managed from the /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access application.

What methods can be used to reset a user's lost account password?

Local account passwords can be reset by an administrator in Users & Groups, the master password at login, an Apple ID at login, a FileVault recovery key at startup, and by the Reset Password application in OS X Recovery. Local accounts with Apple ID pass‐ words can also be reset online via https://appleid.apple.com.

What is file system metadata?

Metadata is information stored outside of a file or folder. It provides additional information about files and folders.

What three primary sources can Migration Assistant pull from?

Migration Assistant can migrate information from other OS X systems, other Windows systems, and other disks, including Time Machine backups.

How can you limit a user account from having full access to all applications?

Parental Controls can be used to further limit a user account. Examples include enforcing a simple Finder, limiting applications and widgets, limiting Mac App Store content, setting time limits, and content filtering for several applications included in OS X.

What is POST?

Power-On Self-Test (POST) checks for basic hardware functionality when your Mac powers on.

Which changes are made when OS X Safe Boots?

Safe Boots performs the following permanent actions: attempting to repair the system volume structure, deleting system KEXT caches, and deleting font caches.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a single-partition disk with OS X? How about a multiple-partition disk?

Single-partition drives are easier to set up initially, but they aren't as flexible. Multiple-partition drives require repartitioning during setup but provide several separate partitions.

What is target disk mode and how is it engaged?

Target disk mode is a Mac-specific hardware feature that, when engaged, will share the Mac computer's internal disk disks through the FireWire ports. Target disk mode can be engaged from the Startup Disk preferences or by holding down the T key as you turn on the Mac.

What is the best source for acquiring printer drivers for OS X?

The Apple print drivers are the best source for configuring and accruing OS X printers.

What type of file is created by the Finder when you select the Archive option?

The Archive option in the Finder creates compressed zip archive files.

What two methods are used to hide items from the Finder?

The Finder does not show items with periods at the beginning of their filenames or items with the hidden file flag enabled.

Why does the Finder hide certain folders at the root of the system volume?

The Finder hides traditional UNIX resources from average users because they don't need to have access to those items. If users do need access to these UNIX items, they can access them from the Terminal.

How does the Firmware Password Utility help prevent users from making unauthorized password changes?

The Firmware Password Utility prevents users from starting up from another system disk. This in turn prevents them from using an OS X Recovery system to reset local passwords without authorization.

What is the best way to find which installations have taken place on the system?

The Installations section of System Information will show the history of all software installed via the Mac App Store or the OS X Installer.

How can you acquire the OS X El Capitan installer?

The OS X El Capitan installer can be downloaded from the Mac App Store completely free of charge.

What utilities are available when started up from OS X Recovery?

The OS X Recovery system provides access to Restore System From Time Machine Backup, Install/Reinstall OS X, Get Help Online via Safari, Disk Utility, Startup Disk, Firmware Password Utility, Network Utility, Terminal, and Reset Password.

How does the Spotlight search service use metadata?

The Spotlight search service creates index databases of file system metadata so that it can perform normally time-intensive searches nearly instantly.

How does resetting a user's account password affect that user's login keychain?

The account password reset process will not change any keychain passwords. Therefore, the user's keychains do not automatically open when the user logs in with the new password. The user will have to manually change his or her keychain passwords using the Keychain Access utility.

How do you further resolve an issue that disappears when the Mac successfully safe-boots?

The best way to isolate the problematic item is to start up the Mac in Verbose mode and then observe where the startup process fails.

What default folders make up a user's home folder? What are some optional folders in a user's home folder?

The default folders in a user's home folder are Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library (hidden), Movies, Music, Pictures, and Public.

What are the four primary peripheral bus technologies supported by Macs running OS X?

The four primary peripheral bus technologies supported by OS X are: Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, Thunderbolt, and Bluetooth wireless.

What is the locked file flag?

The locked file flag prevents anyone, including the item's owner, from editing an item. Only the item's owner can unlock the item to then allow modification.

What does the master password do?

The master password is used to reset local account passwords.

What are the minimum hardware requirements for upgrading a system with OS X?

The minimum requirements for upgrading OS X Yosemite are: OS X v10.6.8 or later 2 GB of memory , 8 GB of available space.

What are the requirements for purchasing applications via the Mac App Store?

The requirements to purchase items from the Mac App Store are OS X v10.6.6 or later, an Apple ID, an Internet connection, and authorization as a local administrator.

Why is the root, or beginning, level of a user's home folder visible to other users?

The root level of a user's home folder is visible to other users so they can navigate to the Public shared folder.

Where can you locate the system version number, build number, and serial number?

The system version, build number, and hardware serial number are located in the About This Mac window. The system version number defines the specific version of OS X currently installed.

What two volume formats are supported for an OS X system volume?

The volume formats supported as system volumes for OS X are Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted).

What three methods can be used to uninstall applications?

Three methods for uninstalling applications include opening Launchpad, holding the Option button, and then clicking the "X" button; in the Finder drag the primary application to the Trash and then empty the Trash; and most rarely opening a custom- built uninstaller package.

What types of files are omitted from Time Machine backups?

Time Machine always ignores temporary files, Spotlight indexes, items in the Trash, and anything else that can be considered a cache. Time Machine will also ignore any files an application has defined as exempt, or any files you have defined as exempt in the Time Machine preferences.

What backup destinations does Time Machine support?

Time Machine can back up to any Mac OS Extended volume, or network shares hosted from Time Capsule or a Mac OS X Server.

Why is Time Machine inefficient at backing up large databases?

Time Machine is inefficient at backing up large databases because it must back up the entire database file every time any change, no matter how small, is made to the database.

How does Time Machine maintain a backup history of the file system?

Time Machine starts with a full copy of the file system; then it records any changes to the file system, and only copies the changes. It creates a simulation of the full file system using hard links for files that have not changed.

What are the two primary traditional installation methods in OS X?

Traditional installation methods are generally categorized as either a drag-and-drop installation, where the user simply copies the application to the local system; or as an installation package, where an installer process places the items on the local system.

How can you verify that a specific network service is available from a service provider?

Use the Network Utility Ping tab to verify basic connectivity

How does a user that changes his own account password affect his login keychain?

When a user changes his own account password, the system will keep his login keychain password in sync.

When deleting a local user account, what three options does Users & Groups preferences give you for dealing with the user's home folder content?

When deleting a local user account OS X can archive the home folder content into a compressed disk image, leave the home folder content in the /Users folder, or delete the home folder content.

What security risk related to storage can occur when fast user switching is enabled?

When fast user switching is enabled, all users are allowed to see other users' locally connected disks.

In what primary way does the OS X built-in firewall differ from a traditional networkfirewall?

With the firewall built into OS X, connections are allowed or denied on a per-application basis. This is unlike traditional network firewalls, where access rules are based on network service port numbers.

How can you identify the MAC addresses for all the Mac computer's network interfaces?

You can identify all the MAC addresses for the Mac computer's network interfaces from the Info pane of Network Utility.

How can you prevent a user from installing software updates?

You can prevent automatic updates for all users by disabling the options in Mac App Store preferences. You can further restrict a user's ability to use the Mac App Store by configuring Parental Controls for the user's account.

How do you know if a specific Mac supports AirDrop?

You can verify that a Mac supports AirDrop from the Finder Go menu.

What can you enable to locate a lost Mac system?

iCloud Find My Mac allows you to remotely locate a lost Mac system. You enable this feature in iCloud preferences. To locate a lost Mac system, you can use the iCloud website or the Find My iPhone app on an iOS device.

What key features do you gain by setting up iCloud?

iCloud is a free service from Apple that provides cloud storage and communication services for applications, including Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes, Safari, Keychain, Photos and any other applications that support iCloud integration. iCloud also provides Find My Mac technology for help locating a lost or stolen system.

What four methods can be used to restore from a Time Machine backup?

- Time Machine backup - Time Machine application - Migration Assistant - Manually restore items via the Finder

What are the five types of user accounts in OS X? How are they different?

-Standard - the default account type -Administrative - can make changes to the system -Guest - does not require a password -Sharing-only users can access only shared files -Root - has unlimited access to any file or folder in the system

Which keyboard shortcut is used to Safe Boot OS X?

A Safe Boot is initiated by holding down the Shift key during system startup.

What is used to identify a Wi-Fi network?

A Service Set Identifier, or SSID, is used to identify a Wi-Fi network name and associated configuration.

Why might a previously backed-up item no longer be available in Time Machine?

A previously backed-up item will not be available if your backup volume has become full and Time Machine has had to start deleting older items to make room for newer items.

What is a profile? How are profiles managed?

A profile is a document, with the filename extension ".mobileconfig," that contains system settings as defined by an administrator. Opening a profile document will prompt the system to install the profile and configure the settings. Installed profiles can be managed via Profiles preferences.

How can you reset a user's home folder permissions?

A user's home folder permissions can be reset from the Reset Password application on OS X Recovery.

What are account attributes?

Account attributes are the individual pieces of information used to define a user account. Examples include full name, account name, user ID, Universally Unique ID (UUID), group, and home folder.

What is AirDrop?

AirDrop provides a quick and easy method to share files locally via Wi-Fi

Which application can you open to initiate Apple software updates?

All Apple software updates are handled via the Mac App Store.

What methods can be used to create an external OS X installation disk?

An OS X installation disk, which includes the full OS X installation assets, can be created by using the createinstallmedia command line tool found inside the Install OSX Yosemite application.

How do you identify the ownership and permissions of a file or folder in the Finder?

An item's ownership and permissions can be identified using the Get Info or Inspector windows in the Finder.

What functionality does OS X support with the AppleTalk protocol?

AppleTalk works only with OS X v10.5 or earlier

What are the four default top-level folders that are visible in the Finder?

Applications, Library, System, and Users

What happens during system shutdown?

At system shutdown the loginwindow process logs all users out and then tells the kernel to quit all remaining system processes. Once the kernel quits all system processes, the Mac shuts down.