Run automatically several software metering
Hi,
I have 289 Rules in my software metering.
I want to run automatically this reports "Computers that have run a specific metered software program" with each of my rules of software metering.
I'm a dummies in SCCM Repports and SQL, can you help me please ?
Thank You
PS : Sorry for my English
You could also create a custom report that will use a SQL cursor (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms180169.aspx) that enumerates all metering rules first and then runs
the report you mentioned for each metering rule found.
Torsten Meringer | http://www.mssccmfaq.de
Similar Messages
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Automatic creation software metering rules
hi
I have installed SCCM 2012 r2 with two servers .A site server and a database server .I enabled software metering on client settings and software and hard ware inventory .But I ve got a problem that sccm doesn't create software metering rules automatically
.I had already enabled Automatic create software metering rule on SMW properties . But no luck yet.
when I create a rule manually It works fine but Its not working automatically .you have configured 2% of computers must use the disabled programs to activate automatically (Specify
the percentage of computers in the hierarchy that must use a program before a software metering rule is automatically created) .so pls check if any of the computers are using the disabled programs or not.Login to test computer and use the disabled
program and then check the status.
Eswar Koneti | Configmgr blog:
www.eskonr.com | Linkedin: Eswar Koneti
| Twitter: Eskonr
I have more than 500 clients with enabled software metering .Dont you think it is enough to create rules automatically .? -
Software Metering SCCM 2012 R2 - Firefox.exe
We have software metering setup in SCCM 2012 R2 environment and it seems to be working well for most applications we have it configured for, with the exception of Mozilla Firefox. It's configured to monitor firefox.exe and for the version we are using
the * so we get any version. We have Google Chrome setup the same way for chrome.exe and it works great. However when we run a report for Firefox there is no data. On a test system I have watched the mtrmgr.log and when I open Firefox, it says there are no
matching rules. Am I missing something here, is there some trick to getting this to work for Firefox? Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!Thanks for the quick reply. yes initially I had it set to "Any" for the language. I tried changing it to "English (United States)" to see if that would make a difference but it did not. I also tried browsing to "C:\Program
Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" and allowing the version to fill in automatically to 31.4.0 (rather than using the *) to see if that would make a difference but it also did not. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks again! -
When I run the Apple Software update, it tells me that iCloud and iTunes have invalid signature and will not be downloaded. When I DL iTunes64setup.exe, the program will not start (there's a bar that flashes but nothing actually begins). I've done everything short of reinstalling Windows to fix this (system resore, unistalling all Apple products, taking down firewall, running Windows FixIt - which either won't find the problem or gives me an error saying that the troubleshooter cannot be downloaded at this time, going into the security features to allow programs without valid signatures, trying to install earlier versions of iTunes). It all started when I downloaded the Decemberists new album on my iPhone, and it wasn't downloading it properly so I connected it to my Dell, but some songs still wouldn't DL - also, the newest OS for my iPhone still won't install via WiFi - and so I uninstalled iTunes first, but nothing is helping. And I don't have any security issues (Norton has checked). Any ideas? I'm at my wit's end after 3 days of this. Thank you.
Ok, so after like 4 days of going through all these different issues, I figured out that several programs weren't downloading, and it was an issue with my wireless connectivity messing up the digital signatures, so if you plug in your comp to the modem and delete your temp files, it should start to work!
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Problem description:
My iMac (early 2008) with OS 10.10.2 runs slow. I have run EtreCheck several times, and I am unable to move beyond Problem System Launch Agents (11 processes killed due to memory pressure) and Launch Daemons (12 processes killed).
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated April 14, 2015 at 9:50:48 AM EDT
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
iMac (24-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)
iMac - model: iMac8,1
1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM Upgradeable
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM1
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS - VRAM: 512 MB
iMac 1920 x 1200
System Software: ℹ️
OS X 10.10.2 (14C1510) - Time since boot: 4 days 20:29:22
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HDS721010KLA330 disk0 : (1 TB)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Mac iBook HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (521.60 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Configuration files: ℹ️
/etc/sysctl.conf - Exists
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
Mac App Store and identified developers
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
[killed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist
[killed] com.apple.CallHistorySyncHelper.plist
[killed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist
[killed] com.apple.icloud.fmfd.plist
[killed] com.apple.Maps.pushdaemon.plist
[killed] com.apple.printtool.agent.plist
[killed] com.apple.SafariNotificationAgent.plist
[killed] com.apple.sbd.plist
[killed] com.apple.scopedbookmarkagent.xpc.plist
[killed] com.apple.telephonyutilities.callservicesd.plist
[killed] com.apple.warmd_agent.plist
11 processes killed due to memory pressure
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[killed] com.apple.AssetCacheLocatorService.plist
[killed] com.apple.ctkd.plist
[killed] com.apple.emond.aslmanager.plist
[killed] com.apple.icloud.findmydeviced.plist
[killed] com.apple.ifdreader.plist
[killed] com.apple.nehelper.plist
[killed] com.apple.nesessionmanager.plist
[killed] com.apple.periodic-daily.plist
[killed] com.apple.periodic-weekly.plist
[killed] com.apple.softwareupdate_download_service.plist
[killed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist
[killed] org.cups.cupsd.plist
12 processes killed due to memory pressure
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.arubanetworks.via.NetworkMonitorLaunchd.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]
[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
ChronoSyncBackgrounder Application (/Library/Application Support/ChronoSync/ChronoSyncBackgrounder.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2 Application Hidden (/Library/Printers/Canon/IJScanner/Utilities/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2.app)
Google Drive Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.1 [Click for support]
Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.1.0.24 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Click for support]
AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
DivX Web Player: Version: 3.2.4.1250 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 17.0.0.134 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
Flash Player: Version: 17.0.0.134 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.8 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 15.0.0 - SDK 10.10 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
WebEx: Version: 1.0 [Click for support]
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 [Click for support]
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Adobe Version Cue CS2 [Click for support]
Flash Player [Click for support]
Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]
VIA PrefPane [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
3% WindowServer
3% Mail
2% com.apple.iCloudHelper
1% Creative Cloud
1% Google Chrome
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
223 MB Google Chrome
150 MB Finder
129 MB Google Chrome Helper
112 MB Mail
69 MB Google Drive
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
35 MB Free RAM
1.45 GB Active RAM
1.45 GB Inactive RAM
888 MB Wired RAM
27.01 GB Page-ins
851 MB Page-outsWhen you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.
These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.
Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.
Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting. -
Software Metering Report - Install base for all metered software programs - Returns 0
Hi All
I have an issue with one of the software metering reports, Install base for all metered software programs. when run it returns that the metered software is installed on 0 computers.
All usage reports seem to work correctly and I can see usage data for the monitored applications. But anything related to install base such as the one listed above and "Computers that have a metered program installed but have not run the program since
a specific date" either return 0 or are blank.
Any help will be greatly appreciatedHi All
finally found a fix to the problem. It was very closely related to what Gareth had mentioned regarding Asset Intelligence. The actual method of detecting if a program is installed is done through Software Inventory
Under Custom Client Settings i had enabled Software Inventory on client but never setup any rules to gather data. So i created a new rule for all *.exe files and around an hour later the report started to show up clients.
This blog post also describes the method of setting up software inventory correctly
Thanks to all the help and hopefully this will aid anyone else encountering similar problems -
SCCM 2012 Reporting Capabilities for Software Metering
Hi,
I've been requested by my supervisors to get some information on metered software and computer usage in a specific lab, but I am unsure if I can obtain all the information they requested with just using SCCM.
I've already set up metering rules for the programs they want information on, software metering is enabled on the clients, and all of the lab computers are in in Configmgr and have good clients on them. Here's the list of the requests:
Total number of lab users by day
Total hours logged into lab computers by day
Total hours logged into a specific metered program by day
Total hours running different internet browsers
Total unique users over the course of a certain period of time
I am a novice when it comes to reports in SCCM. Are there built in reports that can give this information or would I have to write my own custom reports, or is this level of detail not possible for SCCM to give?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!The most requested information can be found in the obvious reports about
Software Metering (\Monitoring\Overview\Reporting\Reports\Software Metering).
My Blog: http://www.petervanderwoude.nl/
Follow me on twitter: pvanderwoude -
Will scripts run automatically ?
If I shut down my Mac everynight(I live in a time zone 6 hours ahead of Eastern US time), will the scripts run automatically when I start it up the next morning...or...do I need a special utility application for this ?
these scripts are not worth worrying about. you should just leave them alone. the OS does a very good job of running them all by itself. and they are all quite useless anyway. many people (apparently yourself included) seem to think that these periodic scripts are important maintenance tools and will make your system run better and faster. nothing can be further from the truth.
*monthly scripts* :
1. archive and recycle fax logs. have you used your mac as a fax machine lately?
2. write accounting information (total uptime of every account) in the monthly.out log.
That's IT. so unless you use your mac as a fax machine (do you, really?) you don't need to run monthly scripts. EVER.
*weekly scripts*:
in snow leopard they do one thing ONLY: rebuild whois database. it's only useful if you are a unix user and actually use the whois terminal command at least on occasion. I'll bet my bottom dollar you never have and never will. then you don't need to run the weekly scripts either. EVER.
*daily scripts*
they do several things
1. clean up the logs from /Library/Logs/CrashReporter which are more than 60 days old. hardly an urgent task. and those logs are really very few unless your system is seriously messed up. you can go a year without deleting any and will collect a few MBs at the most.
2. delete junk from /tmp directory that's more than 3 days old.
This is done automatically on every reboot without any periodic scripts. if you don't reboot the computer then daily scripts will run *no matter* the schedule. if you don't sleep the computer at night they'll run at night. if you do sleep the computer at night they will run first thing in the morning when the computer is turned on. again, zero need to reschedule anything.
3. deletes files older than 7 days from /var/rwho. this is only relevant if you are running a unix network. otherwise there is nothing to delete - EVER.
4. rotate accounting files. again, those are nonexistent unless you are a unix administrator.
5. run the terminal command *df -l -h* and print out the output to daily.out. all this command does is list currently mounted hard drives. useless.
6.print the current network status in daily.out. this is again just reporting not maintenance.
7. Delete system messages. Once again this is relevant only for multi-user Unix systems.
8. remove scratch fax files. see my comment above about using your mac as a fax machine.
9. it writes some other accounting and system status info to daily.out. this is again only reporting and is ONLY actually present on unix networks.
and that's all, folks. -
Need to automate several fairly simple actions
Hi,
I need to automate several simple actions, and wonder what is the best approach - automator or Apple Script? And if so, how?
When I work away from home, I need to still be able to easily send email, bypassing the annoying security of my ISP - using email relay. So what I do is open a terminal window and run a "sudo ssh..." one line command that does what I need. Enter two passwords at two prompts, and all done.
I would love to put it into a one-click-icon on the desktop.
Thanks,
SimonNot on tiger at the moment, but from Terminal have you tried Save as...
-
Doubt About Report Software Metering
Hello Guys,
I create my rule about metering for SoftwareX and is OK, run with success.
I have 2 computers(PC01,PC02) where I uninstall SoftwareX but when I run after 72hours Report: Computers that have run a specific metered software program ....still display PC01 and PC02 has SoftwareX metered.
My doubt is I set Software Metering Properties for 45 days, follow:
Will it take 45 days for PC1 and PC2 doesn't display more in my Report? Is this right?
If isn't right, how I can fix this for doesn't display SoftwareX if was uninstall in PC1 and PC2? My hardware inventory run ever 24hs and 24hs.
Thanks a lot.Correct it will take ~45 days for the data to be removed from CM12.
Garth Jones | My blogs: Enhansoft and
Old Blog site | Twitter:
@GarthMJ -
When I tested my app which uses Geolocator.GetGeopositionAsync to get the current user's location, the returned coordinate is always several hundred meters away from the actual location, even if the returned PositionSource is from GPS with accuracy of several
meters.
I was using Lumia 930 as a testing tool.
The following is my code:
//get current location
var geo = new Geolocator { DesiredAccuracy = PositionAccuracy.High, DesiredAccuracyInMeters = 10};
var currentLocation = await geo.GetGeopositionAsync();
//mark location on the map.
var point=currentLocation .Coordinate.Point;
MapIcon MapIcon1 = new MapIcon();
MapIcon1.Location = point;
MapIcon1.NormalizedAnchorPoint = new Point(0.5, 1.0);
MapIcon1.Title = "I'm here";
MapControl1.MapElements.Add(MapIcon1);
await MapControl1.TrySetViewAsync(point, 18D, 0, 0, MapAnimationKind.Bow);
Any idea why is this?From an API perspective, there's not much we can do about it. Do you know if the problem reproduces on other phones, other Lumia 930s? Maybe there's a problem with your specific phone?
Matt Small - Microsoft Escalation Engineer - Forum Moderator
If my reply answers your question, please mark this post as answered.
NOTE: If I ask for code, please provide something that I can drop directly into a project and run (including XAML), or an actual application project. I'm trying to help a lot of people, so I don't have time to figure out weird snippets with undefined
objects and unknown namespaces. -
I'm trying to sync outlook calendar and contacts via icloud control panel. Everything works when control panel is run manually but it will not run automatically after that. Anyone got any ideas
I am having a very similar problem. Until 12 hours ago, I was using my recently replaced 4s (with iOS7) flawlessly, receiving emails and calendar info from Exchange (Outlook 2010). But starting last night, it all stopped. I have deleted and added the account several times, tried making simple changes (considering whether the username is case sensitive, or not, etc.) and cannot fix it. I have iOS 7.04. Interestingly, the first time I changed the case to lower case, it seemed to respond immediately, and downloaded many emails with no sender, no content, and with a 12/31/69 date. Yes, 1969. And then nothing happened. Help please!
-
SCCM 2012 Software Metering - Status Message ID
Hi All,
I am planning to
configure “Automatic Software Uninstall”
based on software metering rules as outlined in the following blogs.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/neilp/archive/2012/11/27/software-metering-deep-dive-and-automation-part-1-use-it-or-lose-it-the-basics.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/b/neilp/archive/2012/11/29/software-metering-deep-dive-and-automation-part-2-use-it-or-lose-it-the-collections.aspx
However, the account
is currently installing software based on AD Software install groups.
If a user does not
use the software the software metering rule will ensure the machine is
populated into the application uninstall collection. However, (problem) the
machine account is still in the Install AD group and therefore, the uninstall
will not occur, (as install deployment takes precedence over uninstall
deployment)
I could configure
the install collection to exclude the uninstall collection, which would allow
the software to uninstall. But, then once the machine automatically gets
removed from the uninstall collection the software will install again as the
machine is still in the AD group.
Solution: Remove the machine account from the
AD install Group.
Question: What the best automated approach to
remove the machine from AD install group. I am thinking along the lines of
using Status Message ID’s based on the metering rule which causes a script to
fire and remove the machine from the AD group.
Would I have to
create a status message Rule for each application? Or is it possible to create
a generic one that can be leveraged for each application / metering rule
combination?
What Status Message ID should I use ?
I would appreciate
and comments or suggestions on the matter?
Thanks
Paul.Hello,
You referred AD group, did you install this application via group policy?
I think you can find out these machines via result of software metering. The following article show software metering rule:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd334612.aspx
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected] -
Should i run any security software?
Hi new Mac user(2 days) I'm running Mavericks 10.9.2 on Macbook Pro.
Should i be running any anti viris or any other security software and if so what do you recommend?
Thanks1. This is a comment on what you should and should not do to protect yourself from malicious software ("malware") that circulates on the Internet. It does not apply to software, such as keystroke loggers, that may be installed deliberately by an intruder who has hands-on access to your computer, or who has been able to log in to it remotely. That threat is in a different category, and there's no easy way to defend against it. If you have reason to suspect that you're the target of such an attack, you need expert help.
If you find this comment too long or too technical, read only sections 5, 6, and 10.
OS X now implements three layers of built-in protection specifically against malware, not counting runtime protections such as execute disable, sandboxing, system library randomization, and address space layout randomization that may also guard against other kinds of exploits.
2. All versions of OS X since 10.6.7 have been able to detect known Mac malware in downloaded files, and to block insecure web plugins. This feature is transparent to the user. Internally Apple calls it "XProtect."
The malware recognition database used by XProtect is automatically updated; however, you shouldn't rely on it, because the attackers are always at least a day ahead of the defenders.
The following caveats apply to XProtect:
It can be bypassed by some third-party networking software, such as BitTorrent clients and Java applets.
It only applies to software downloaded from the network. Software installed from a CD or other media is not checked.
As new versions of OS X are released, it's not clear whether Apple will indefinitely continue to maintain the XProtect database of older versions such as 10.6. The security of obsolete system versions may eventually be degraded. Security updates to the code of obsolete systems will stop being released at some point, and that may leave them open to other kinds of attack besides malware.
3. Starting with OS X 10.7.5, there has been a second layer of built-in malware protection, designated "Gatekeeper" by Apple. By default, applications and Installer packages downloaded from the network will only run if they're digitally signed by a developer with a certificate issued by Apple. Software certified in this way hasn't necessarily been tested by Apple, but you can be reasonably sure that it hasn't been modified by anyone other than the developer. His identity is known to Apple, so he could be held legally responsible if he distributed malware. That may not mean much if the developer lives in a country with a weak legal system (see below.)
Gatekeeper doesn't depend on a database of known malware. It has, however, the same limitations as XProtect, and in addition the following:
It can easily be disabled or overridden by the user.
A malware attacker could get control of a code-signing certificate under false pretenses, or could simply ignore the consequences of distributing codesigned malware.
An App Store developer could find a way to bypass Apple's oversight, or the oversight could fail due to human error.
Apple has so far failed to revoke the codesigning certificates of some known abusers, thereby diluting the value of Gatekeeper and the Developer ID program. These failures don't involve App Store products, however.
For the reasons given, App Store products, and—to a lesser extent—other applications recognized by Gatekeeper as signed, are safer than others, but they can't be considered absolutely safe. "Sandboxed" applications may prompt for access to private data, such as your contacts, or for access to the network. Think before granting that access. Sandbox security is based on user input. Never click through any request for authorization without thinking.
4. Starting with OS X 10.8.3, a third layer of protection has been added: a "Malware Removal Tool" (MRT). MRT runs automatically in the background when you update the OS. It checks for, and removes, malware that may have evaded the other protections via a Java exploit (see below.) MRT also runs when you install or update the Apple-supplied Java runtime (but not the Oracle runtime.) Like XProtect, MRT is effective against known threats, but not against unknown ones. It notifies you if it finds malware, but otherwise there's no user interface to MRT.
5. The built-in security features of OS X reduce the risk of malware attack, but they are not, and never will be, complete protection. The best defense is always going to be your own intelligence. With the possible exception of Java exploits, all known malware circulating on the Internet that affects a fully-updated installation of OS X 10.6 or later takes the form of so-called "Trojan horses," which can only have an effect if the victim is duped into running them. The threat therefore amounts to a battle of wits between you and the scam artists. If you're smarter than they think you are, you'll win. That means, in practice, that you always stay within a safe harbor of computing practices. How do you know when you're leaving the safe harbor? Below are some warning signs of danger.
Software from an untrustworthy source
Software of any kind is distributed via BitTorrent. or Usenet, or on a website that also distributes pirated music or movies.
Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, doesn't come directly from the developer’s website. Do not trust an alert from any website to update Flash, your browser, or anything else.
Rogue websites such as Softonic and CNET Download distribute free applications that have been packaged in a superfluous "installer."
The software is advertised by means of spam or intrusive web ads. Any ad, on any site, that includes a direct link to a download should be ignored.
Software that is plainly illegal or does something illegal
High-priced commercial software such as Photoshop is "cracked" or "free."
An application helps you to infringe copyright, for instance by circumventing the copy protection on commercial software, or saving streamed media for reuse without permission.
Conditional or unsolicited offers from strangers
A telephone caller or a web page tells you that you have a “virus” and offers to help you remove it. (Some reputable websites did legitimately warn visitors who were infected with the "DNSChanger" malware. That exception to this rule no longer applies.)
A web site offers free content such as video or music, but to use it you must install a “codec,” “plug-in,” "player," "downloader," "extractor," or “certificate” that comes from that same site, or an unknown one.
You win a prize in a contest you never entered.
Someone on a message board such as this one is eager to help you, but only if you download an application of his choosing.
A "FREE WI-FI !!!" network advertises itself in a public place such as an airport, but is not provided by the management.
Anything online that you would expect to pay for is "free."
Unexpected events
You open what you think is a document and get an alert that it's "an application downloaded from the Internet." Click Cancel and delete the file. Even if you don't get the alert, you should still delete any file that isn't what you expected it to be.
An application does something you don't expect, such as asking for permission to access your contacts, your location, or the Internet for no obvious reason.
Software is attached to email that you didn't request, even if it comes (or seems to come) from someone you trust.
I don't say that leaving the safe harbor just once will necessarily result in disaster, but making a habit of it will weaken your defenses against malware attack. Any of the above scenarios should, at the very least, make you uncomfortable.
6. Java on the Web (not to be confused with JavaScript, to which it's not related, despite the similarity of the names) is a weak point in the security of any system. Java is, among other things, a platform for running complex applications in a web page, on the client. That was always a bad idea, and Java's developers have proven themselves incapable of implementing it without also creating a portal for malware to enter. Past Java exploits are the closest thing there has ever been to a Windows-style virus affecting OS X. Merely loading a page with malicious Java content could be harmful.
Fortunately, client-side Java on the Web is obsolete and mostly extinct. Only a few outmoded sites still use it. Try to hasten the process of extinction by avoiding those sites, if you have a choice. Forget about playing games or other non-essential uses of Java.
Java is not included in OS X 10.7 and later. Discrete Java installers are distributed by Apple and by Oracle (the developer of Java.) Don't use either one unless you need it. Most people don't. If Java is installed, disable it—not JavaScript—in your browsers.
Regardless of version, experience has shown that Java on the Web can't be trusted. If you must use a Java applet for a task on a specific site, enable Java only for that site in Safari. Never enable Java for a public website that carries third-party advertising. Use it only on well-known, login-protected, secure websites without ads. In Safari 6 or later, you'll see a lock icon in the address bar with the abbreviation "https" when visiting a secure site.
Stay within the safe harbor, and you’ll be as safe from malware as you can practically be. The rest of this comment concerns what you should not do to protect yourself.
7. Never install any commercial "anti-virus" or "Internet security" products for the Mac, as they all do more harm than good, if they do any good at all. If you need to be able to detect Windows malware in your files, use one of the free security apps in the Mac App Store—nothing else.
Why shouldn't you use commercial "anti-virus" products?
To recognize malware, the software depends on a database of known threats, which is always at least a day out of date. Research has shown that most successful attacks are "zero-day"—that is, previously unknown. Recognition-based malware scanners do not defend against such attacks.
Their design is predicated on the nonexistent threat that malware may be injected at any time, anywhere in the file system. Malware is downloaded from the network; it doesn't materialize from nowhere.
In order to meet that nonexistent threat, the software modifies or duplicates low-level functions of the operating system, which is a waste of resources and a common cause of instability, bugs, and poor performance.
By modifying the operating system, the software itself may create weaknesses that could be exploited by malware attackers.
Most importantly, a false sense of security makes you more vulnerable.
8. An anti-malware product from the App Store, such as "ClamXav," has the same drawback as the commercial suites of being always out of date, but it does not inject code into the operating system. That doesn't mean it's entirely harmless. It may report email messages that have "phishing" links in the body, or Windows malware in attachments, as infected files, and offer to delete or move them. Doing so will corrupt the Mail database. The messages should be deleted from within the Mail application.
An anti-virus app is not needed, and cannot be relied upon, for protection against OS X malware. It's useful only for detecting Windows malware, and even for that use it's not really effective, because new Windows malware is emerging much faster than OS X malware. Windows malware can't harm you directly (unless, of course, you use Windows.) Just don't pass it on to anyone else.
A Windows malware attachment in email is usually easy to recognize by the file name alone. An actual example:
London Terror Moovie.avi [124 spaces] Checked By Norton Antivirus.exe
You don't need any software to tell you that's a Windows trojan. Software may be able to tell you which trojan it is, but who cares? In practice, there's seldom a reason to use recognition software unless an institutional policy requires it. Windows malware is so widespread that you should assume it's in every unknown email attachment until proven otherwise. Nevertheless, ClamXav or a similar product from the App Store may be useful if an ill-informed network administrator says you must run some kind of "anti-virus" application.
The ClamXav developer won't try to "upsell" you to a paid version of the product. Other developers may do that. Don't be upsold. For one thing, you should not pay to protect Windows users from the consequences of their choice of computing platform. For another, a paid upgrade from a free app will probably have all the disadvantages mentioned in section 7.
9. It seems to be a common belief that the built-in Application Firewall acts as a barrier to infection, or prevents malware from functioning. It does neither. It blocks inbound connections to certain network services you're running, such as file sharing. It's disabled by default and you should leave it that way if you're behind a router on a private home or office network. Activate it only when you're on an untrusted network, for instance a public Wi-Fi hotspot, where you don't want to provide services. Disable any services you don't use in the Sharing preference pane. All are disabled by default.
10. As a Mac user you don't have to live in fear that your computer may be infected every time you install software, read email, or visit a web page. But neither should you assume that you will always be safe from exploitation, no matter what you do. The greatest harm done by security software is precisely its selling point: it makes people feel safe. They may then feel safe enough to take risks from which the software doesn't protect them. "Hmmmm, this torrent is a crack of that new game I want. I think I'll download it. It could be a trojan, but the antivirus will warn me if it is." Then they wonder why their Mac is so slow all of a sudden. It's slow because it's running flat out mining Bitcoins for a hacker who has already sold their credit card number and banking passwords to a criminal gang. Maybe a week later the antivirus does warn them, but what good does that do?
Nothing can lessen the need for safe computing practices. -
When I try to install software, Firefox window opens with a drop down box stating Firefox is not allowing page to re-direct. I click on allow, and it goes back to original page. It is preventing me from auto run and installing software. I tried several times, and it just runs me in circles. When I click to allow page re-direct, I click auto run and it send me right back to Firefox page with same thing. Very frustrating.
When do you get this redirect?
Is that when you (try to) visit other websites?
Clear the cache and the cookies from websites that cause problems.
"Clear the Cache":
*Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"
"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:
*Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
You can look for suspicious extensions.
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.<br>
Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.<br>
All these programs have free versions.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
*Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:<br>http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
*SuperAntispyware:<br>http://www.superantispyware.com/
*Microsoft Safety Scanner:<br>http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx
*Windows Defender: Home Page:<br>http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx
*Spybot Search & Destroy:<br>http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
*AdwCleaner:<br>http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/<br>http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml
*Kasperky Free Security Scan:<br>http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan
You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.
*Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller:<br>http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446
See also:
*"Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked
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