Category Archives: Apple

Uninstall Symantec Enterprise Vault Client on Mac OS

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Since Symantec doesn’t provide an uninstaller script for their Enterprise Vault Client, here’s how to remove it on Mac OS.

Open a Terminal window and execute these commands:

launchctl unload -D user /Library/LaunchAgents/com.symantec.ev.daemon.plist
sudo killall -m  "Enterprise Vault .*"
sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchAgents/com.symantec.ev.daemon.plist
sudo rm -rf "/Library/PreferencePanes/Enterprise Vault.prefPane"
sudo rm -rf "/Library/Application Support/Symantec Enterprise Vault"
rm -rf "~/Library/Application Support/Symantec Enterprise Vault"

Dropbox & EncFS on OS X Lion

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I previously wrote about a method for creating a super-secure filesystem using Dropbox’s cloud storage.

After updating to Mac OS Lion I struggled to get the MacFusion GUI to work and so I wrote an application to automate the mounting and unmounting of the EncFS filesystem.

I also took the opportunity to switch from the now abandoned MacFUSE to Fuse4X, which is a properly maintained fork of MacFUSE started in June 2011.

The install procedure is much simpler than before, you install Fuse4X and EncFS, but instead of using the MacFusion GUI you just call my script instead.

To the instructions!

First download and install Fuse4X and a version of EncFS which uses the Fuse4X APIs. Thanks to Simone Lehmann for providing an EncFS Mac installer at http://www.lisanet.de/?p=128 (also mirrored here).

To create a new encrypted volume (stored locally at first to prevent the EncFS key from being synchronised with Dropbox):

encfs ~/Desktop/_Encrypted ~/Documents/_DropSec

Answer ‘yes’ when prompted to create the new folders and choose ‘p’ for pre-configured paranoia mode (256-bit AES encryption). Enter a secure EncFS password when prompted and you’re done.

Now the filesystem has been created we can deal with securing the key.

umount ~/Documents/_DropSec
mkdir ~/.keys
mv ~/Desktop/_Encrypted/.encfs6.xml ~/.keys/dropsec.xml

The commands above move your key from the EncFS filesystem into a hidden folder in your (local) home directory

Now move the entire ~/Desktop/_Encrypted folder (minus your key) into your Dropbox:

mv ~/Desktop/_Encrypted ~/Dropbox/

Finally download my DropSec application and copy it to your Applications folder.

The first time you run DropSec it will prompt you for your EncFS password which it stores in your local login keychain. The password must match the secure password you set in a previous step.

To mount or unmount the encrypted filesystem simply run the DropSec app. For convenience copy it to your Mac OS Dock for quick access.

Adobe retires Flash for mobiles

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In early 2010 Apple announced the eagerly anticipated iPad and iPhone 4. They were hugely successful product launches, but at the same time Apple also came under increasing pressure from customers and developers to support Adobe Flash on their shiny new iOS devices.

In reaction to the criticism Steve Jobs delivered a scathing personal attack on Adobe Flash in an Apple article entitled “Thoughts on Flash“.

Jobs began by saying he “wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads“.

In his critique Jobs went on to detail six main reasons why Apple was so staunchly against Flash, which I have paraphrased below:

  1. Open. Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.
  2. Full web. Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access “the full web” because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don’t say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
  3. Reliability, security and performance. Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash.
  4. Battery life. H.264 can be decoded in hardware which doubles battery life during video playback.
  5. Touch. Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers.
  6. Cross platform. We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.

Reading Jobs’ article again really highlights his genius for strategic vision.

New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.

Steve Jobs
April, 2010

How prophetic that closing paragraph was in light of Adobe’s announcement just 18 months later to cease development of Flash for mobile devices, and focus on HTML5 instead.

The news of this dramatic Adobe turnaround came in an official blog post from Danny Winokur, VP & General Manager, Interactive Development at Adobe.

Flash to Focus on PC Browsing and Mobile Apps; Adobe to More Aggressively Contribute to HTML5

HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively.  This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms. We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores.  We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.

Although Jobs was undoubtedly correct to back the HTML5 open standard, I have to question whether he was merely a soothsayer or the architect of Flash’s demise. Clearly with no Flash support on Apple’s iOS products there was a massive disincentive for developers to continue using Adobe’s technology.

Either way, Jobs got his way. It’s a shame he never got to see it.

 

Google Maps API

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Google have announced that they will introduce usage limits and start billing excess usage fees for their Google Maps API from 1st January 2012.

The free usage limit has been set at 25,000 map loads per day. If you exceed this limit your choices are:

Excess usage is billed at $4 per 1,000 map loads.

What happens if you do none of these?

Your maps will continue to function. However if your application qualifies for and consistently exceeds the published Maps API usage limits, you do not have a Maps API Premier license, and you do not enroll for online purchasing of excess map loads, a warning may be shown on your map and a Maps API Premier sales manager may contact you to discuss your licensing options.

While this apparently won’t affect 99.65% of users and is aimed squarely at the high-usage ‘abusers’, one does wonder what plans Google have for widening the net of their haul by reducing the limits even further.

Fortunately developers who use the Maps External Library to embed maps in their Android or iOS apps shouldn’t be affected, but again I wonder how long before Google decide to cash-in on this lucrative revenue stream too.

Apple presumably have the same fears. Earlier this year they quietly acquired Swedish mapping technology firm C3 Technologies, so it’s probably safe to assume that they are developing an alternative maps API to challenge Google’s dominance.

While I appreciate that Google is a profit-making commercial enterprise, the manner in which these fees have been introduced is a cause for concern.

It’s akin to a drug dealer giving away free hits and then exploiting the poor addicts once they’re hooked on drugs.

Is this indicative of a new Google business model to get us all using their ‘free’ services and then bleed us dry once we’re all dependent?

Google’s “Don’t be evil” corporate motto might need to be updated soon.

" The first one's free kid ... "

Steve Jobs

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I am feeling quite emotional about the sad passing of Steve Jobs. I have previously been closely involved in the technical development of iPhone and so perhaps feel a more personal connection that extends beyond being an Apple fanboi.

The closest I came to meeting the great man in person was at the ‘Mum is no longer the word‘ Apple press conference at the Regent Street store in London on 18th September 2007. I’m lurking in the crowd somewhere in the auditorium below!

I’ll never forget the buzz of anticipation from the assembled hacks as Steve Jobs took to the stage to announce the exclusive partnership between Apple and O2 (to sell the original iPhone). This was the worst kept secret in the industry, but the excitement of Jobs coming to town to personally reveal the deal was palpable.

I read the news of Jobs’ death this morning while checking the BBC News app on my touch-screen mobile phone. This is the type of information snacking that most smart phone users do habitually and now take totally for granted.

The way we interact with mobile devices and consume mobile data has changed beyond all recognition since the original Apple iPhone launched in 2007.

Jobs’ obsessive attention to detail in all aspects of Apple’s product development has made complicated technology accessible to all. iPhones, iPods and iPads have become ubiquitous, not just because of their technical capabilities but because they are beautifully simple to use.

Jobs has left a lasting legacy of technological achievements, but his early death is also a reminder of the fragility of life.

The man had an almost limitless supply of cash and arguably the most technologically inventive minds in the world at his disposal, but he could not buy his health.

So long Steve – and thanks.