Safari – Download ZIP files (Not Open Them!)
KB ID 0001537 Problem I’d forgotten Safari did this, after replacing my mac a few weeks ago I was trying to download a ZIP file from Github, and was perplexed that it was getting extracted to a folder in my downloads folder, and not appearing as a ZIP file? Solution After about the third time, the penny dropped. Safari does this by default. You need to disable it. Safari > Preferences > General > UNTICK : Open...
VMware Fusion on macOS Mojave: No Mouse or Keyboard
KB ID 0001523 Problem While building my new MacBook, I installed VMWare Fusion, (I always run a Windows VM, in case I have to do something on Windows). But no matter what version I tried to install, I could not interface with the VMs, (no mouse or keyboard). I ran Fusion 11 on my old MacBook, (running Mojave). So I was a bit confused. Solution Click the ‘Apple’ (top left) > System Preferences > Security and Privacy...
Citrix: mac OSX ‘You have chosen not to trust…’
KB ID 0001520 Problem After a colleague deployed Citrix for a customer the other day, they complained that they had a mac user that was getting certificate errors. They had a publicly signed wildcard certificate, but this user was still having problems. After I heard a few “tell him to stop using a mac” comments, I said, “I’m using a MacBook here, would you like me to test it?” The URL opened fine in...
OSX: Backup ‘Sparsebundle’ is Already In Use
KB ID 0001486 Problem Thankfully I’ve never had to rely on my Mac backup, but it runs to an EMC Iomega NAS drive that I have in my house, (which also has all my media on it). Backup Failed The backup on “target-name” is already in use. If I expand ‘details’; Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to “target-name”. The backup disk image...
How to Transfer Files from PC to iPhone Wirelessly
KB ID 0001481 Written by Tag Jones When it comes to transferring files from PC to iPhone and vice versa, the most obvious choice is to use iTunes. However, it has been found that many users don’t like working with this application. Bloated and ponderous, iTunes continues Apple’s ongoing trend of having lost its design mojo. Luckily, we have other options. One of the easiest ways is to use Wi-Fi Direct Transfer. With this...
Safari: This connection Is Not Private Loop
KB ID 0001462 Problem This has been bugging me for a while, I use Safari for most things, but recently going to an https (SSL secured) web page that uses a self signed, or expired certificate, give me this; Now this is to be expected, normally you click ‘visit this website’ it asks for you password, and away you go. However now it doesn’t, it loops you back here again and you can go round many times, until you give...
VMware Fusion: Guest VM ‘Lost’ Network Connectivity
KB ID 0001450 Problem I keep a Windows 10 VM on my laptop, and last week it lost network connectivity, (it’s set to get its IP from my mac and get network connectivity via NAT). The guest was getting a 169.254.x.x APIPA address so either NAT was down, or there was no network? Solution You need to ‘Restart’ the services on the Mac host machine. Execute the following two commands;...
Mac OSX: ‘Cannot Send F11 Keystroke’
KB ID 0001441 Problem I was building some HP blade servers today via iLO, and while trying to install ESX, I reached this stage; Pressing F11 on a mac just increases the volume, and with the other function keys (F1 to F10) you simply press ‘fn’ and the appropriate F key, and it works properly. But not on a mac, ‘Fn+F11’ just shows you your desktop. Even changing function keys in the keyboard settings has no...
Safari Keeps Re-opening Compromised/Spammy Web Pages
KB ID 0001431 Problem To be honest it was my own fault, I was trying to get some software and was on a ‘dubious’ file sharing site, when ‘Boom’ loads of popup windows and scripts executing! Normally I’d just’ force quit’ Safari, and open it again then get on with my life, but Safari ‘Helpfully’ remembered which URL I was on, and reopened it as soon as it launched, and the whole...
Mac High Sierra – Telnet and FTP Missing?
KB ID 0001364 Problem Why have Apple removed Telnet and FTP, yes they are old, yes they are insecure. For remote management you should be using SSH and for file transfers you should be using SFTP or FTPS. However what if I want to telnet to a mail server on port 25 and test email flow? What if I need to connect to a Cisco switch that does not have a K9 operating system, and only supports Telnet? -bash: telnet: command not found...