Little Snitch Blocklists

1wo.netlify.com › ∎ Little Snitch Blocklists

To clarify, I whitelist my browser entirely in Little Snitch and delegate to uMatrix and other extensions. I also don't pre-emptively load in rules into Little Snitch - I have it running in active/interrupt mode, so it prompts me whenever it tries to make a new connection I haven't signed off on before. Hey, glad you're finding my list useful! I'm not sure about using other blocklists from uBO with Little Snitch. I specifically added the possibility of viewing my list in a format that's usable by Little Snitch, but I don't think the others can do that. Mar 31, 2020 Despite fewer malware threats to Mac systems, there is still a need for data protection. With Little Snitch for Mac, users can prevent personal information from being sent out, although its.

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Rule group subscriptions use a .lsrules file, which is a JSON format specified in this chapter. Such files can be exported using Little Snitch Configuration or created using a text editor or a script.

A simple example

Let’s start with a simple example that specifies a single rule for allowing software updates for LaunchBar:

Blocklists

A common use case for rule group subscriptions are blocklists that contain a lot of domains, hosts, or IP addresses for which access should be flat out denied. Using the above syntax, you’d have to repeat 'process': 'any' and 'action': 'deny' for each domain, host, or IP address. For thousands of rules, that can lead to unnecessarily large files that in turn lead to unnecessarily large downloads for every single subscriber.

Starting in Little Snitch 4.2, you can use a more compact format that looks like this:

Top-level keys

The top level of an .lsrules file is a JSON dictionary with the following keys:

Key	Type	Description
`name`	String	The name of the group.
`description`	String	A description of the rule grouop.
`rules`	Array of Dictionaries	The list of rules. See below for rule-level keys.

To efficiently support blocklists, the following keys were added in Little Snitch 4.2:

Block List On Yahoo Mail

Key	Type	Description
`denied-remote-domains`	Array of Strings	A list of domain names.
`denied-remote-hosts`	Array of Strings	A list of hostnames.
`denied-remote-addresses`	Array of Strings	A list of IP addresses. See Anatomy of a rule > Server (remote computer) for supported syntax.
`denied-remote-notes`	String	The notes that should be repeated for each rule. The placeholder `%REMOTE%` will be replaced with the respective domain, host, or IP-address for each rule.

You can mix all of these keys in a single .lsrules file, i.e. you can define arbitrary rules in a rules array next to a list of domains in denied-remote-domains and a list of IP addresses in denied-remote-addresses.

Rule keys

Each rule defined in the file is a JSON dictionary with the following keys:

Specifying the process

To define which processes a rule should match, you specify the executable of the process using the following keys:

To match any process, use:
- 'process': 'any'
To match a specific process, use:
- 'process' (String): A String containing the full path to the executable. For apps, this is path to the app’s executable, not the app wrapper. For example: /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/Safari
- 'via' (String, optional): If the rule should only match if the executable uses a specific helper tool, you can specify its path. For example, you could create a rule that matches “Terminal via ping” by setting 'path' to Terminal’s path and 'via' to ping’s path. Note that a rule for Terminal that has no 'via' will also match connections of “Terminal via ping”.

Specifying the remote

The remote for the rule can be specified in multiple ways. You can only provide one of the following keys:

'remote-addresses': A String containing one or more IP addresses in the format described in Anatomy of a rule > Server (remote computer).
'remote-hosts': Either a String with a hostname, or an Array of Strings of hostnames.
'remote-domains': Either a String with a domain name, or an Array of Strings of domain names.
'remote': A String with exactly one of the following values. For a description of each of these values, see Anatomy of a rule > Server (remote computer).
- 'any'
- 'local-net'
- 'multicast'
- 'broadcast'
- 'bonjour'
- 'dns-servers'
- 'bpf' (Berkeley Packet Filter, available starting in Little Sntich 4.4.3)

Other keys

Key	Type	Description
`direction`	String, optional	The connection direction. `'incoming'` or `'outgoing'`, defaults to `'outgoing'`.
`action`	String, optional	The rule action. `'allow'`, `'deny'`, or `'ask'`. Defaults to `'ask'`.
`priority`	String, optional	The rule priority. `'regular'` or `'high'`. Defaults to `'regular'`.
`disabled`	Boolean, optional	Whether or not the rule is disabled by default. Defaults to `false`.
`ports`	String, optional	The ports the rule matches. Can be `'any'` for any port (the default), a single port (e.g. `'443'`), or a range of ports (e.g. `'123-456'`).
`protocol`	String, optional	The protocol the rule matches. Can be a numeric value as defined in `/etc/protocols`, like `'6'` for TCP, or the actual protocol name, like `'tcp'`. Defaults to any protocol.
`notes`	String, optional	The notes for the rule.

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item.208455

Samuel Herschbein

Re: James Cutler's post Item 208339:

I think there are two separate issues. The first is having two partitions with different OS X versions on one physical drive. The second is running two versions of OS X that both use iCloud & other Apple apps.

I have not tried installing Mavericks and then Yosemite on a single drive to see if Yosemite will convert the drive to Core Storage. I installed Yosemite on an external to avoid Core Storage and then cloned it to the internal without Core Storage. Yosemite is the only OS on the drive, it has not automatically been converted to Core Storage.

James experienced issues with iCloud. I've had iCloud issues when multiple devices access iCloud, regardless of whether the devices are OS X, iOS or combinations of the two. I agree that running the latest OS X and iOS is the best way to avoid iCloud issues, but I'm not happy that Apple hasn't provided adequate backwards compatibility.

I would not recommend dual-boot for non-savvy users. I think savvy users can use dual-boot, as long as they're aware of the issues. I agree that virtualization is the best solution for most people requiring multiple OS X versions.

For me, the solution was to become a two Mac user; my primary MacBook runs Snow Leopard and my secondary Yosemite.

item.208437

Nick Batzdorf

'A request: when reporting Mail.app performance, please include the kind of accounts you have'

Earthlink, Gmail, others, over very fast Time Warner cable internet.

It seems people are having server issues. For me the issue is the speed of the program itself, specifically deleting garbage messages that have already been downloaded from the server.

item.208501

Mike Ross

[Re. Apple Mail problems..]

Try going to the Advanced tab of your Account preferences and unchecking Auto-detect. This made a huge difference for me. I have a Kerio IMAP account and my Kerio administrator recommended this. Works like a charm.

item.208446

George

Larry Beam wrote concerning his activation of a personalized hosts file:

As I use Firefox with Adblock Plus and Ghostery installed, I haven't noticed a significant improvement in the speed with which pages load with the modified hosts file in place. However, Ghostery now reports about half as many trackers for most pages.

Comment on Item 208376 ..

From Steve Gibson on Episode 501 of the 'Security Now Podcast'

Firefox users right now can enable tracking protection by going to about:config, searching for privacy.trackingprotection, and double-clicking on the setting. That'll set it to TRUE, and it's enabled. Mozilla is going to be adding this feature in private browsing mode from Firefox 39 and up. But if you're still using an older version of Firefox, again, about:config, double-click privacy.trackingprotection. That'll set it to TRUE.

ghacks.net/2015/03/27/firefox-39-tracking-protection-for- private-browsing-mode

item.208448

MacInTouch Reader

..As I use Firefox with Adblock Plus and Ghostery installed..

I was doing that for a while. Then, I became aware of various Adblock Plus configuration options.. most especially, numerous blocklists you can freely subscribe to from various sources, which frequently update themselves. (However you shouldn't enable too many, as some of them overlap, and using too many can slow browser performance.)

Some of these Adblock Plus blocklists allegedly perform the same functions as Ghostery. That, plus the fact that Ghostery seems to involve a live connection between your browser and a company that's in an advertising-related business itself, led to my disabling Ghostery and relying solely on Adblock Plus multiple list subscriptions. (I realize that Adblock Plus itself has an advertising connection, but it seems more indirect and can be disabled.)

If anybody has more detailed knowledge about the various subscription lists available for Adblock Plus, and whether they do in fact make Ghostery redundant, I'd love to hear it.

Apr. 6, 2015

item.208513

George

.. Then I became aware of various Adblock Plus configuration options.. most especially, numerous blocklists you can freely subscribe to from various sources, which frequently update themselves. (However you shouldn't enable too many, as some of them overlap, and using too many can slow browser performance.)

If anybody has more detailed knowledge about the various subscription lists available for Adblock Plus, and whether they do in fact make Ghostery redundant, I'd love to hear it.

I have AdBlock Edge, the huge hosts file I recently described creating, and Little Snitch, with an ever growing additional set of permanent blocks.

Ghostery continues to report blocking trackers. Just opened a popular site, and Ghostery reported blocking 13 trackers. If I had more time, I'd add those blocked to hosts.

Pretty sure blocking sites need a connection, if for no other reason than not going stale. You can reduce Ghostery's by disabling Ghostrank. Of course, that's how Ghostery 'learns' what trackers are out there.

There's the similar Disconnect.

There's the arriving tracker blocker built into Firefox.

What I don't know is if the trackers Ghostery is reporting blocked would be blocked by hosts or AdBlock.

It's possible loading a website initiates a tracking sequence Ghostery 'sees' but which would not get past my other settings.

I don't notice Ghostery's additional overhead, and rather enjoy its bubble report of all the trackers various sites include.

Apr. 7, 2015

item.208545

Jim Steckel

Thanks:

Ross Bogue
..

Scott Lasley
The Authentication setting was changed, causing long delays logging in to the mail server. When I changed it back to the setting I had in Mavericks, Mail worked without delays.

Have you used the Window-> Connection Doctor tool in Mail to check your connection to the server? If logging in seems to take a long time in Connection Doctor, check the Advanced preferences for the account for Port, Authentication, etc, and make sure the settings are correct. Those settings fixed my problems with slow Mail

Checking the port setting in Mail is something I would never have thought of. That's why I like this website. I learn a lot here. But when you talk ports, you have reached my knowledge limit. Mail set up everything for me when I first ran it and since it worked and I didn't know better, I left it alone. I have iCloud, Gmail and Yahoo accounts all set up using IMAP. My primary email account is Gmail. I never use iCloud and Yahoo is my trash account which I use when filling out forms, etc. especially when I think my email address could be sold and/or traded. So here are my settings on the Advanced page:

Gmail: port 993 and uses SSL, Authentication set to Apple Token and my IMAP Path Prefix is blank.
iCloud: port 993 and uses SSL, Authentication set to password and my IMAP Path Prefix is blank.
Yahoo: port 993 and uses SSL, Authentication set to password and my IMAP Path Prefix is blank.

So is there something that should be changed on the Advanced page?
Is another port better than 993?
Should there be something on the IMAP line?

I just checked the Mailbox Behaviors page and discovered I was storing junk messages on the server in Yahoo but not in Gmail or iCloud. I get 75% of spam via my Yahoo so that may have slowed things down. I unchecked that setting in Yahoo. I also had Trash messages stored on the server in all 3 accounts and I unchecked that too. There should be less information being transferred between Mail and the email servers.

Finally, after I completed the above adjustments, I checked the Connection Doctor. A whole lot of 'weird to me' information flew by when I showed the log. I noticed that iCloud connected virtually instantly. Gmail sometimes had a brief, half second or so pause. Yahoo is noticeably slower with frequent pauses, up to a second or more, when doing all that it is does with my account.

Thanks to all for your responses and I look forward to any more suggestions you might be able to offer.

BTW Ric, I checked DNS and they already use OpenDNS here.

[FYI, in case it's helpful.. Mail settings you might need from your email provider [Apple Support].
-Ric Ford]

Apr. 8, 2015

item.208629

John Chardine

I am running latest 10.10.2 on late 2012 Mac Mini. I've noticed a new strange behaviour after sleep. Machine wakes up fine, but after, I lose ability to control 27' Mac Thunderbolt display brightness from remote keyboard, and the USB ports on the display die. I recently did a clean install of OS and reloaded minimum software so machine is lean and mean.

I've reset SMC and PRAM, also rebuilt permissions, all to no effect. Interim fix to to turn off sleep.

Any ideas?

item.208647

Paul Guinnessy

I am running latest 10.10.2 on late 2012 Mac Mini. I've noticed a new strange behaviour after sleep. Machine wakes up fine, but after, I lose ability to control 27' Mac Thunderbolt display brightness from remote keyboard, and the USB ports on the display die. I recently did a clean install of OS and reloaded minimum software so machine is lean and mean.

This is a problem a lot of us had after a release two updates ago. I kept my hard drive running all the time (i.e. not let it sleep), and that seems to do the trick. I'm still unhappy that it had to be done (others have gone and got their Thunderbolt display logic board replaced, but as that's $300, this seemed the cheaper option).

item.208603

Robert Rosenberg

So is there something that should be changed on the Advanced page?
Is another port better than 993?
Should there be something on the IMAP line?

995 is the defined port for using a SSL IMAP session. Thus it is what is going to be used by an IMAP server if it wants the session to be SSL'ed. The non-SSL IMAP port is 143.

Apr. 9, 2015

item.208679

Monty Lee

MacInTouch today refers you to the Apple update page that says:

'You can also download the manual installer for this update. This is a useful option when you need to update multiple computers but only want to download the update once. Manual installers are available from Apple Support Downloads.'

Not true. That file is not there.

So when you download the 10.10.3 update, where is it located? I don't want to have to download it for each machine, so I would like to use the one file once it is downloaded.

[Here's a link for the OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 Combo Update. -Ric Ford]

item.208721

Timothy Stewart

Is there a direct link to the OS X Yosemite Recovery Update 1.0? I couldn't find one. It's taking as long to download as the 10.10.3 update and I have many computers to update. (Thanks for the link to the combo - that's at least half the battle.)

[I have been unable to find a reference to OS X Yoemite Recovery Update 1.0 on Apple's website - it only appeared in Software Update / Mac App Store on my Yosemite system, and I found the whole thing confusing. -Ric Ford]

item.208719

MacInTouch Reader

Monty Lee asked about downloading the standalone installer for the 10.10.3 update from Apple. The downloaded file appears in the same location specified for all other downloads. However, Apple provides a Combo Update, as well as a somewhat smaller Update, without much, if any, guidance on which to use. Both refer to the same knowledge base article. I also was unable to apply the Combo Update on my laptop, which had 10.10.2 installed.

As best as I can tell, the only way to obtain full installers is to get them from the App Store, but that doesn't work consistently for me.

Overall, this update has been more problematic than previous ones, even requiring a hard shutdown with the power button on one of my iMacs.

Apr. 10, 2015

item.208735

MacInTouch Reader

For the last day or so my fairly slow home internet connection has been saturated by downloads from a process named nsurlsessiond. From what I can discover, this seems to be a process that downloads updates or iCloud data in the background, but I have automatic updates disabled in the App Store preferences and do not have an iCloud account on this computer. Currently running 10.10.2. Any suggestions on what might be causing this or how to shut it off? The internet connection is mostly useless with all of this unrequested traffic.

item.208766

Richard Artus

Ric and others: the link that Ric posted regarding the combo update certainly helped me out.

Software update in the App Store hasn't worked for me ever since 10.10.1. I see the updates there, but when I click on any of them, all I ever get is the spinning wheel for a moment or two, and then nothing whatsoever happens. The downloads never occur!

Anyone with suggestions how to fix this problem would be most appreciated, and, Ric, thank you for the link to the combo update, because that in fact works for me.

item.208771

Jay Miller

Little snitch alternativen mac. Here's a link for the Recovery Update installer:

I found this link by searching for 'recovery' in the (XML) .sucatalog file, which I knew about because another MacInTouch reader posted a link to this file many months ago.

Apr. 11, 2015

item.208788

Mike Weasner

A reader commented that

'For the last day or so my fairly slow home internet connection has been saturated by downloads from a process named nsurlsessiond.'

I, too, have seen horrendous data downloads on my satellite Internet connection since Thursday morning. For awhile it seemed to be the kernel_task process or the software update process (which was not responding). Now I'm not certain what process has gone berserk. The network congestion is affecting all the devices on my Internet connection. I do not have any auto-updates enabled nor iCloud photos. Haven't yet updated to 10.10.3 but the problem seemed to have started when I checked to see if 10.10.3 was available Thursday morning (it was).

item.208864

a MacInTouch reader

Re: nsurlsessiond process dominating internet access.

This started for me the last two times I downloaded and installed the OS Command Line Tools (last version OS X 10.10). I did this the day before I downloaded OS 10.10.3 and I watched via Console as nsurlsessiond downloaded 249 MB -- on my also slow home DSL connection -- before the connection got quiet. I thought this might have included a preload of 10.10.3, but when I clicked on that download via the App Store Update window the next day, I still had a 2 GB download.

Here's the description of these tools at the Apple Developer Library:

item.208815

Richard Artus

Indeed, this spinning wheel in the App Store is still a problem as mentioned in my previous post.
I click the update button, the spinning wheel appears, the installing dialog appears for a few seconds, yet nothing ever happens. This happens for any and all updates that appear in the App Store!
Sure wish I could fix this, as it is most frustrating!

item.208818

Nate Goldshlag

The combo installer hung for me with 8 minutes left. I had to hold down the power button to shut down. I booted into safe mode (shift key held down) and was able to update from 10.10.2. This was the first time I have experienced something like this.

The good news is that at least one of my peeves is actually fixed:
If you do Command-shift-I from a Safari page to email a link, it now appears correctly at the beginning of the email instead of the end.
I am hoping that a new Finder window viewed by icon will remain that way. It never did in 10.10.x and so far so good, but it is too early to tell. It was constantly switching to view by icon, and the window size much smaller and moved.

item.208869

Brett Gaspers

I've held off on updating to Yosemite until some of the bugs were addressed. Today I updated my Mavericks MacBook Air to Yosemite (10.10.3). iPhoto had been on this machine, even if I hadn't used it on there. Now, it was my understanding that if you had 'bought' (in the case of iPhoto) or really bought Aperture, you could still download it, even if you couldn't purchase it in the App Store any more.

However, when I go to my Purchases in the App Store on the MacBook Air, I see iPhoto listed, with the Update button next to it. When I click the Update button, though, the Update button just turns lighter gray and the spinner in the upper left window corner spins for a few seconds and goes away. Nothing else happens.
So now I'm reluctant to update the rest of my machines where we actually do use iPhoto and Aperture for fear that we'll be forced into using Photos right away. Can anyone else confirm this behavior?

item.208846

Bruce Klutchko

I've run in to a strange issue on my Yosemite late 2012 Mac Mini.

When I start either Firefox or Skype from Spotlight, both cause Safari to download a DMG with the latest version. These are from the official sites. Both Skype and Firefox are the latest versions, and in both, I checked the preferences to not automatically update. In Firefox, I even checked the pref to not even check for updates.

This started a few months ago while using Yosemite, and has persisted through the recent 10.10.3 update. Has anyone seen something like this before? I have no other issues with my Mac (that I know of).

Apr. 13, 2015

item.208928

Gib Henry

I am hoping that a new Finder window viewed by icon will remain that way. It never did in 10.10.x and so far so good, but it is too early to tell. It was constantly switching to view by icon, and the window size much smaller and moved.

You might try choosing View/Show view options.. (cmd-J), then setting your user (~/) window as you like it and clicking the Use as Defaults button.

item.208939

Paul Cartwright

So now I'm reluctant to update the rest of my machines where we actually do use iPhoto and Aperture for fear that we'll be forced into using Photos right away. Can anyone else confirm this behavior?

I updated to 10.10.3, and Photos replaced my iPhoto. I went to the App Store, clicked on Purchases, and iPhoto was there, with the button to Open. I clicked that, and it launched iPhoto and warned me about the library conversion. It waited for me to choose Open iPhoto, or Open Photos.

I clicked iPhoto, and it opened just fine - Photos was already open.

Sounds like you need the updater for the Mavericks version of iPhoto. Might be worth a chat with the Apple support - expresslane.apple.com to see if they can help you get that update.

item.208902

Stephen Hart

Brett Gaspers wrote:

'So now I'm reluctant to update the rest of my machines where we actually do use iPhoto and Aperture for fear that we'll be forced into using Photos right away. Can anyone else confirm this behavior?'

I'm not sure what you're asking, but you will not be forced to switch to Photos.
I have both iPhoto and Aperture, and 10.10.3 did not touch them or their shared library.
Launching Photos did change the library, as I detailed in a previous message, but nothing was lost, and iPhoto and Aperture both can open the library with everything intact.

Behavior varies a bit:
iPhoto will not open the library if Aperture is on and has that library open.
Photos will open the library even if Aperture is on and has the library open. That's presumably because it's actually using a separate library of symlinks..
If I hold down Option while launching Photos, it insists I quit Aperture before opening the library.
Otherwise, Photos, iPhoto and Aperture seem to coexist happily. But note that iPhoto and Aperture use a shared library. Photos does not act like the library is shared.

When you do decide to switch to Photos, you'll want to reimport the Aperture/iPhoto library to get all changes.

If you're asking about updates, Apple has said it will not offer updates to Aperture or iPhoto.

item.208943

Carter Dudley

Today I updated my Mavericks MacBook Air to Yosemite (10.10.3). iPhoto had been on this machine, even if I hadn't used it on there. Now, it was my understanding that if you had 'bought' (in the case of iPhoto) or really bought Aperture, you could still download it, even if you couldn't purchase it in the App Store any more.

I had the very same symptoms yesterday on one of my Macs. After trying a bunch of different things, I finally fixed it by deleting iPhoto 9.6 from the Applications folder. I was then able to download & install 9.6.1 from the Purchases area of the App Store.

What is interesting is that only one of my 5 Macs exhibited this behavior. The other machines all had iPhoto 9.6.1 installed after the 10.10.3 update was done.

Once the proper version of iPhoto is installed, you can switch back and forth between it and Photos with no trouble.

item.208938

Karl Pingle

I recently switched from Mountain Lion to Yosemite. I maintain 4 spaces - one with the calendar, 1 with iTunes, and 2 normally empty. When I quit an application in one of the empty spaces, the OS switches to the space with iTunes. In Mountain Lion I was left in the now empty space. I find the new behavior very annoying but can find no way to stop it.

I have tried checking the 'Auto rearrange spaces based on most recent use' but that does change this behavior. Does anyone have any ideas.

Also, now the Time Machine icon in the menu bar does not animate during backups. Is this fixable or expected behavior now?

item.208910

Frank M

With Yosemite 10.10.3, I still have the same issue with PDF files usually opening to the second page under certain circumstances in Preview, rather than to the first page. My relevant preference settings are:
Start on the last viewed page is disabled
Always show sidebar is disabled.

When I enable (only) Start on the last viewed page, it does start on the last viewed page, as long as the last viewed page was not the first page (i.e, it still opens on the second page if the last page viewed was the first).

When I enable Always show sidebar, things work as expected.

I did report this to Apple when I first noticed it - they did fairly soon afterward initially do a followup for me to check and see if they had fixed it, and I responded similarly to the above, but nothing's happened since - still not fixed.

I used the word 'usually' in the first paragraph, as there are a few PDF files that actually do open on the first page in Preview, but it's only a small percentage, e.g., 3 of the 20 PDFs on my desktop.

So, besides maybe Firefox is doing something odd when saving the PDFs to disk (I did try Safari for one or two, though, and got the same thing happening), anybody else see this? In particular when using the same settings as me?

Apr. 14, 2015

item.208971

Tom Straus

Time Machine does change its icon in the menu bar when it is running, although subtly. The counter-clockwise arrow turns from a single arrow head to a double arrow head.

item.208980

Ira Lansing

Karl Pingle wrote:

I recently switched from Mountain Lion to Yosemite. I maintain 4 spaces - one with the calendar, 1 with iTunes, and 2 normally empty. When I quit an application in one of the empty spaces, the OS switches to the space with iTunes. In Mountain Lion I was left in the now empty space. I find the new behavior very annoying but can find no way to stop it.
I have tried checking the 'Auto rearrange spaces based on most recent use' but that does change this behavior. Does anyone have any ideas.
Also, now the Time Machine icon in the menu bar does not animate during backups. Is this fixable or expected behavior now?

I use Spaces in Yosemite and if I quit all applications in one Space I do not move to another Space; I remain where I was in the empty Space.

I too have 'Automatically rearrange Spaces..' checked, and I also have the next option checked: 'When switching to an application..'. I can't say if that is making the difference.

With regards to the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, get used to it. It does not rotate counter-clockwise anymore. However, during a back up, it does change slightly. There is an arrowhead at around 7 o'clock depicting a counter-clockwise direction.

item.208990

Joe F

I'm not sure what you're asking, but you will not be forced to switch to Photos.
I have both iPhoto and Aperture, and 10.10.3 did not touch them or their shared library

However, keep in mind that the orignal poster was upgrading from 10.9 directly to 10.10.3. I assume the 10.10.3 update will not install iPhoto, only Photos.
Also, the Mavericks version of iPhoto may not be compatible with Yosemite (major issue when you are using software the vendor ties directly to OS versions like Apple does.. you can't keep using the a previous version which may be superior in some way).
So the upgrade from Mavericks to Yosemite may well have removed the Mavericks version of iPhoto as incompatible, leaving the original poster with only Photos and no way to obtain the Yosemite version of iPhoto, because it is no longer available as a new download.

item.208991

Bruce Klutchko

I wrote,

I've run into a strange issue on my Yosemite late 2012 Mac Mini.
When I start either Firefox or Skype from Spotlight, both cause Safari to download a DMG with the latest version.

I've figured this one out myself, and it's strange. Changing the default browser caused the DMGs to download in Firefox, so Safari wasn't the cause. Changing the Firefox home page ended this trouble for this app. I had been using the original Mozilla start page. When I went back to their original page, the troubles did not return. So something was wrong with the start page I was using.

Little Snitch Block Lists 2016

Skype was a bit more complicated. I had already made sure it wouldn't keep me up to date, but that didn't help. I then deleted all traces of Skype on my hard drive, tracking them down using Find Any File. I then re-installed from scratch, again making sure I unchecked the box to 'keep Skype updated.' Skype now behaves itself.

Firefox is hard to explain, because I hadn't changed the home page in well over a year. Skype is more understandable - Microsoft keeps up a steady stream of updates, and it's always possible a prefs file or something in my user Library folder was corrupted.

I'm still enjoying Yosemite.

item.208992

Bruce Klutchko

I'm generally enjoying Yosemite, but the recent 10.10.3 update has given me some troubles in Safari. It seems that the memory usage of Facebook now quickly grows to over 1 GB in size. Shortly after, it becomes unresponsive. Sometimes, I'm notified that the web content has crashed.
This actually seems to help, as I'm still able to browse Facebook, but the memory usage is back to normal for a while. This happens every 30 or 40 minutes if I'm reading a lot of updates. Has anybody else experienced this, or am I a possible victim of one of my extensions?

item.208997

Brett Gaspers

Carter Dudley writes (in response to my question):

'I had the very same symptoms yesterday on one of my Macs. After trying a bunch of different things, I finally fixed it by deleting iPhoto 9.6 from the Applications folder. I was then able to download & install 9.6.1 from the Purchases area of the App Store.'

I found this as well, after someone on the Apple Forums suggested deleting and re-downloading from the App Store. However, both of the MacBook Airs I updated still retained the old Mavericks version immediately after the update.

I don't think Apple has handled this well. They've well-publicized that iPhoto and Aperture are no longer available and the 'Update' button next to iPhoto in the Yosemite App Store wasn't working, so it was a leap of faith that if I deleted iPhoto altogether, I might not be able to download anything.

A more serious concern with my yet-to-be-updated Mavericks iMac (on which I use Aperture) is that I don't see Aperture listed in my App Store purchases at all (while I do see iPhoto). Is Aperture just completely missing now? And if so, how can you update it to the Yosemite-compatible version?

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MacInTouch Reader

I am also having a problem with the HP Bluetooth Mouse x4000 since installing the new OS. No problems previously.

The scroll wheel does not work properly. It scrolls a little and then stops scrolling or reverses the scroll direction.

I thought maybe it needs cleaning but cannot figure out how to open it beyond the battery compartment, but now I am also wondering if it is Yosemite.
Any thoughts on either this being a Yosemite problem or on opening the mouse to clean internally?

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Apr. 15, 2015

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Brett Gaspers

Joe F writes:

Also, the Mavericks version of iPhoto may not be compatible with Yosemite?

So the upgrade from Mavericks to Yosemite may well have removed the Mavericks version of iPhoto as incompatible, leaving the original poster with only Photos and no way to obtain the Yosemite version of iPhoto, because it is no longer available as a new download.

Mavericks iPhoto (3.5.1) remains in the Applications folder but with the white bar in circle across it, meaning it can't be launched. It isn't actually removed but won't work until you delete and re-download the Yosemite iPhoto update (3.6.1).

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Brett Gaspers

'A more serious concern with my yet-to-be-updated Mavericks iMac (on which I use Aperture) is that I don't see Aperture listed in my App Store purchases at all (while I do see iPhoto). Is Aperture just completely missing now? And if so, how can you update it to the Yosemite-compatible version?'

An answer to my question (after speaking with Apple yesterday): It turns out you have to go into the App Store -> View My Account (you have to sign in every time, so it's unlikely you just stumble across this).
Then you have to go to Hidden Items and click the Manage link.
Behold, there appears the missing Aperture!
You then have to click Unhide next to Aperture and it will appear again in your list of purchases.
Haven't done the Yosemite update yet on my iMac, but I assume I'll be able to install the Yosemite-compatible version of Aperture.
Very untransparent.

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Samuel Herschbein

Re: MacInTouch Reader with HP Bluetooth Mouse x4000 problems:

I bought two of these mice. On the plus side, they are very ergonomic and fit my hand well. On the minus side, they drop the connection far too quickly when idle and take a long time to re-establish the connection.

The one I'm using now has a jumping cursor. The other one had fatal tracking issues, it wouldn't move vertically properly. I suspect yours may be suffering a similar failure.

I took apart the bad one; the scroll wheel is mechanical and semi-sealed, IMHO blowing air on it won't help, so it isn't worth the effort. To take it apart: there's a single Phillips screw on the bottom under the lower label, right at the bottom tip of the label. Remove the label with a razor blade or X-Acto blade, then remove the screw. Remove the bottom carefully, there's a cable connecting it to the batteries on the top piece.

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Vince Loden

In light of the recent security fixes issued last week by Apple, it seems I will need to upgrade to Yosemite from Mavericks, as the Admin framework bug was not fixed for Mavericks.
I have a dual-drive setup in my MacBook Pro: SSD for System and Applications, and Users on a drive that replaced the DVD ROM drive.
I want to do a clean install on the SSD (i.e. reformatted) and then use Migration Assistant to restore my Applications. My only worry is that Yosemite might want to change the ~/Library structure, which would entail a different strategy.
Does anyone know if upgrading to Yosemite makes any changes in the Users ~/Library?

Apr. 16, 2015

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Ric Ford [MacInTouch]

Yosemite's changes have led to questions and confusion about disk formatting and partitioning issues, backward compatibility, and dual-booting Mac OS X 10.6 and Yosemite. Below are a few notes on these issues from an email discussion (questions, tips and clarifications are welcome).

Core Storage changes debuted in OS X 10.7 Lion, with Apple's new FileVault 2 whole-disk encryption and hidden Recovery Partition.

Generally, running OS X 10.7 and up shouldn't corrupt or convert the HFS+ partitions used by pre-OS X 10.7 systems (still supported in later OS X versions). There are, however, a few special cases to beware, and this is where things get confusing. Here are some specific issues:

1) FileVault 2 encryption and 'Fusion' drives both depend on Core Storage, so applying those to any partition will render it inaccessible by pre-OS X 10.7 systems.

2) Yosemite's installation process silently converts a partition to Core Storage, incompatible with Mac OS X 10.6 and earlier. Ars Technica's review describes this issue.

3) Running Disk Utility's 'repair' function in Yosemite against a Mac OS X 10.6 (HFS+) partition has caused problems in some cases, such as making the Mac OS X 10.6 partition unbootable.

(A search for Core Storage on MacInTouch will turn up more discussion and tips.)

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Matt Neuburg

I am losing Calendar events under a complicated setup where event are shared among several applications..

This is not an answer, but keep in mind that if an application has access to your calendar, it is perfectly free to delete events. It is all too easy for this to happen, maliciously or (more likely) through a bug. And if your calendar data is stored in iCloud, it is well and truly lost when this happens. I, myself, when learning how to program calendar access on iPhone, accidentally wrote and ran a line of code that deleted _all_ my own events, and poof, they were indeed gone - on my iPhone, on my iPad, on my computers, everywhere.

That danger is one reason why you have to grant calendar access _explicitly_ to any app that wants such access: it's so that you _know_ who might be doing this to you. But of course it doesn't prevent the problem from occurring the first place. I can only advise that you keep really good backups by exporting your calendars daily (easy to do on your computer).

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Lyman Taylor

The question is: what parameters cause Yosemite to convert externals to Core Storage?

I think this is slightly the wrong question to be asking. Perhaps a better one is: What is the default format the OS X 10.10 version of the diskutil utility places on a partition?

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Much of this Yosemite experience description sounds like Apple changed what the default 'new empty file system' is. Instead of a plain journaled HFS+ (JHFS) by default, the utility drops in a JHFS layered on CoreStorage.

diskutil's eraseDisk (and eraseVolume) verbs both erase and create/install. The 'erasing' action is directly followed by a 'create new empty file system' action. I don't have a spare disk to experiment on at the moment, but that is what I would try first.

The disconnect is both not documenting this default change and not allowing the 'new empty' filesystem system parameter to be optionally set.

The 'clean install' process, where the first action is to erase and/or carve out a new partition using the GUI front end, will get the 'default new empty filesystem'. If the 'default' has changed, then that is the root cause of the change.

To get remove Core Storage from a new empty file system, I think the simpler path is to just use the command

diskutil cs delete lvgUUID

where lvgUUID is the logical volume group's UUID.
That result should be 'new empty file system' with no Core Storage infrastructure added.

cs revert will work on volumes that were 'up converted' into CoreStorage, but I'm not sure that 'up conversion' is happening in all of the cases folks are outlining.

Core Storage as a default foundation for everything makes sense if it is going to improve data integrity (e.g., duplicated/checksummed metadata, bit rot scrubbing, etc.). It would make sense to extend this to external drives also, even if not particularly using the 'logical volume' features.

Apple is a bit behind the curve on updating the GUI Disk Utility. That is all the more true if this default new file system has been updated. There is no volume management control in the GUI. There is an outdated notion of 'Secure Erase' that doesn't cover the storage types commonly available (e.g. SSDs).

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Lyman Taylor

Re:

What would be unnerving about undocumented Core Storage commands at this point (in OS X 10.10) is not so much that they aren't documented, but that they are still unfinished three versions down the road from when this article was published.

The Fusion Drive aspect wasn't rolled out until 10.8, but the basic diskutil verbs (erase/delete Volume, resize, etc.) need either be duplicated for Core Storage or the basic verbs expanded to deal with the Core Storage implementation. It would be helpful if the 'make Fusion Drive' was an explicit verb that had explicitly detailed constraints outlined and checked (e.g., only on two drives on same controller, e.g., internal controller) and whatever the built in assumptions were.)

Part of Apple's problem appears to be that 'pixel peepers' and 'appearance' have been escalated out of balance. Things like 'low bug counts' , 'aggressive QA testing' and infrastructure development and maintenance are all 2nd-tier priorities (where the personnel and resources assigned are commonly raided and sent off to do other things).

Unless they ran into a major design limitation (e.g., ZFS pool shrinkage), it shouldn't take three years to finish off those undocumented commands, if properly resourced and actively working on it.