Troubleshooting

Manage webloc shortcut files in OS X

One of the features that OS X supports is the creation of URL links in the Finder, which much like aliases for files and folders provide a means of loading a particular Web page or other Web resource. Browser bookmarks and favorites are perhaps a more thorough and convenient way to manage your frequently accessed URLs, but the ability to access links via the Finder is still an option that might be useful to some.

To create a URL link, simply select the URL (or the favicon next to the URL) in the address field for your Web browser and … Read more

Citrix background services taking 100 percent CPU in OS X

One relatively long-standing issue that a number of Mac users have been experiencing is an apparent incompatibility with Citrix services that have been installed on their Macs by IT departments at work or school locations. If this occurs users may experience slow systems with poor battery life, and find that the Activity Monitor utility shows a service called AGAdminService taking up 100 percent of the system's CPU.

Citrix offers a number of virtualization and cloud-based storage options for various work environments, in which applications and services for accessing secure databases (such as for health records) run on a central … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in with questions about a problem installing software updates from Apple's Software Update service, how to restore a deleted Notes application in OS X, and options for recording movies and video to your Mac. I welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Unable to install software updates MacFixIt reader Arthur asks:

A friend has an iMac (2008) running Leopard. She received notice that … Read more

How to manage OS X Gatekeeper from the command line

Gatekeeper is a new security measure introduced in OS X Mountain Lion that allows the system to prevent the execution of code that does not meet certain criteria, such as possessing a valid digital signature from Apple's developer community. When setting up GateKeeper in the Security system preferences, you can set it so that only approved applications from the Mac App Store are allowed to run, additionally allow programs from approved developers to run, or you can set no restrictions and allow everything to run.

When the restrictions are set, you can still run unapproved programs by right-clicking them … Read more

How to make the OS X Help Viewer less obtrusive

Apple's built-in Help services in OS X are convenient ways to get basic information on how to use the operating system's various programs and services. To access these services you simply need to go to the Help menu, where you can search for Help topics in the menu or access the Help Center.

The menu's search function will provide a list of Help topics and available menu commands for the foremost application, but if you open a topic or choose the Help Center then a floating window will appear displaying said Help Center. If you keep the … Read more

MacBook Air EFI update fixes freezes and boot issues

Along with its new lineup of cheaper, truncated Thunderbolt cables, Apple has issued a small firmware update for its mid-2012 MacBook Air notebooks. The update primarily addresses two problems, the first of which is a freeze that can happen when unplugging Thunderbolt devices on standby, while the second is an improper boot in Windows.

The update is a small 4.67MB download that should be available if you choose Software Update from the Apple menu, but can also be downloaded separately from the Apple support Web page.

When installed, the EFI ROM on the system will have the version string … Read more

Troubleshooting HTTPS timeouts in OS X Mountain Lion

After upgrading to Mountain Lion, some OS X users have run into what appears at first glance to be a DNS-related problem in which they can't access certain Web pages. While most Web connectivity seems to work just fine, when accessing special pages like HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) connections the connection times out, resulting in programs like Safari claiming the server could not be contacted.

If you are having this problem, then try copying the server URL from your browser or other application and pinging it directly in the OS X Terminal using the following command:

ping www.… Read more

How to manage the privacy settings in OS X

The latest versions of OS X integrate a number of personal data services that can be accessed by various applications. For example, if you have a Twitter account set up in OS X, you can then have various programs send tweets to this account or otherwise interact with it. Though convenient, this does need to be secured, so Apple invokes management of this service through a central privacy framework, which you can interact with both in the system preferences and in the command line.

When a program requests access to your personal data, the system will first present you with … Read more

Adjust the sudo time-out behavior in OS X

As with many other Unix-like systems that have a BSD interface, OS X includes a fully Unix-compliant terminal that can be accessed with a Unix shell in the included Terminal utility. This feature allows for a relatively powerful way to access and modify system settings to customize and troubleshoot the system.

As with the rest of the system, this command-line interface is by default limited by standard permissions restrictions so only administrators may access system files and only users may access their own files. To get around this, the sudo command is commonly invoked to execute commands as another user, … Read more