DIYMacServer » Mac OS X

Mac OS X Update 10.7.3 and Security Update 2012-001

Richard — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:11:22 +0000

Apple released an update to Lion bringing it to version 10.7.3 and introduced a security update to Snow Leopard. If you followed the latest set of instructions where everything was located in /usr/local then these updates wouldn’t have affected you. However for all the people who are still on the original setup you will have been impacted as this security update installs and overwrites PHP and Postfix. The solution to this is still the same go into the source directory of the last installed version and run a “sudo make install” for PHP and Postfix, restart Apache and Postfix and everything is back in order again. You might also need to comment out the line:

inet_interfaces = localhost

from “/etc/postfix/main.cf”

Try to migrate as soon as possible to the new setup to save you from future problems with the next security update.

The funny thing is that when you read the content of the security update details you will see that if you followed our update strategy you will use more recent stuff for your web and mail server then is included in this update. Example: After the update you will have Apache 2.2.21 while we are on 2.2.22 and the buid in PHP will be updated to 5.3.8 while we are on 5.3.10. This proves my point that you are better of doing this kind of stuff yourself without waiting for Apple or someone else to provide you with the updates.

Here you don’t even need me, I only help in the testing and eventual problem fixing if something goes wrong…

Mac OS X Update 10.7.2 and Security Update 2011-006

Richard — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:55:05 +0000

Sorry for this late post, but it is by many things like a short holiday and illness…

If you followed the latest set of instructions where everything was located in /usr/local then these updates wouldn’t have affected you. However for all the people who are still on the original setup you will have been impacted as this security update installs and overwrites PHP and Postfix.

The solution to this is still the same go into the source directory of the last installed version and run a “sudo make install” for PHP and Postfix, restart Apache and Postfix and everything is back in order again. You might also need to comment out the line:

inet_interfaces = localhost

from “/etc/postfix/main.cf”

Try to migrate as soon as possible to the new setup to save you from future problems with the next security update.

ClamAV update – 0.97.3

Drew — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:51:18 +0000

There is a update for ClamAV available for download. The current version is 0.97.3. Upgrading is relatively easy and straight forward. All that needs to be done is remove the old version and install the new.

You can check the instructions on what to do here Upgrading ClamAV.

There is no need to reconfigure anything.

Mac OS X Update 10.7.1

Richard — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:58:12 +0000

Having a brand new installation running with Lion for a few weeks now on my new production machine and it’s running like a dream. Just installed the OS X update to 10.7.1, rebooted and had my fingers crossed as I had not rebooted the machine yet. After the reboot did a bunch of checks and everything was running fine. Indicating that the upgrade does not have any impact on our new setup (as was the intention of moving everything into /usr/local) which is great but also indicated that my installation from scratch went find as well and I had not missed any startup- script.

So feel free to upgrade and keep me posted of any issues you might find.

ClamAV update – 0.97.2

Drew — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:02:52 +0000

There is a update for ClamAV available for download. The current version is 0.97.2. Upgrading is relatively easy and straight forward. All that needs to be done is remove the old version and install the new.

You can check the instructions on what to do here Upgrading ClamAV.

There is no need to reconfigure anything.

ClamAV after upgrading to Lion

Drew — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:35:30 +0000

Upgrading to Lion damages the ClamAV instillation documented here. Not only are the config files removed, but the virus database is also deleted along with the log files.

Because of the seriousness of the breakage, it is easier to simply install as though you never had ClamAV on your machine to begin with. Simply follow the instructions for Snow Leopard.

Update on OS X Lion

Richard — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 07:51:17 +0000

The release of OS X 10.7, or Lion as it will be more widely known is getting close. The blogosphere is already mentioning the release of the “Golden Master” to developers. This also means that more and more details on how and what we will be included or not. One revelation that cleared our earlier worries on a server release were cleared a month ago with the notion of the server becoming an add-on costing you $50,- which is still a lot cheaper then the earlier $499,- server version of OS X.

An important thing for myself came with the, propably, final EULA. Finally it is allowed to run OS X virtualized on your Mac Desktop without having to buy extra licenses. Quote from the 10.7 EULA:

to install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software.

This will bring my efforts back to being legal, as I run virtual Mac’s on my iMac (here is the howto do it yourself). For testing and development. It’s great to try things out on a virtual machine before you might ruin your desktop or server and with Lion you can do it legally as well!

Update: It looks like the release date for Lion is going to be the 14th of July!

Mac OS X update 10.6.8 and Security Update 2011-004

Richard — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:34:33 +0000

I’ve just installed the updates on all my test machines running Snow Leopard 10.6.7 and Leopard 10.5.8 before running it on my production server. I did a couple of tests on the machines and could not see an immediate problem on Snow Leopard. Therefore I’m happy to inform you that the Mac OS X 10.6.8 update does not introduce any problem for our setup.

The Security Update 2011-004 however does change Leopard. I’ve noticed that it replace the postfix binaries and adds Apple’s idea of a security feature to the configuration file. To correct the binaries, go to your latest postfix source directory from which you installed it last and run

sudo make install

For the changed configuration please comment out or delete the following line from ‘/etc/postfix/main.cf‘:

inet_interfaces = localhost

Restart postfix (reloading config does not work) with:

sudo postfix stop

Postfix should restart automatically (if not run “sudo postfix start”).

This is expected to be the last update before Lion and I’ve got everything lined up to test the upgrade to Lion and a new install on that same platform. I hope to be able to tell you what the results will be as soon as possible.

Security Update 2011-002

Richard — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:28:12 +0000

I’ve just installed the updates on all my test and production machines running Snow Leopard and Leopard. I did a couple of tests on the machines and could not see an immediate problem. The Security Update 2011-002 does an uncomfortable change on Leopard. I’ve noticed that it adds Apple’s idea of a security feature to the Postfix configuration file. To correct it please comment out or delete the following line from ‘/etc/postfix/main.cf‘:

inet_interfaces = localhost

Restart postfix (reloading config does not work) with:

sudo postfix stop

Postfix should restart automatically (if not run “sudo postfix start”).

By the way the postfix binary could also have been updated on Leopard, you can check that by running:

sudo postconf -m

If it has been updated you won’t see MySQL being named in the list. Re-install postfix by going into your latest source directory you’ve used the last time and run

sudo make install
sudo postfix stop

Creating Virtual Macs

Richard — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:52:21 +0000

I wanted to share my experience in creating virtual Macs to help you, as it did me, in testing your setup in different configurations. My iMac is the machine I use for most of my stuff and try to test all the instructions here again and again ruins the setup of my iMac more then I would like and it is a lot of work to get all the dependencies correct or impossible to start from scratch on a clean install.

I’ve been trying to get this working for quite some time with VMWare, Parallels and Virtualbox. It all works out of the box if you want to install Mac OS X Server, but I don’t have that or want to use that. I wanted to install the workstation version, on a Mac and not on a PC or other platform.

Finally I got it working with VirtualBox and fairly simple, but there are some pointers that you need to know to get it working.

you need the install DVD that came with your Mac, it does not work with the retail Snow Leopard DVD (don’t know why)
you can only use one CPU for the virtual machine
download and install VirtualBox
create a new virtual machine by giving it a name, selecting “Mac OS X” as the Operating system and the 32 or 64 bits version of OS X Server. Set the amount of memory and create a disk, etc using the default settings until your done.
startup your new blank virtual machine and the “First run wizard” will appear, click continue
select your DVD player and insert your OS X install DVD and continue.
after a while the installer will appear and you can install OS X like on a regular Mac.

Hope you like it, if you find any other settings that work for you please share them here.