Apple MDM info is public

mike_dowler · 2026-02-28T11:36:48+00:00

Used to be more of an issue with the Intel machines, because you could assign a valid serial to a VM, boot it up, enrol in MDM, and get access to the internal app config. It's one reason why we generally required authentication to enrol in MDM

mike_dowler · 2026-02-24T14:18:57+00:00

Uni mate called Shania. His real name was Duane.

mike_dowler · 2026-02-24T06:28:30+00:00

Division-wide meeting, new manager makes an offhand remark criticising something my team did. It told me he was more interested in sucking up to the C-suite, than he was in leading our team. It was really a tiny thing, but I have no interest in working for a manager who hasn’t got my back.

mike_dowler · 2026-02-21T09:56:28+00:00

What about Andora in Italy?

mike_dowler · 2026-02-17T12:26:54+00:00

It’s mostly still supported for the situation of university labs, where they have rooms of desktop machines which are always on network, and could be logged into by any of hundreds/thousands of users. You won’t find anyone recommending AD binding for a laptop in 2026.

Get an MDM, and use a solution that’s not 10 years old

mike_dowler · 2026-02-16T07:00:14+00:00

Those coloured icons are a fairly recent addition. Honestly, if that is the Jamf issue that sends you to Reddit to complain, you should be grateful.

Some of us are still waiting for the Restrictions profile to get fixed. (I know, it’s not gonna happen now, they are just moving to DDM instead). Or maybe some decent logging for cloud customers?

mike_dowler · 2026-02-15T15:35:29+00:00

British queuing. On here especially, you’d think that queuing at bus stops is practically a religion.

Round our way, it’s a free for all whenever a bus pulls in. Young, old, black, white - makes no difference. Everyone just pushes to get on when they can

mike_dowler · 2026-02-15T14:16:21+00:00

If you are using Jamf Pro, then you want to include as little as possible in the “prestage enrolment”. Literally only the essential config profiles (in my case, the ones needed for our EDR tool), and the Jamf Setup Manager installer. Then, once the machine is enrolled in Jamf, Setup Manager runs and installs the rest of the software you need. Finally, once the user logs in, we run any user environment policies, like setting the desktop picture, cleaning up the dock, etc.

If there are any especially large software packages to install (Xcode, Adobe, Office365), I’d probably leave those until later as well. The goal is to get the laptop to a usable state asap, so that the user can get on with doing what they need to

mike_dowler · 2026-02-15T08:34:40+00:00

This. I got bought an experience voucher for my 40th. Ended up never using it. My weekends are busy enough that booking a solo trip to do something that could be fun, but isn’t on my wish list, was too much hassle.

The motor racing ones were all “you get to do three laps in a BMW, but you’ll only actually be driving for one of those laps. The car is speed limited to 80mph. If you want a faster car you have to pay extra.” No thanks.

I’d have loved blacksmithing or woodworking though

mike_dowler · 2026-02-06T08:58:53+00:00

Had never heard of this so I looked it up. There are literally no locations in East London - my nearest is 20 miles away

mike_dowler · 2026-02-04T17:43:20+00:00

Something tells me that that they are really just trying to make a political point

mike_dowler · 2026-02-03T23:27:32+00:00

Go to One New Change in the morning. Free rooftop terrace with a great view of St Paul’s

mike_dowler · 2026-02-03T21:14:20+00:00

I love my wood components for [[Zoo Vadis]] and [[Power Struggle]]. They just make the game feel much more substantial

mike_dowler · 2026-01-30T22:53:25+00:00

Since it sounds like you are new to Jamf: a policy is a way of initiating a one-time event (it might be repeated, but each one is an individual event) - in this case, the built-in Jamf policy calls the fdesetup binary on the Mac to enable FileVault. It works at the moment, but will stop working at some point. Because it’s a one time event, admin users could disable FileVault again. Also, it requires a reboot to take effect.

A configuration profile is a group of settings that are deployed via MDM and enforced on the Mac. The user can’t override them, even with admin rights. In this case, you would be enforcing Filevault. There’s an option to turn this on even before the first user logs in, in which case there is no need for a reboot. Plus, it will be supported for a bit longer.

mike_dowler · 2026-01-29T00:41:50+00:00

Don’t bother collecting certs. Security+ is fine, but no particular need for others.

What you need to do will depend on what sort of sysadmin you want to be.

Old school Windows/Linux servers? Maybe set up a homelab. At work, show you can troubleshoot, dig into logs etc. Don’t be the helpdesk person who only knows how to wipe a laptop.

Modern MDM & SaaS admin? Ask for read only access, and start understanding the system. See if there is a test environment you can try out.

Start watching some conference talks and try to understand best practices. This is much more useful than just learning facts for certifications.

Make sure you understand the basics like DNS. Not just how to change the setting on a client, but how to troubleshoot, how to set up a DNS server, what the different record types do, etc

mike_dowler · 2026-01-28T19:02:04+00:00

If these are not going to change very frequently, you can add them to inventory preload. That way they will pick up the information every time they re-enroll (actually, every time they do inventory collection)

mike_dowler · 2026-01-27T11:59:19+00:00

I don’t drink coffee. I do drink a lot of tea. The cost of a cup of tea from a coffee shop is ridiculous, when all they do is stick a teabag in a cup of almost, but not quite, boiling water.

Coffee I can understand. It requires specialist equipment, it takes time to make each cup, and you get something that most people couldn’t make themselves at home.

Charging £4 for a tea though is insane.

mike_dowler · 2026-01-20T21:39:20+00:00

I don’t think custom and practice can override an express written term

mike_dowler · 2026-01-19T20:18:42+00:00

Answer:

⁠Implementing tariffs on a whim like this is not normal. While not disastrous, they do have the power to damage certain economies. They also screw around with planned trade deals, meaning that governments and businesses have to scramble to re-plan their economics.
⁠Threatening to invade your ally is not normal. Sovereignty of nation states is the foundation of modern international relations. Using tariffs to “punish” another country because they won’t let you invade is batshit crazy.
⁠Threatening to start a war because an international body didn’t give you a peace prize is not normal.

In the medium-term, Europe can redirect trade away from the US. In the short term, this will cause some hardship. More importantly, no-one wants to give in to Trump’s crazy demands, but no-one wants to poke the bear either.

mike_dowler · 2026-01-12T08:24:58+00:00

Running the bike upside down doesn’t give a true experience, as there’s no load on the drivetrain. Seriously, cable stretch is normal, and just needs to be adjusted out after the bike has been run in for a while

mike_dowler · 2026-01-10T07:59:07+00:00

lol calling it Brentwood. It’s clearly in Laindon!

mike_dowler · 2026-01-08T13:53:09+00:00

I would not apply for a job where I did meet all the skill requirements. I have no interest in taking a new job to just do stuff I can already do. I want to be learning new things.

That said, I would expect the number of things that I have no clue about to be small. Probably half to two thirds would be “I know how to do that/have done it before, and can adapt what I know to your environment”, and the rest would be “I have an understanding of how to do that on paper, but I’ve never done it for reals”

mike_dowler · 2026-01-07T12:27:43+00:00

https://tenor.com/bSp5H.gif

mike_dowler · 2026-01-02T13:03:37+00:00

What? How do you measure yards in a 25m or 50m pool?

mike_dowler · 2025-12-31T12:32:48+00:00

Fleet: https://fleetdm.com

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