Unsigned apps, Catalyst app signing

[zorinlynx]

I'm sure many of us have this question, so best get it asked early on:

- Does Catalina make it harder to run unsigned apps? There were rumors about this being possible, including requiring apps to be "notarized" to run at all.
- Are Catalyst apps going to be app-store only, or can they be distributed the same ways as regular apps?

 

[loekf]

I'm sure many of us have this question, so best get it asked early on:

- Does Catalina make it harder to run unsigned apps? There were rumors about this being possible, including requiring apps to be "notarized" to run at all.
- Are Catalyst apps going to be app-store only, or can they be distributed the same ways as regular apps?

Looks like apps not going via the app store have to be notarized, so sent to Apple as well, otherwise gatekeeper will block them.

Pretty much PITA. At the moment you can self sign apps if needed.

 

[zorinlynx]

Looks like apps not going via the app store have to be notarized, so sent to Apple as well, otherwise gatekeeper will block them.

Pretty much PITA. At the moment you can self sign apps if needed.

But the real question is, can you still right-click to open an app, bypassing Gatekeeper?

There are a few open-source app developers out there that don't want to deal with all this, and just let users override Gatekeeper to run their software. I want to know that the Mac is still an open platform (unlike iOS) and isn't essentially requiring permission from Apple for launching apps.

 

[STOCK411]

I am wondering this as well.

 

[Hanterdro]

if you can‘t bypass gatekeeper I will not upgrade

 

[fisherking]

before anyone panics... can someone running catalina confirm? seems we would still have the option to bypass if we need to...

 

[Ritsuka]

Unsigned apps can still run.

 

[David Arthur]

Unsigned apps can still run.

Thank you!

 

[handheldgames]

Unsigned apps can still run.

Are you sure? What I read indicated Apple is requiring all apps to be signed and notarize otherwise the app is blocked from running, just like with 32-bit apps.

 

[stiligFox]

I’ll test tomorrow in my Catalina VM. Anyone have a good example of an unsigned app?

 

[StellarVixen]

Try and tell us, please.

 

[Ritsuka]

I actually tried before posting…

 

[Sarassine]

XLD lossless decoder is a good one.

 

[stiligFox]

XLD lossless decoder is a good one.

I’ll give it a shot in the morning!

 

[stiligFox]

Okay, so it's not as nice as I'd like. You have to go into System Preferences and manually okay the application - you can no longer just right click it and force open it.

 

[StellarVixen]

Okay, so it's not as nice as I'd like. You have to go into System Preferences and manually okay the application - you can no longer just right click it and force open it.

View attachment 841315 View attachment 841316 View attachment 841317 View attachment 841318

Try to enable "from anywhere".


In Terminal, type following command:

sudo spctl --master-disable

...hit enter, type password, then hit enter again and see if it works.


If "Anywhere" option shows up, try to install and open unsigned app now.

 

[stiligFox]

Uh oh. On that note -

Try to enable "from anywhere".


In Terminal, type following command:

sudo spctl --master-disable

...hit enter, type password, then hit enter again and see if it works.


If "Anywhere" option shows up, try to install and open unsigned app now.

I can't find another unsigned app to test, but running that command did enable the "Anywhere" option!

 

[StellarVixen]

Uh oh. On that note -

I can't find another unsigned app to test, but running that command did enable the "Anywhere" option! View attachment 841382

Hm, good.


Now, I cannot remember some app that you can test out. Maybe others can help.

 

[stiligFox]

Hm, good.


Now, I cannot remember some app that you can test out. Maybe others can help.

For what it’s worth - I downloaded the Pacifist and it did the classic “you downloaded this on [today’s date] are you sure you want to open it?”

I don’t know if that’s a signed app or not but it certainly is working fine!

 

[StellarVixen]

For what it’s worth - I downloaded the Pacifist and it did the classic “you downloaded this on [today’s date] are you sure you want to open it?”

I don’t know if that’s a signed app or not but it certainly is working fine!

If it says:

“(app name) is from an unidentified developer. Are you sure you want to open it?”

...that means app is unsigned. If it just says: “is an app downloaded from Internet”, then it is just an app outside of App Store , but signed one.

 

[stiligFox]

If it says:

“(app name) is from an unidentified developer. Are you sure you want to open it?”

...that means app is unsigned. If it just says: “is an app downloaded from Internet”, then it is just an app outside of App Store , but signed one.

Ah, fair enough! Almost everything I have these days is signed. The one app I cared about that I know for sure is unsigned (Burn) is 32bit anyway

Oh well - that’s why I’ll have a Snow Leopard VM ready for 32bit stuff

 

[Sarrasine]

Uh oh. On that note -

I can't find another unsigned app to test, but running that command did enable the "Anywhere" option! View attachment 841382

Try AppZapper. It is from unknown developer, but it seems a little shady. Also, according to Apple control clicking the app should bring up the "Open Anyway" option, but that support article is dated May 14, 2019, so...

 

[stiligFox]

Try AppZapper. It is from unknown developer, but it seems a little shady. Also, according to Apple control clicking the app should bring up the "Open Anyway" option, but that support article is dated May 14, 2019, so...

Ironically, after I opened it, macOS told me it wants access to my contacts. Shady indeed!