![]() ![]() Apple is expanding the list of deprecated kernel extensions that have System Extension and DriverKit alternatives - alternatives that developers will be required to use in Big Sur. It doesn’t look like Apple is going to completely kill kexts when macOS Big Sur rolls out, but they’re definitely continuing to move in that direction. The user is warned that future versions of macOS won’t support the extension, and is advised to contact the developer for more information. In recent versions of macOS Catalina, an alert is displayed when a kext (referred to as a “legacy system extension”) first loads. Because these tools don’t require kernel-level access - they run in user space instead - developers now have a safer way to get the extended kernel functionality that they need. For this reason, Apple decided to replace kexts with System Extensions (for networking and endpoint security functionality) and DriverKit (for the creation of device drivers). Kexts are frequently used to build device drivers, in endpoint security products, and in networking.Īpple has always seen kexts as risky, because they allow third parties to access the most sensitive part of macOS, which opens the door to potential stability and security issues. A kernel extension is special code that allows third-party developers to extend the functionality of the macOS kernel (the core code of the operating system) in order to run their apps. When macOS Catalina came out last year, one of the big announcements was that kernel extensions, or “kexts”, would soon be deprecated. Click on the Advanced… button to see the option to automatically Install app updates from the App Store. To make sure you have automatic updates enabled in macOS Big Sur, go to the Apple menu > System Preferences > Software Update and check the box that says Automatically keep my Mac up to date. In addition, Apple says that the update process will be faster than before.īecause timely updates are essential to good personal security, we’d definitely count this as a security upgrade: Faster, easier updates should encourage a greater percentage of users to enable automatic updates for macOS (and for all apps). In macOS Big Sur, routine software updates will begin in the background, allowing you to continue working on your Mac for part of the update process. But it’s good to know that Apple has made it a little harder for bad actors to mess with your OS! Faster updates The values should be the same, so if a mismatch is found, the system knows that there has been some change to the data on the system (indicating possible tampering) and will prompt the user to reinstall macOS.įor most users, this will not impact the way they use macOS on a day-to-day level at all, whether they’re updating or just booting up their Mac. During updates and boots, these stored hash values are compared to hash values computed from the data in the current system volume. SSV runs every file in the system volume through the SHA-256 hashing algorithm and then stores the resulting hash values in the filesystem metadata. Any change to the input value, no matter how small, will result in a completely different hash value - which is what makes cryptographic hashing such a useful tool for verifying the integrity of files. In cryptographic hashing, an input value is run through a special mathematical algorithm in order to produce an output value (this output value is referred to as the “hash value”). SSV uses cryptographic hashing to verify the integrity of all system data when installing, updating, or even booting macOS Big Sur. ![]() In Big Sur, this protection is taken one step further with the Signed System Volume (SSV). In macOS 10.15 Catalina, Apple introduced the read-only system volume, which stored system content in its own separate area in order to prevent tampering with core OS files. The reason is that Apple sees Big Sur as a major milestone in the evolution of macOS, and wanted the OS number to reflect that. Instead of following the old 10.x convention, Big Sur will be the first version of macOS 11 (not to be confused with macOS 10.11 El Capitan). However, there is one major change this time around: the version numbering system has been updated. ![]() In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Mac’s new and improved OS! About the name and numberĮver since 2013, Apple has used California landmarks to name each new version of their flagship OS, and macOS “Big Sur” is no exception. ![]() Apple will soon release macOS Big Sur to the public - and it looks like it will bring a number of important security and privacy enhancements. ![]()
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