The Iru Blog

Iru Team

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8 min read

Mac Shell Scripts: Tips for Apple Admins

Shell scripts are indispensable for managing Mac computers. That makes shell scripting a vital skill for Mac admins. If you're one of them, chances are you already know at least the rudiments of scripting. But for many admins, it doesn’t go much beyond that: They might know enough to copy and paste someone else’s script from StackOverflow, make a few tweaks to it, then cross their fingers and hope it works. But no matter their level of scripting expertise, they can always learn more.

Educational May 11, 2023

Matt Wilson

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9 min read

Git, Github, and Version Control: What Apple Admins Need to Know

Chances are your IT team has a library of shared files that you all use and, more importantly, that you all edit. That library might include shell scripts you deploy to new Mac computers that enter the organization. It might contain a .logrc file your team shares to standardize log output. Maybe there’s a text document outlining your ever-evolving ticket escalation workflow.

Educational May 5, 2023

Iru Team

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8 min read

Guide for Apple IT: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Mac malware has been around as long as the Mac itself. But historically, the problem received little attention from Apple and its customers. That neglect was largely benign because, while Mac malware did exist, it remained relatively rare. The examples that did proliferate tended not to carry the same risks as their Windows counterparts; more often, they were proofs of concept rather than genuine dangers.

Educational April 27, 2023

Iru Team

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5 min read

Guide for Apple IT: Leveraging MDM to Enable Remote Work

When more companies began letting their employees work from home a few years ago, device security and productivity became more important than ever for IT. Beyond just figuring out how to make sure remote team members could get their work done, admins needed to guard company data against the unique security risks posed by this new work environment.

Educational April 4, 2023

Iru Team

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6 min read

Device Management Solutions Explained: MDM vs EMM vs UEM

The IT world loves its three-letter acronyms. As part of that world, Apple device management is no different. If you deploy and manage fleets of Mac computers and iPhone or iPad devices for an organization, you’ve no doubt heard plenty of them. In particular, if you’ve spent any time researching ways to manage devices in your organization, you may have seen references to:

Educational March 31, 2023

Alexandre Morin

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8 min read

How to Troubleshoot APNs

Not long ago, an Iru i customer reached out because they’d received a notification that they needed to renew their certificate for the Apple Push Notification Service (APNs). But when they tried to do so, they found they couldn’t. The problem: The admin who’d originally set up the certificate was no longer with the company. Without his Apple ID, they couldn’t renew.

Educational March 16, 2023

Matt Wilson

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9 min read

APIs and Apple Device Management: A Guide for Mac Admins (Part 2)

A while back, we offered up an introductory tutorial on APIs and how they’re used in the context of managing Apple devices. Apple admins use APIs all the time, whether they know it or not. Knowing the basics of how those APIs work and how they can be manipulated is essential knowledge for any Apple admin.

Educational March 9, 2023

Iru Team

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11 min read

Guide for Apple IT: Apple Business Manager

Apple Business Manager is a critical tool for anyone who manages Apple devices. It provides a critical link between your Apple device management solution and your devices, enabling things like Automated Device Enrollment (ADE). Add in its utility in distributing apps and other content at scale and other content and its ability to federate with user directories, and Apple Business Manager clearly becomes essential for any Mac admin.

Educational February 14, 2023

Iru Team

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7 min read

Guide for Apple IT: Managed Apple Accounts

Managed Apple Accounts are Apple Accounts (formerly Apple IDs) that your organization owns, controls, and assigns to users. Like any Apple Account, Managed Apple Accounts can be used to sign in to devices and services.

Educational February 10, 2023

Iru Team

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6 min read

Zero Trust Security: What Mac Admins Need to Know

Back in the day, organizational security was built around the idea of a firewall: The security system blocked access to resources within the organization from external bad actors. Originally, that paradigm was literal: You established a perimeter and kept people from outside the building from accessing the network—and the resources attached to it—inside.

Educational February 2, 2023

Iru Team

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5 min read

Guide for Apple IT: Managing FileVault

Securing sensitive company data is one of the top priorities for any IT department. For businesses that run on Apple, FileVault is an essential tool for Mac security. By encrypting all of the information on a Mac computer’s startup disk, FileVault makes company information unreadable to unauthorized users.

Educational January 31, 2023

Alexandre Morin

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7 min read

Reasons to Use Apple Business Manager

Apple Business Manager is a free service provided by Apple that allows organizations to manage three things: devices, apps, and accounts.

Educational January 27, 2023

Alexandre Morin

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4 min read

Apple Device Supervision: What It Does, How to Implement It

If you manage Apple devices, "supervision" is one of the most important concepts you need to understand. It's often confused with management, but the two terms do not mean the same thing. In this article, you'll learn what supervision is, how it works, and what you need to know about it when managing Apple devices.

Educational January 13, 2023

Iru Team

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7 min read

Mac Malware Persistence: What It Is, How It's Achieved

When it comes to Mac malware, IT and security staff are well aware of the most common infection vectors: malicious emails or attachments, Trojanized applications, or attackers leveraging both known and unknown exploits. Apple consistently retools each version of its operating system to include better intrinsic defenses against such threats.

Educational January 6, 2023

Steven Vogt

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10 min read

802.1X Enterprise Wi-Fi Authentication: What Mac Admins Need to Know

Most people—even some admins—don’t think twice about logging into the office Wi-Fi network. Typically, they just supply a username and password, their Apple devices log in, and they never think about what just happened. But there’s a lot going on under the hood to make that authentication work. There are a bewildering variety of authentication protocols—each with its own acronym, of course—enabling enterprise Wi-Fi. As someone who manages Apple devices in the enterprise, it’s typically up to you to make sure those wireless connections happen. So here’s what you need to know about enterprise authentication and how it works.

Educational December 6, 2022