MacOS Awareness Guide

Information Mac

Question

My Mac has the UM-Dearborn macOS image – what are some things that I should be aware of while using it?

Overview

Computers that are purchased for use at the University of Michigan-Dearborn will need to be processed by the Service Desk for imaging with our MacOS image. This allows for ITS to manage devices using Izzy, a U-M Ann Arbor based management system, in ways such as updates, pushing software, or asset tracking.

Solution

With your newly imaged (or reimaged) device, here are a few things that you should be aware of:

Our MacOS image comes with a built-in anti-virus utility, Crowdstrike Falcon, which will protect your Mac in the background. We do not recommend installing an additional anti-virus utility as this may cause performance and system stability issues.
Some resources, such as Banner or shared drives will require the Global Protect VPN while off-campus.
Software, such as the Global Protect VPN, the Adobe suite, and accessibility software, can be installed through the Managed Software Center application.
We recommend storing data in Dropboxor Google Drive, as it is accessible from any PC (both university or personal) and backed up online. You can request Dropbox or Google Drive File Stream to be installed in order to streamline your file management.
Your device may be encrypted using Apple's FileVault utility in order to protect your data. This is required for all laptops.
Staying up to date – updates are handled through the Managed Software Center application. These may range from application updates to mandatory OS updates. Some updates may require a reboot to finish and mandatory updates will need to be installed by a certain date, otherwise it will force an update. We recommend updates being done when connected to a power source.
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