MacOS 10.15 End-of-Life: Update Now!

 Step 1 - Visit How to download macOS - Apple Support

Step 2 - Scroll to the section “use the App Store or your browser”

Step 3 - Click on the link for “Monterey 12” (or “Big Sur 11” If Monterey does not work)

Step 4 - The link will ask you to open in the App Store, and will take you to this page within the App Store:

Step 5 - Click “Get” and follow the steps to update your operating system. 

**NOTE: If you try to install Monterey and get a message that this update is not available, try Big Sur on Step 3.

DM Profile Enrollment Campaign Stepped Up

The DM Profile referenced in the Apr 6 article below is a key component to help protect the University from ransomware and other malware; it will be used to make M1 Macs and Mac OS 11 & 12 systems compatible with our antivirus and encryption software.

You must enroll your Mac prior to June 30 to continue to use University networks.

A network event was sent May 26th to support managers and technicians, advising that all the colleagues they support must have their University owned Macs enrolled by June 30th.

An email with a personalized attachment was scheduled for May 31st to be sent to all colleagues with a University Mac registered to their NetworkID advising that their Mac must be enrolled in a DM Profile by June 30.

The familiar DM popup on unenrolled Macs guiding the seated user to perform DM Profile enrollment was increased in frequency from weekly, to daily, starting May 25th.

DM Profile Prompt

Beginning in February 2022, Pepperdine required all University-owned Mac device users to enroll their machines into Device Management (DM) Profile.   The DM Profile improves security, patching, and device configuration on our Apple systems by making updates for Mac device users much easier.  The profile remotely connects and protects your Apple devices, eliminating the need for device users to collaborate with a technician for basic tasks.

In April, any Mac that has not yet enrolled into Device Management profile, will experience a weekly prompt message.  We strongly advise you to self-enroll your University-owned Mac device to avoid pop-ups.

If you start receiving prompts, you can enroll into DM profile by clicking “Ok” on the first prompts. Then you will receive the second prompts within a minute to start the installation.

If you have any issues enrolling your device or technical questions, you have multiple options to contact technical support at Tech Central:

• Call 310.506.4357 (HELP) to reach Tech Central 24/7/365

• Schedule an appointment with our technicians online or at one of our available locations

• Access the IT Support Forms for common, non-emergency requests

Visit TAC B100 in Malibu, Monday-Friday, 8 AM-5 PM Pacific

MacOS 10.14 End-of-Life: Update Now!

MacOS 10.14 ("Mojave") is no longer supported as of January 1st, 2022. You can check your operating system (OS) version on a Mac by clicking the Apple icon in the upper-left of the screen and then clicking "About this Mac"

Step 1 - Visit https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683

Step 2 - Scroll to the section “Use Safari to download macOS on your Mac”:

Step 3 - Click on the link for “macOS Big Sur”

Step 4 - The link will ask you to open in the App Store, and will take you to this page within the App Store:

Step 5 - Click “Get” and follow the steps to update your operating system.

Sophos Anti-Virus and MacOS 11 "Big Sur"

Effective Tuesday, June 1 at 10AM the Device Management Core Team will begin removing Sophos Anti-virus from University owned Macintosh computers running Big Sur (macOS 11). Sophos and Apple continue to work on the problems related to running the anti-virus on this platform.

This is a temporary measure to allow the continued use of Jabber Softphone and VPN on Big Sur Macs while the vendors troubleshoot the problem. Pepperdine's Information Security Office has permitted this change with the understanding that it is temporary and that the bulk of protection on modern computers comes from the security patch updates that will continue to be applied by Device Management powered by KACE.

Adding a different antivirus software at this time is not recommended because of the unknown interactions and the expectation that Sophos AV will be reinstalled this summer.

DM Updating Office Apps to 2019

In our environment, there is a range of versions of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc...). Some of those versions are going out-of-support and therefore present security concerns. Therefore, Pepperdine Device Management will be prompting users to update to the latest Office version, 2019. Further details can be found on Microsoft's documentation site. 

Any device with any of the following versions of Office installed will be prompted to update:

• Windows: Office 2010 and below
• Mac: Office 2016 and below

Starting Monday, October 5th, affected computers will display this message:

Please start the install at your earliest convenience. Please allocate about 15 minutes during which time you can use your computer but not your Office apps. The length of time of install may vary greatly between devices based on a number of factors. If your install does not seem to be processing correctly, please reach out to your local IT specialist or call 310-506-4357 to request technician intervention.

Mac OS Auto-Update Enabled

Device Management enhances the security of our environment by keeping your computer up-to-date. Not only is it important to keep our installed programs on their latest versions, but also the operating system (OS) of your computer, whether it be Windows or Mac. In order to ensure timely application and OS updates for Mac computers, Device Management will be enabling the built-in auto-update settings within the Mac App Store. You are highly encouraged to reboot when prompted by your Mac to do so, which looks like this:

Periodic reboots are advised for every personal computer. Make sure to take a break and keep your computer up-to-date by proceeding with a reboot when prompted by your OS or the Device Management agent.