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About the macOS Transparency Consent and Control System

John Martellaro ·

The Eclectic Light Company writes:

The Transparency Consent and Control (TCC) system [in macOS] maintains a database of each user’s consents.

This article explains what you must do when uninstalling software in Mojave, and presumably Catalina, in order to remove previous consents for access to protected resources.

If you were to reinstall that software, you would see that it was immediately granted the same access as when it was removed, without your consent being sought again.

This is an interesting and informative article about the seldom discussed macOS TCC.

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Dropbox Employees Seem to Have No Knowledge of Mac App

Andrew Orr ·

The new Dropbox for Mac has been annoying users, and it sounds like Dropbox employees don’t know how their app works.

To summarize, the problem is this: Dropbox now opens a new file browser and an associated Dock icon every time it starts, even if you don’t want it to…there are numerous Dropbox support employees who apparently have never used their company’s Mac application and do not understand how it works. As a result, Dropbox’s users have to explain to Dropbox employees how Dropbox’s application works on the Mac.

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The Gates Foundation Profits From Private Prisons

Andrew Orr ·

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates run the Gates Foundation, which recently increased its stake in Serco Group Plc, a private, for-profit prison in the U.K.

The trust, the Gates foundation’s investment arm, added nearly 200,000 shares of Serco Group Plc in May…The foundation’s staff have no influence over the trust’s investment decisions, according to its website…Serco runs six for-profit prisons in the U.K., all of which are nearly filled to capacity.

The staff may have no influence, but surely either of the Gates have a say in the matter?

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William Barr Wants You to Accept Encryption Backdoor Security Risks

Andrew Orr ·

U.S. Attorney General William Barr suggested that Americans should just accept encryption backdoor security risks (via TechCrunch). Encryption Backdoor Risks In a speech today, William Barr called on tech companies to help the federal government to access devices with a lawful order. In other words, ignore the security risks and put a backdoor into their…