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    Installing SAFE Agent - macOS
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    Contents

    Installing SAFE Agent - macOS

    • 3 Minutes to read
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    Article Summary

    About this document

    This guide provides the step-by-step procedure to install the SAFE Agent on macOS-based computers.

    Pre-Installation

    Download Agent from SAFE

    Follow the below steps to download the agent from the SAFE UI:

    1. Navigate to Manage Assets.
    2. On the Manage Assets page, Click the Download Agent button.
    3. Click the Mac tab.
    4. Click the Download link (available for each of the agent versions) to download the agent.
    5. The system downloads a zip file containing the agent.

    Generate Activation Key from SAFE

    Activation Keys are used at the time of agent installation for authentication. With these activation keys, only authenticated agents will be allowed to register themselves, and thereby communicate with SAFE.

    Follow the below steps to generate an activation key from SAFE:

    1. Navigate to Administration > Asset Management > Agent & Site Management.
    2. Click the Generate Activation Key button.
    3. Enter a Name to identify the Activation Keys you are generating. This could be a department name, group of servers, end-points. 
    4. Each Activation Key can be set with a limit on how many agents can register using that key and within a specific date. It is recommended to create keys with installation limits and expiration dates in order to ensure that agents can only be installed on approved endpoints. Click the Set Limit checkbox and enter the Installation Limit and Expiry Date of Activation Key, if necessary. You can keep the checkbox unselected if no limits are needed.
    5. Click the Generate button. The system generates and displays the Activation Key.  This activation will be displayed only once. 
    6. Copy the Activation Key and save it for future use.
    Note
    All Activation keys should be kept confidential since a malicious actor can use these keys to register agents to SAFE. It is not recommended to create keys with unlimited usage or expiry unless absolutely required.
    Important
    1. You can temporarily disable or permanently delete a key using the Status Toggle and Delete button corresponding to the Activation Key.
    2. In order to support agent communication to the SAFE server through Site-Coordinator, the certificate used in Site-Coordinator should be trusted by the host machine. 
    3. If the site coordinator also needs to be accessed using IP (IP can be configured using additional server section in UI), then while creating the certificate for Site Coordinator, the subject alternate name should mention the IP for agent host machine to trust the certificate.

    Compatibility

    • macOS Mojave
    • macOS Catalina
    • macOS Big Sur (Intel and M1)

    Installation

    Direct installation

    Step 1

    1. Double click the .pkg file and follow the instructions. The step only installs and places required files in the right locations. This step does not complete the installation. The user needs to provide the SAFE base URL and activation key via the command line, as mentioned in step 2.
      Insall SAFE1
    2. Click Continue.
      Insall SAFE2
    3. Click Continue.
      Insall SAFE3
    4. Click Agree.
      Insall SAFE4
    5. Click Install.
      Insall SAFE5

    6. Enter your admin password or use touch id.
      Insall SAFE6
    7. If you do not need pkg, click on “Move to Bin.”
      Insall SAFE8

    Step 2

    Run the below command to pass the activation key and SAFE URL

    sudo /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/Safe configuration -a <ACTIVATION_KEY_HERE> -s <SAFE_URL_HERE>

    Installation via command line

    sudo installer -pkg <PATH_TO_PKG> -target /
sudo /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/Safe configuration -a <ACTIVATION_KEY_HERE> -s <SAFE_URL_HERE>

    Uninstallation

    Mac agent version 1.0.x.x: Execute the following command in the terminal.

    sudo /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/uninstall.sh

    Mac agent version 2.0.x.x: Execute the following command in the terminal

    sudo osascript /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/uninstall.scpt

    Command-line options

    Execute the following command to check the help

    ~ % sudo /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/Safe configuration --help
USAGE: Safe configuration [--activation-key <activation-key>] [--safe-url <safe-url>] [--site-coordinator-urls <site-coordinator-urls> ...]

OPTIONS:
  -v, --version           Print the version and exit 
  -a, --activation-key <activation-key>
  -s, --safe-url <safe-url>
  -c, --site-coordinator-urls <site-coordinator-urls>
  -h, --help              Show help information.

    Execute the following command to check the version of SAFE

    ~ % /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/Safe  -v             
1.0.0.11

    Execute the following command to pass the Site Coordinator URL

    ~ % sudo /Library/Application\ Support/com.safe.security/Safe configuration --site-coordinator-urls  <Site Url One>

    OS Upgrade

    What happens if macOS upgrade to Big Sur with Mac agent 1.0.x.x installed already?
    macOS Agent 1.0.x.x will keep using the existing applicability file after the upgrade. The UI will display the old OS name. macOS Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur have the same 20 controls, so the scan will display correct assessment data in UI for 20 controls and not assessed for remaining controls.

    What happens if a macOS upgrade with Mac agent 2.0.x.x is installed already?
    Mac agent will register a new asset in SAFE with the new applicability, and the previous asset with old applicability will get auto-retired instantly.

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