chrisj@emx.utexas.edu (Chris Johnson) (05/11/91)
Gatekeeper 1.2 and Gatekeeper 1.2 have finally be released.
The complete distribution set will be sent to comp.binaries.mac and the
info-mac archives. It is immediately available for anonymous ftp from the
following archive sites:
Machine Name IP Number
------------ ---------
ix1.cc.utexas.edu 128.83.1.21
ix2.cc.utexas.edu 128.83.1.29
bongo.cc.utexas.edu 128.83.186.13
The file is named gatekeeper-12.hqx and is located in the microlib/mac/virus
directory on each of these machines. This BinHexed self extracting archive
file contains Gatekeeper 1.2, Gatekeeper Aid 1.2 and all associated documen-
tation. Since it is a self extracting archive file, users of current Gate-
keeper versions should place their copies of Gatekeeper in Override mode
before clicking on the "Gatekeeper 1.2 Distribution.sea" file which be
generated by decoding the gatekeeper-12.hqx BinHex file.
Listed below, in no particular order, is a selection of brief descriptions
of new features in Gatekeeper 1.2 and changes between version 1.1.1 and 1.2.
This list is by no means complete but should serve to provide an impression of
the scope of the changes to this version.
* System 7.0 compatibility. All other versions of Gatekeeper like to die
when the File Sharing feature of System 7 is used. This version cures this
problem very effectively.
* The interface has a new look. Where 1.1.1 supported 3 "screens" (Info,
Settings and Help), 1.2 supports 6 screens in order to make room for a
(hopefully) more pleasant and sensible user interface.
* Gatekeeper's Help display now supports Styled TextEdit in it's System 6.0
and beyond implementations. This means that the help text will appear
nicely formatted in Helvetica, Times and Monaco. This helps to differen-
tiate the different sections of the Help display and adds useful emphasis
throughout.
Text in the Help display may be selected and copied to the Clipboard so
it can be pasted into more convenient environments, like word processors.
* The Gatekeeper control panel now includes a section that allows the user
to view the log file and to clear the log file when it gets too big.
* The privilege list is now sorted, and using the Clear button doesn't scroll
the list back to the first item like it did in 1.1.1.
* The settings section now includes a check box called "Display a Mode Warn-
ing Alert". This check box allows the user to determine whether Gatekeeper
will display its "Notify Only" alert everytime the Mac boots in Notify
Only mode. A "Notify & Veto" alert is also supported now, and the same
check box regulates whether it appears or not.
* A "New" button has been added to the privilege list section. This button
allows the user to add an item to the privilege list without going through
all the business with the "Add..." button and the Open dialog box.
* Some privileges are no longer required. Programs and INITs that install
drivers used to need Res(Self) privileges to do so, in many cases. In most
cases these programs and INITs no longer need the Res(Self) privilege, so
most of them have been removed from the default privilege list.
* Gatekeeper now supports privileges for Control Panel and Chooser documents,
in addition to privileges for Desk Accessories, Drivers and Applications.
* Internal Errors are history. The problem was found and fixed.
* Gatekeeper no longer crashes Macs while they attempt to switch launch.
* It is no longer necessary to grant the System 7 Finder Res(Other & Sys)
privileges in order to move desk accessories around. Gatekeeper detects
these cases internally and deals with them very carefully without reference
to the privilege list. So, DO NOT grant anything other than File(Other)
privileges to the Finder.
* Gatekeeper deals with the bizarre (or, at least, unexplained) RsrcMapEntry
calls made by the print driver in System 6.0.7 without assistance from
Gatekeeper Aid.
* Gatekeeper now allows resources like the infamous Adobe Separator 'ADBS'
to be added to the Desktop file without any fuss or privilege violations.
* Gatekeeper will no longer allow an odd value in its 'sysz' 0 resource.
This will take care of an incredibly rare and obscure source of boot-time
crashes on some Macs. Gatekeeper Aid, of course, has been retroactively
correcting this problem for some time.
* Since Gatekeeper now allows users to read the Log file from the control
panel, there's no need to continue locking the Gatekeeper Log file in order
to make programs like MS Word happy. The log file is still stored as
text, though, so users can read it with other prgrams, like their favorite
spreadsheets, if they so desire.
* Special keys like the arrow keys, page up/down, and home/end are supported
where appropriate.
* StuffIt, Compact Pro (Compactor), and Disk Doubler self extracting archives
(SEAs) are now fully and transparently supported. No privileges are necess-
ary in order for SEAs to do their stuff correctly.
* When viewing a privilege violation record, a button will be available which
is labeled "Grant Privilege". Clicking on the button will cause the program
listed in the dialog as "Guilty" to be granted the listed privilege.
If you go to the Privilege section after clicking on the "Grant Privilege"
button you'll find the "guilty" program selected in the privilege list
for convenience. If an entry for that program already existed in the
privilege list, the new privilege will be added to the existing ones.
* Items in the privilege list can now be selected by typing the first few
letters of their names (just like you'd select files and folders in a
conventional "Open" or "Save As" dialog box).
* Gatekeeper 1.2 is split into two parts; an INIT (which does the real
work) and a cdev (which provides the user interface). In this respect
it's very similar to the structure of Gatekeeper 2.0.
There are several reasons for doing this:
a. Since System 7 installs INITs *before* it installs any cdevs, having
Gatekeeper continue to be a cdev file would mean that all the INITs
would install before Gatekeeper and could potentially get around its
protections as a result.
Of course, users can explicitly put cdevs in the Extensions folder and
thereby guarantee that they install at the same time as the INITs,
but I don't think folks should have to deal with that kind of thing.
b. Gatekeeper 1.1.1 was large. 1.2 is much larger. This means that
it wouldn't stand a chance of fitting on a bootable 800K floppy disk
as used in many university computer labs, for instance. By breaking
it into two parts, the situation is much improved (although even the INIT
portion of 1.2 is pretty big) since a preconfigured Gatekeeper can be
placed on those systems without the large cdev. This leaves Gatekeeper
fully operational but non-configurable (which is often a desirable
thing in computer labs and similar environments) and reduces its
storage requirements from 126K to about 60K.
* Another difference you'll notice is that there is now a Gatekeeper Prefs
file. This file stores all the configuration information for Gatekeeper
including all the privileges. There were a number of internal reasons for
using a separate prefs file, but I think it may be useful to users as well
since it provides an easy way of moving the configuration data between
compatible versions of Gatekeeper.
The Gatekeeper Prefs file will be created from scratch if the need should
ever arise, but a default Prefs file is provided with an extensive set of
default privileges already in place, for the convenience of everyone.
* Gatekeeper, Gatekeeper Controls, Gatekeeper Log, Gatekeeper Prefs and
Gatekeeper Aid all have color icons. I hope they qualify as the "spiffy"
icons people have been asking for for so long. :-)
* Gatekeeper Aid is now capable of running properly even when there is no
free memory available. This should eliminate once and for all the -108
errors that have bugged users here and there for so long.
I hope everyone finds it useful.
Chris Johnson
Internet: chrisj@emx.utexas.edu
UUCP: {husc6|uunet}!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!chrisj
BitNet: chrisj@utxvm.bitnet
AppleLink: chrisj@emx.utexas.edu@internet#
CompuServe: >INTERNET:chrisj@emx.utexas.edu