Leopard Safari annoying message on downloaded apps

[markashley]

"X is an application which was downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?"

Is there any way to disable this message? I don't like being babied by my computer :rolleyes:

[Las_Vegas]

This is one of the protections you have against Trojans. If you download what appears to be a photo or music file and you get this message, you know to reject it.

Yea, it can be a pain for most downloads, but it's so much safer in the long run.

[benwiggy]

In Safari preferences, there's a tick box for opening 'safe' files. De-tick it.

[markashley]

@Las_vegas
I know what the error is for, and that it is designed to protect users from malicious content. But I am experienced enough to know when something I download has not come from a reputable source, and if it hasn't how to check it. I don't need the browser warning me about this every time.

@benwiggy
That tick box just makes it open certain filetypes (e.g. PDF, images, MOVs) automatically when they finish downloading, rather than you having to do it manually. It doesn't make any difference to that warning.

[hayne]

I am experienced enough to know when something I download has not come from a reputable source, and if it hasn't how to check it. I don't need the browser warning me about this every time

I don't have Leopard, so I'm not sure, but I think the intention is to warn you when you indirectly run some program that you didn't deliberately download. E.g. it is possible for the act of merely going to a web page to download a program without you explicitly asking for it (i.e. not clicking anything on that page).

[markashley]

Applications can be automatically downloaded, but not executed. If I see something in my downloads folder which I didn't download then alarm bells will ring. But if I downloaded the software, then I can decide for myself whether or not to run it. If I double click the icon then I have already made the decision to run it. I don't need my computer second guessing me!

[trevor]

But if I downloaded the software, then I can decide for myself whether or not to run it. If I double click the icon then I have already made the decision to run it.

Not necessarily. As Las_Vegas mentioned above, malicious people are hiding applications inside things that look like they are pictures and music files.

If you double click on what you think is a picture or music file, this warning lets you know that it is actually an application.

Trevor

[benwiggy]

That tick box just makes it open certain filetypes (e.g. PDF, images, MOVs) automatically when they finish downloading, rather than you having to do it manually. It doesn't make any difference to that warning.

Yes, that's what I thought, too. But I was wrong.
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=79323

[modred]

Hmmm, I unchecked the box, restarted for other reasons, verified that the box was still unchecked and I am getting that for a newly downloaded application. Version 3.0.4 (5523.10), could that tip be for an older version?

[markashley]

Same here. Unticking that box made no difference to the message.

[cookieme]

I'm not an expert, but the check box in Safari's prefs "open safe files after downloading" has nothing to do with the message you get with executing a downloaded file! This simply means that Safari has a number of file extensions which it will readily open when downloaded and box is checked.

The message you are getting when launching a downloaded file has to do with Apple's new digital signature feature implemented in Leopard..I don't know the details but conceptually when you download a file, the file is "tagged" with the date and location from which it was downloaded. This info is then shown and allows the user to make a judgement on its authenticity and safety..


Maybe someone else can explain the technical details..but I don't see why you want to disable such a feature regardless of how experienced you are!

[modred]

I want to disable it because it asks every time I open the app.

EDIT: Hmmm, maybe not. Now it seems to go away after the first time that I click open.

[modred]

It may have been something to do with permissions and different account. If you download an application with one account, install it but never open it and then use it with another account you get that message until the account with that downloaded it opens it once.

[iampete]

Tiger has always had a message which warns something to the effect "This is the first time you are opening the application xyz located in abc".

Could this just be Leopard's "improved" version of this automatic check?

If it is, then you should only see it once per app, as you seem to indicate in your latest post.

Pete

[fenrack]

This thread (http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8300945231/m/878003628831) gave me an idea:

I made a launchAgent to delete the extended attributes of the content of my ~/Downloads/ folder.

Here's the launchAgent (to put into ~/Library/LaunchAgents/):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.me.downloadscleaner</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/path/to/shell/script</string>
</array>
<key>QueueDirectories</key>
<array>
<string>/Users/my_username/Downloads</string>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>

Here's the shell script that cleans the attributes of downloaded files/dmgs:
#!/bin/bash

cd ~/Downloads/
xattr -d com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms
find . -name * -maxdepth 1 -exec xattr -d com.apple.quarantine {} \;

pssst, im no bash scripting guru but this does the job :P

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.me.downloadscleaner.plist to load the launchagent (not 100% sure about that one cuz i use Lingon (http://lingon.sourceforge.net/) to load LaunchAgents)

I never got a warning from downloaded files again :)

[mikerot]

Hi guys,
It seems to be a bug in this version...

Hope that they will fix it for the next version,

Mike
R&D Developer,
OutYard.Com
http://www.outyard.com

[chabig]

Tiger has always had a message which warns something to the effect "This is the first time you are opening the application xyz located in abc".

This is it! I downloaded and installed Firefox from my admin account, but never launched it. I'd get that dialog every time I tried to launch it from the user account. Based upon your post, I ran Firefox once from the admin account and now the user account opens it without the warning. Thanks,

Chris

[seanhess]

This is it! I downloaded and installed Firefox from my admin account, but never launched it. I'd get that dialog every time I tried to launch it from the user account. Based upon your post, I ran Firefox once from the admin account and now the user account opens it without the warning. Thanks,

I couldn't do that because I had deleted the user that had downloaded and installed it.

But I opened terminal, and did the following
cd /Applications/
sudo chown root MyApp.app
[type your password]

The problem was that the owner was someone else.
~sean

[Syncopator]

It appears there are 3, different warnings that are being discussed in this thread:

1. A new warning in Leopard that pops up every time you open an application that you just downloaded from the 'net. Screenshot attached. (That's the one that I came here looking to get rid of.)

2. The Safari "safe apps" warning -- which has absolutely nothing to do with the new warning in Leopard.

3. The warning that some users get when launching an app while logged into a different user than the user that downloaded the app.

If anyone has any info on #1 (see above), please share....

I realize that many computer users are clueless, but I'm increasingly annoyed with these new "precautionary" features that Apple keeps adding to the OS -- without giving the rest of us a way to disable them. What's next? A warning every time you open a document or select a menu item? All of these items should be listed on one page -- such as the one where we disable the "empty trash" warning. We could simply uncheck those that don't apply to us and move on with life. I'm really surprised that these features keep appearing with no way to disable them.

[anika123]

I could not agree more. Please apple, get off the safety trip. It reminds me of using windows. I buy programs to eliminate mouse clicks or save me time and apple actually adds extra clicks. Nice.