Run installer with right mouse-click
In former, simpler times Apple was known for quality software. Now I only know Apple as having confusing user interfaces, buggy software and doing fear-mongering. Catalina not only brought us “file access is now considered unsafe” but also those lovely dialogs about software can’t be installed because it can’t be checked for malicious software.
There is a wonderful wonderful process with lots of opportunity to fail to get rid of the message. For every release version I make Mail Archiver “safe”. But for test versions I don’t do that.
If you need to install a test version here is what you need to do:
- I will send you a direct link to the test version.
- If you try to start the installer then you will get the wonderful dialog about malicious software.
- Instead do a right mouse-click on the installer and select “Open”.
- You will get the malicious warning again but this time with an added “Open”.
- And now the installer works.
Is it safe to install a test version?
Of course, it is. Here is why:
- The software is still digitally signed. The signature verifies that the software is from me and that it hasn’t been tampered with.
- Nobody knows that the check for malicious software does. I only hear that doing the notarisation process fails for technical reasons. But so far I never heard about developers saying “I got notified that my software has a keylogger but there is no keylogger”.