#!/bin/bash

## this little script unquarantines all files passed via stdin.
## acts recursively.
## big thx to http://gigaom.com/apple/disabling-launch-services-file-quarantine/.

ARGC=$#
i=1
while true; do.
if [ $1 ]; then.
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine $1.
shift
else
break
fi
i=$((i+1))
done
echo “Done.”

defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO

Then the Mac has to be restarted. The same command with ‘YES’ at the end enables the quarantine warning dialog again (you will have to restart your Mac too).

This works fine in Mac OS 10.6.

Note that this only prevents the appearance of the dialog. Quarantine data will still be attached to your downloaded files anyway.

Several people at various websites have reported that it doesn’t work for them. The 2nd method, the Folder Action Scripts doesn’t work for me either and I’m on Mac OS X 10.5.8 It would be nice if this was isolated. It’s really annoying! And will Apple ever release Mac OS X 10.5.9? I hope so!

Any one found a way to work around that ? It’s driving me crazy…

And it’s really hard to un-train them.

I’ve had several people come to me and as “Peter, it asked me ‘do you want to install a virus on your computer’ (or something equally scary) and I clicked ‘install’ before I noticed what it was saying, and now my computer’s acting funny”. The same people. Multiple times. Yes, really.

THIS IS NOT A SECURITY FEATURE. IT IS A SECURITY FLAW.

When Apple added “open safe files” to Safari I groaned. I knew some stupid thing like this was coming up.

The most fun I’ve had with this was when a screen saver tried to run a program, and LaunchServices came up with the stupid warning, AND I COULDN’T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT WAS UNDER THE SCREEN SAVER, AND THE SCREEN SAVER WAS WAITING FOR IT. I mean, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, Apple…

I can’t believe I didn’t try that. You just have to declare “public.item” as Neutral.

I also added a folder action script that puts a red label on applications that are moved into the download folder, and removes it when they are moved out of the folder. I preserved almost all of the security and removed most of the inconvenience.

I suppose you’re right though, it shouldn’t be default and Apple doesn’t like options. Although I have to say, a nag screen this annoying isn’t very “Apple”

Remember that by default, file extensions are not displayed. So for example, an application with a PDF icon will look like a PDF and not an application unless one examines it carefully (e.g. with Get Info). Even when file extensions are displayed, the “.app” at the end is a very subtle hint and easily missed.

Not a bad suggestion you make though: Perhaps when file extensions *are* displayed, the warning could be done away with. This could not be the default behavior, of course… but Apple is known for minimizing options, which may be why this is not configurable.

public.html
public.executable
com.apple.application
com.apple.applicaiton-bundle
com.apple.aplication-file

and I don’t get warnings for html documents anymore, but I still get warnings for applications. Maybe it’s impossible to override the settings for applications?

This warning is extremely annoying (and insulting) and I don’t even understand the security benefit. If it’s trying to protect me from executables that appear to be something else, why does it bother me about executables that appear to be executables? Seriously… at the very least it should be disabled for files whose only extension is .app

find . -print0 | xargs -0 xattr -d com.apple.quarantine

Anyway, when you get tired of the nagging:

find . -print0 | xargs -0 ~/Applications/etc/xabatch ~/Applications/etc/com.apple.xabatch {}