Unleash the Power of macOS Terminal: Hidden Gems for Security and Efficiency (Part 2)
Dive deeper into the lesser-known Terminal commands that can enhance your Mac experience, from compressing folders with encryption to creating ASCII art banners.
By Blip Tech
1 min read
Security Bite: Down the Rabbit Hole of Neat, Lesser-Known Terminal Commands (Pt. 2)
This article dives deeper into lesser-known but useful Terminal commands for Mac users and enterprise environments. While not all commands are security-focused, they can enhance your efficiency and command line skills.
Key Features:
- Password-protect a compressed folder: Use
hdiutilto create a password-protected.dmgfile with AES-128 encryption, which is more secure than the outdated ZipCrypto standard used byzip -er. - Quickly check and update software: Utilize
softwareupdatecommands to list available updates, install specific or all updates, and adjust the frequency of automatic checks. For example, set daily checks withdefaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ScheduleFrequency -int 1and enable automatic installation of updates. - Clear DNS cache: Manually flush the DNS cache using a series of commands to resolve connectivity issues:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder,sudo killall mDNSResponderHelper, andsudo dscacheutil -flushcache. - Create an ASCII art banner: Generate fun ASCII art banners with the
banner -w 40 [text]command, where40is the width of the banner.
These commands can help you work more efficiently and securely on your Mac, whether you're a casual user or managing an enterprise fleet.
