"app downloaded from internet" warning repeats

I recenly used migration assistant to move from an old MBP to a relatively new one (which had been used before), both running Mountain Lion. I migrated the data but not the applications (many of which were already present). Since the migration some applications trigger the "application downloaded form the internet ..." warning every time they are opened. Clicking "open" in the dialogue box makes it run, that's not the problem, but quitting and then restarting the app causes the warning to repeat.


As I understand the intended behaviour, this warning should occur once, the first time you attempt to run the app, but after it has run it once the warning should not recur.


For some reason therefore, the "flag" that should be cleared by clicking "open" once is not being cleared, I assume because I didn't migrate the app at the same time as the data.


Is it necessary to reinstall all the apps with this behaviour to correct the problem, or is there an easier / tidier way please?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 25, 2013 12:51 AM

Reply
7 replies

Apr 25, 2013 7:36 AM in response to KeithGParr

Boot in safe mode. This will cause certain caches maintained by the system to be rebuilt.


Safe mode is much slower to boot than normal.


When the login screen appears, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and test. There's no need to log in while in safe mode.


Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.

May 1, 2013 5:16 AM in response to Bimmer 7 Series

First off an apology, for some reason I have not been getting email notifications of replies so I'm sorry if it looks as if I hadn't taken any notice of your replies.


@Bimmer: I tried that and it didn't help, nor did reinstalling an app with the issue. (Not all apps behave like this, for example Word doesn't, Unison does, go figure!).


@Linc Davis: Thanks, worth a try, I'll report back either way.


Keith

May 1, 2013 7:05 AM in response to Linc Davis

@Linc Davis:

I'm afraid it didn't help. When I launch Unison (for example) I get the "downloaded from internet" warning, so I open it and it's fine. Quit unison, and then re-open it and I get exactly the same warning.


As I understand how it's supposed to work, after the first time I agree to open the app, it should open in future without the warning.


The probblem only occurs with some apps, not all.


Keith

May 1, 2013 8:30 AM in response to KeithGParr

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:


spctl -a /Applications/Unison.app || echo $?


Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).


Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.


Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).


The command may take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.


Post any lines of output that appear below what you entered — the text, please, not a screenshot.

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"app downloaded from internet" warning repeats

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