I understand that in the most recent versions of OS X, access to "core services" by a system administrator requires a secondary authentication through a separate device for security reasons. Well enough, but what are these "core services"?
MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2), and OS 10.6.8
They include resources only reserved to use internally by OS X like System Preferences, disk mounter, etc. Access is only permitted to a system administrator with full root access. They are not supposed to be accessed by a user, not even an admin user.
Thank you for the fast reply.
So if I'm the system admin (I am), I can use these if I'm logged in as such? Or do I need some form of other authentication? I've read that the idea is for ordinary use, one logs in as a user, and only logs in as system admin when one needs to change things. Is that correct?
I've read that the idea is for ordinary use, one logs in as a user, and only logs in as system admin when one needs to change things. Is that correct?
Yes, that is correct. It is for security. However, if you are the only person who ever uses or accesses your computer, then such precautions are generally not required.
The resources in Core Services are not things that any user needs to access. They are available at such time as the OS needs them regardless if this involves the user. They can be found in the /System/Library/CoreServices/ folder. You can access the folder from your admin account meaning you must be logged in to that account. However, you won't find anything in there you can use that is not already available to you in your normal use of the computer.
Why are you inquiring about Core Services? Is this just curiosity or is there something you wish to do requiring access to them?
Finder is a Core Service.
I've been using 10.6.8 for most of my work, only booting to Yosemite (The worst varmint north, south, east, or west of the Pecos!) when I need to connect securely to the internet. Yosemite is not very stable, and I'm considering "upgrading" to El Capitan (El Crapitan?) because it's supposed to be more secure and stable (HA!). I was told that it limits access to some features that used to be accessible. Not so?
If you are having problems with Yosemite and then upgrade to El Capitan your problems will become magnified. You need to first fix the Yosemite problems. I've used Yosemite as well as El Capitan on all of my computers without any issues whatsoever. Frankly, if you want a trouble-free installation on a system that is not trouble-free, then backup all your data, erase the startup volume, and do a clean install of El Capitan. Then you can restore your files separately. Meanwhile, see the User Tips Basic Steps for Upgrading OS X and Basic Steps to Follow for a Clean Install of OS X Lion and Later.
What is meant by "Core Services"?
