Customization

How to fix: This is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?

Open app dialog box on Mac

One of the security features in macOS is a prompt that appears when opening a program for the first time: This is an application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?

While this can be helpful to the average Joe, preventing him from opening programs he may have downloaded accidentally (such as malware), power users may wish to circumnavigate the prompt. If you already practice good housekeeping with what you download and open, this dialog can be a time waster. There are various ways to deal with it, and this guide will talk you through their pros and cons.

How to show basic system information on your Mac login screen

See System Information on Mac's login screen

If you're one of those who love to tweak every little facet of their Mac experience, then this guide is for you. It brings some system information items, such as your computer name, your current IP address, and your macOS version, right to your login screen where they can be easily referenced. For this modification, all you need is the Terminal application and a few minutes.

How to show the expanded Save dialog by default on Mac

By default, the behaviour of macOS upon saving a file is to open a simple dialog window, with only a single drop-down menu showing possible save locations. These locations can vary based on the program settings, your most-used save location, or your last-used save location.

Although this is fine for quickly saving documents to common folders such as Documents or Downloads, it is cumbersome to use the drop-down menu when saving regularly to multiple hard drives and previously unused nested folders. Luckily, there is a way to always show a full file browser in the save dialog for more granular control.

How to move your Mac user folder to a separate drive from the boot drive

If you only have a small SSD in your Mac or Hackintosh, then storage space can be at a premium. For most users, by far the largest thing saved on their boot drive is the User folder, which contains their user account. If your user folder is filling up your SSD and you want to keep that high-speed storage for the operating system and applications, then this guide is for you.

It is possible to move your entire user account onto another drive, completely separate from your macOS boot drive. This will free up space on the boot drive and allow large media folders like Music, Movies, and Downloads to reside on a larger capacity drive.

How to customize the “About This Mac” section of a Mac

The "About This Mac" window contains information relating to your computer specifications and OS version, and is useful for quickly checking any of those details. However, it's a little impersonal, and often (on a Hackintosh), incorrect. If, like me, you enjoy customising your machine to your own personal taste then this guide should help somewhat, by jazzing up the "About This Mac" section.

Ascend brings a gorgeous look to your iOS 7 Lock screen

A few weeks ago, we showed you ClassicLockScreen, a tweak by CoolStar and Phillip Tennen that provides over four different styles which you can apply to your Lock screen. Ascend is a somewhat similar jailbreak tweak by Ben Rosen that brings a gorgeous look to your Lock screen.

The tweak brings back the popular iOS 6 Slide to Unlock slider with an iOS 7-esque style along with a blurred background and top bar. Additionally, it gets rid of the round passcode buttons and replaces it with a flatter interface and a transparent background. The same applies to the notifications that appear on the Lock screen.