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Jamf Pro - macOS Configuration Guide

The following contains procedures for deploying Blocksi URL Filtering OSX using Jamf Pro. The solution consists of two components:

  • Proxy - A system-level service that intercepts and filters web traffic.

  • Agent - A menu bar application that communicates with Blocksi servers to enforce filtering policies.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following prerequisites are in place before proceeding with deployment:

  • Administrator access to Jamf Pro.

  • Your Blocksi Super-Admin account email address.

  • Devices are enrolled in Jamf Pro and their local account name matches the part of their Blocksi licensed email address before the @ - for example, for student123@blocksi.net the local account name is student123.

  • Download the following files provided by Blocksi:

    • Blocksi_Filter.pkg - Installer that installs the proxy and agent.

    • Blocksi_Settings.mobileconfig

    • Blocksi_Proxy.mobileconfig

    • blocksi_uninstall.sh - (Optional) Uninstaller script for the Blocksi Filter agent. Click here to download.

Downloads

Download the Blocksi Filter agent and configuration files from the Admin Dashboard.

  1. Click on your profile icon in the top right of the dashboard.

  2. Click Downloads.

  3. Select the Apple tab and download the appropriate package for your MDM.

Warning

After completing each step, wait a few minutes for the configuration to be pushed to the target devices before proceeding to the next step.

Note

If you are currently using the Blocksi For OSX filtering solution for macOS, remove all DNS proxy configuration profiles and filtering agent deployment assignments from your MDM before proceeding. Refer to the final section of this guide for more details.

Configuring and Uploading the Blocksi Settings Configuration Profile
Configuring the Blocksi Settings Configuration Profile
To configure the Blocksi Settings file:

  1. Download the provided Blocksi_Settings.mobileconfig file.

  2. Open the downloaded .mobileconfig file using any text or code editor.

  3. Search for the organizationId key and replace admin@blocksi.net with your Blocksi Super Admin account (CompanyId) within the <string></string> fields.

  4. The bundle_id key is used to configure which apps are filtered by the Blocksi agent. The provided .mobileconfig file is configured to filter the most commonly used web browsers: Chrome, Safari, Edge, Brave, Firefox, and Opera. You can filter additional apps by adding <string>package_name</string> lines to the file.

    Blocksi Settings

  5. Click the .mobileconfig filename in the top bar, select File, then click Save.

Uploading the Blocksi Settings Configuration Profile
To upload the Blocksi Settings Configuration Profile:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Configuration Profiles.

  2. Click Upload.

  3. Select Blocksi_Settings.mobileconfig.

  4. Click Continue.

  5. Click the Scope tab.

  6. Add the computers or device groups you want to deploy to.

  7. Click Save.

Configuring the Application Package Deployment

Upload the installer package and create a policy to deploy it to the target computers.

Uploading the Package
To upload the package:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Settings > Computer Management > Packages and click + New.

  2. Under Filename, click Choose File and select Blocksi_Filter.pkg.

    Upload Package

  3. Click Save.

Creating a Policy to Deploy the Package
To create a policy to deploy the package:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Content Management > Policies and click + New.

  2. On the General tab, configure the following:

    General Settings

    Field

    Value

    Display Name

    Blocksi Filter Application

    Enabled

    Yes

    Category

    None

    Trigger

    Enrollment Complete and Recurring Check-in

    Execution Frequency

    Once per computer

  3. Click Packages in the sidebar on the left.

  4. Click Configure and add the Blocksi_Filter.pkg.

  5. Set Action to Install.

    Packages Tab

  6. Click the Scope tab.

  7. Add the computers or device groups you want to deploy to.

  8. Click Save.

Uploading the Blocksi Proxy Configuration Profile
To upload the Proxy Configuration Profile:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Configuration Profiles.

  2. Click Upload.

  3. Select Blocksi_Proxy.mobileconfig.

  4. Click Continue.

  5. Click the Scope tab.

  6. Add the computers or device groups you want to deploy to.

  7. Click Save.

Validating the Deployment

To validate the deployment, verify that the profiles, services, and filtering agent are installed on the target device correctly.

To check whether the Blocksi services are running:

  • Open Terminal on the target Mac and run the following command:

    launchctl list | grep blocksi

The output should include com.blocksi.proxy.

To check whether the system extension is installed:

  • Open Terminal on the target Mac and run the following command:

    systemextensionsctl list

The output should include FNVRG3YPHU com.blocksi.filter.proxy (1.0/1) com.blocksi.filter.proxy [activated enabled].

To check whether the proxy is active:

  1. Navigate to System Settings.

  2. Click Network in the sidebar, then click Filters.

    The Blocksi Filter should show with a status of Enabled.

    Blocksi Filter Enabled
To check whether the agent is running:

  1. After login, verify that the Blocksi Filter icon appears in the menu bar.

  2. Click the icon. The status should show Connected.

    Blocksi Filter Connected
To check whether filtering is working:

  1. Log in to the Mac device with a licensed user that has a policy assigned.

  2. Navigate to some sites that should be blocked by your policy.

  3. Verify that the Blocksi Access Denied page appears:

    Blocksi Access Denied Page

  4. On the Blocksi Admin Dashboard, navigate to Insights from the Main Menu, click Web Analytics from its sub-menu, then switch to Logs.

  5. Verify that the browsing activity from the device appears in the logs.

Updating Blocksi Filter

Updating Blocksi Filter replaces the installed application package with a newer version. You can update Blocksi Filter on managed devices without re-enrolling them or re-creating the Blocksi Settings and Blocksi Proxy configuration profiles.

Note

Do not unassign the Blocksi Settings or Blocksi Proxy configuration profiles during an update. These profiles are not replaced by the new package, and removing them requires re-deploying them before filtering resumes.

To update Blocksi Filter:

  1. In your MDM, remove the target device groups from the scope of the Blocksi Filter application package so the package is not redeployed while the update is in progress.

  2. Deploy the uninstall script to the same device groups. The deployment procedure is the same one described in Uninstalling Blocksi Filter in this guide.

    Important

    Download the uninstall script using this direct link.

  3. Wait for the script to run on the target devices, then confirm that the Blocksi Filter icon no longer appears in the menu bar.

  4. Upload the new version of the Blocksi Filter package to your MDM, replacing the existing package. Refer to Configuring the Application Package Deployment in this guide.

    Note

    Download the Blocksi Filter agent package from the Admin Dashboard.

    1. Click on your profile icon in the top right of the dashboard.

    2. Click Downloads.

    3. Select the Apple tab and download the appropriate package for your MDM.

  5. Add the target device groups back to the scope of the Blocksi Filter package.

  6. Confirm that the new version is installed and filtering is active. Refer to Validating the Deployment in this guide.

Uninstalling the OSX Filtering Solution

Follow the procedures below to uninstall Blocksi from OSX devices using Jamf Pro. Refer to Uninstalling Blocksi Filter to uninstall the Blocksi Filter (full URL filtering) solution. If you are migrating from Blocksi for OSX (legacy DNS filtering) to Blocksi Filter (full URL filtering), refer to Migrating from Blocksi For OSX to Blocksi Filter before proceeding with deploying Blocksi Filter.

Important

Unassign the Blocksi application package deployment policy and Blocksi configuration profiles from the target devices before proceeding with deploying the uninstall script.

Uninstalling Blocksi Filter
To upload the uninstall script:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Settings > Computer Management > Scripts and click + New.

  2. On the General tab, enter Blocksi Uninstall in the Display Name field.

  3. On the Script tab, paste the contents of the downloaded blocksi_uninstall.sh file. The script is available for download here.

  4. Click Save.

To create a policy to run the script:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Content Management > Policies and click + New.

  2. On the General tab, configure the following:

    Field

    Value

    Display Name

    Blocksi Uninstall

    Enabled

    Yes

    Category

    None

    Trigger

    Startup

    Execution Frequency

    Once per computer

  3. Click Scripts in the sidebar on the left.

  4. Click Configure and add the Blocksi Uninstall script.

  5. Click the Scope tab.

  6. Add the computers or device groups to remove Blocksi from.

  7. Click Save.

Migrating from Blocksi For OSX to Blocksi Filter

In order to migrate to the Blocksi Filter (full URL filtering) solution, Blocksi For OSX (legacy DNS filtering) needs to be uninstalled first.

To upload the uninstall script:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Settings > Computer Management > Scripts and click + New.

  2. On the General tab, enter Blocksi Uninstall in the Display Name field.

  3. On the Script tab, paste the content of the script below.

    #!/bin/bash

launchctl unload /Library/LaunchAgents/com.blocksi.filtering.agent.plist




sudo killall 'Blocksi for OSX'
sudo killall BlocksiXPCservice



sudo rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/com.blocksi.filtering.agent.plist


sudo rm -rf /Applications/Blocksi\ for\ OSX.app

  4. Click Save.

To create a policy to run the script:

  1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Content Management > Policies and click + New.

  2. On the General tab, configure the following:

    Field

    Value

    Display Name

    Blocksi Uninstall

    Enabled

    Yes

    Category

    None

    Trigger

    Startup

    Execution Frequency

    Once per computer

  3. Click Scripts in the sidebar on the left.

  4. Click Configure and add the Blocksi Uninstall script.

  5. Click the Scope tab.

  6. Add the computers or device groups to remove Blocksi from.

  7. Click Save.