Mac OS

SafeDNS Agent for macOS Setup

Installation requirements: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer.
The Agent is available on the following billing plans: Safe Family, Pro, Pro Plus, and archived Safe@Home, Safe@Office.

Getting started

  1. Log in to your SafeDNS account with your registration email and password.
  2. Navigate to the Getting Started widget on the main page of the Dashboard and select the macOS button.
  3. Click on the download link below and wait for the Agent to download.

Alternatively, you can use the direct link to download the Agent from the SafeDNS website - SafeDNS macOS Agent.

1. Agent for Mac OS.png1

Installation

1. After downloading, open the Downloads directory and double-click on the downloaded package to start the installation process.

2.SafeDNS Agent for macOS Setup Guide.png


2. If you see a message before installing that says “macOS can’t verify the developer of AgentSafeDNS.pkg…”, please hold the Control button, right-click on AgentSafeDNS.pkg, and click Open in the opened context menu.

3. In the appeared dialogue, click Open and follow the instructions of the installer. During the installation process you will be asked to enter the administrator password.


3.SafeDNS Agent for macOS Setup Guide.png

First launch

1. After installation, launch the SafeDNS Agent from the Launchpad.
The Agent will be accessible by clicking on the icon in the system tray after the launch.


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2. Enter your SafeDNS account credentials in the opened window. If you don’t have an account yet, please choose a suitable plan and register using the registration page.


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3. Set up the security PIN that will be used later to restrict access to the Agent.


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4. Enter the PIN once again to sign in to the Agent.


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Agent overview

1. In the main window of the Agent you can view your account information, current IP address, your Billing Plan, and the Subscription expiration date.
All filtering rules changes can be made in the SafeDNS Dashboard.

Use the Policy menu to view and change the current filtering Policy.


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2. The system information menu shows brief information about the Agent, current filtering policies, and network interfaces. The information in this menu can be copied to the clipboard by clicking the "Copy to clipboard" button.


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3. The Debug menu displays the results of the diagnostic commands that are required in case of troubleshooting. To send the debug information to SafeDNS, click the "Send report" button.


10.SafeDNS Agent for macOS Setup Guide.png

Additional settings

To make sure the Agent was installed correctly, please navigate to the "Settings" tab in the SafeDNS Dashboard and scroll to the bottom.

If you see the record with the Device name and your IP address, it means that the filtering is working.
2. Agent for Mac OS.png

After that, you can adjust the filtering Policy according to your needs. You can select categories to block in the SafeDNS Dashboard under the Categories tab.

3. Agent for Mac OS.png

Don't forget to click the "Save changes" button.

The setup is finished!
A blocked website will display an error message that the Access is closed.


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If the filtering doesn't work according to your policy settings, clear the cache of your browser using this guide.

!Please note, that settings take 5-7 minutes to apply.
!Stats and filtering status update hourly.

Uninstallation

To uninstall the Agent please quit it first.

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Then find SafeDNS Agent in the Applications folder:


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Open the folder AgentSafeDNS and run the packet "Uninstall-AgentSafeDNS".
After that, enter the administrator password in the Terminal window, and the Agent will be deleted.



Mac Filtering Setup via OpenVPN

Please note, that this filtering option works via the third-party app OpenVPN.
If you encounter any issues, please contact our Technical Support.

1. Open the SafeDNS Dashboard and navigate to Settings > Devices.

1. Mac Setup via OpenVPN.png

2. Scroll down to the VPN section, enter any name for a new VPN connection, and click Add.

Choose a filtering policy before adding a VPN connection, if needed.

2. Mac Setup via OpenVPN.png

3. Upon creating the connection, two icons will appear in the "Certificate" column. One is for downloading the Certificate, and the other is for sending it by email. Press the "Cloud download" icon.

Multiple devices can use the same filtering policy, but each device should use its own VPN certificate.

You can also change the filtering policy of the created VPN connection by clicking on the pencil icon to the right. Please note, that you don't need to redownload your VPN certificate on your mobile device if you change its filtering policy.

3. Mac Setup via OpenVPN.png

4. Download OpenVPN Connect.

5. Choose the installer for your Mac device.

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6. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the installation process.

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7. Select the Upload File menu and import the downloaded .ovpn certificate file.

The Certificate has the following name format: safedns-123456.ovpn

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8. Click on the Connect button.

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9. Wait until the VPN connection is established.

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Your Mac is now filtered with the SafeDNS filtering policy.

 

Please note that settings take 5-7 minutes to apply.
Stats and filtering status update every 10 minutes.

Mac DNS Setup

1. Navigate to the SafeDNS Dashboard > Settings and copy your IP address in the "Enter an IP address or DynDNS" box. Click "Add".

1. Mac DNS Setup.png

2. Navigate to the Mac OS "System Preferences".

1.Mac DNS Setup Guide.png


3. Click on the "Network" in the "Internet & Wireless" section of the opened window.

2.Mac DNS Setup Guide.png

4. Choose an active connection from the list and click the "Advanced" button.

3.Mac DNS Setup Guide.png

5. Select the "DNS" tab, add SafeDNS servers 195.46.39.39 and 195.46.39.40, and click "OK".

4.Mac DNS Setup Guide.png

Your Mac is now filtered with the SafeDNS filtering policy.

 

Please note that settings take 5-7 minutes to apply.
Stats and filtering status update every 10 minutes.

SafeDNS Agent for macOS MDM integration

System requirements: macOS 14 or newer.

Currently, each installation package is created and signed individually.

  1. Download and install the macOS Agent either from the SafeDNS Dashboard or using this link - https://safedns.com/downloads/AgentSafeDNS-signed.pkg
  2. Log into the Agent using the SafeDNS account credentials.
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts for the PIN code.
  4. Navigate to the /private/etc/agentsafedns/ folder.
    You can use the following command in the Terminal: open /etc/agentsafedns/
  5. Send the file in this folder to support@safedns.com, and wait until the installation file is created.
  6. Receive the AgentSafeDNS.pkg installation file from Support.
  7. Open the MDM integrator.
    We are using Hexnode as an example.
  8. Navigate to the Apps tab.
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  9. Click Add Apps > Enterprise app.
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  10. Select the macOS platform.
  11. Choose any name for App Name.
  12. Choose .pkg file type.
  13. Add any description.
  14. Upload the AgentSafeDNS.pkg file.
  15. Click Add.
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  16. Wait for the MDM integrator to check the file. It usually takes around 10 seconds.
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  17. The app will receive a Success status.
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  18. The app is ready to be installed on the devices.

    The installation process features are different for each MDM integrator.
    In general, MDM integrators group devices or users so you can assign the Agent to them.
    Hexnode, for example, allows the app to be installed for a group of users, a group of devices, or individual devices.

  19. To launch the agent after MDM installation, share the following script through MDM and wait 2-5 minutes: 
#!/bin/bash

APP_PATH="/Applications/AgentSafeDNS/SafeDNS Agent.app"

CURRENT_USER=$(stat -f "%Su" /dev/console)

if [ -d "$APP_PATH" ]; then
    echo "SafeDNS Agent found, attempting to launch..."

    sudo -u "$CURRENT_USER" osascript -e "tell application \"$APP_PATH\" to activate"

    if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
        echo "SafeDNS Agent launched successfully."
    else
        echo "Failed to launch SafeDNS Agent."
    fi
else
    echo "SafeDNS Agent not found at $APP_PATH."
fi