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CLIX 2.1Freeware release of the popular power tool for 10.9 Mavericks, with trebled security.
LONDON (Rixstep) — CLIX 2.1 for 10.9 Mavericks is available now. The package is backward-compatible with 10.6 Snow Leopard through 10.8 Mountain Lion and includes a 64-bit Intel image.
Security has been heightened by an order of magnitude.
The total number of included CLIX commands now numbers well over 5,000. More commands are on their way.
CLIX is free.
Free Downloads
Following are the CLIX download URLs.
Use the older CLIX 2.0.0.16 for 32-bit machines.
Why CLIX is Better
CLIX is better than the command line (Terminal.app). It gives you better security and it gives you a 'Rolodex' interface so you can copy, edit, and store your favourite commands, and so you need submit your password only once per session.
Command line security can be heightened to prevent common exploits (eg piggybacking). These measures normally affect usability, but they have no effect on CLIX. Thus using CLIX is both more user-friendly and safer.
CLIX will also 'clean up' your environment after every run, taking care of your sudo timestamps and 'TTY tickets'.
Security is also better because CLIX integrity checks go beyond what OS X is otherwise capable of with code signing.
Code signing only works on closed platforms such as iOS. As this article from the Rixstep forum demonstrates, code signing is no more than a new section of an executable image that can be removed with no effect on the application's performance.
That's fine enough for a platform where the kernel's launcher demands a bundle signed by a root certificate, but the freewheeling OS X can't demand that (yet).
Reverse Houdini
Rixstep engineers came up with a technology they call the 'Reverse Houdini' - a technology where the locks put on the binary are on the outside, but the mechanisms to place the locks on the binary are on the inside.
CLIX also makes sure your commands are part of the right process tree, that no shred of data is exposed anywhere, and that you can get 'sudo alerts' if you wish.
The convenience and power of CLIX are unmatched, and in version 2.1 the level of security has been trebled.
The Command Line Interface for OS X
CLIX is the command line interface for OS X. It's similar in function to Terminal.app, but it lets you store, retrieve, edit, and run commands so you don't have to type them in all the time. Commands are sorted by file, category, title, and description.
You can make your work environment more secure with CLIX: by setting TTY tickets and a zero time stamp timeout for your system, you effectively block all trojan piggyback attempts to escalate to root. Meanwhile, CLIX will submit your password when needed and remove it when necessary. CLIX can also warn you when a script is asking for your password.
Most 'system maintenance utilities' for OS X are simply Cocoa application wrappers around AppleScript which in turn are wrappers around Unix shell commands you already have on disk at no additional charge. CLIX takes you right to the source without the distracting glitter. And you end up learning a few things too - something the 'wizards of OS X' system maintenance vendors are very afraid of you learning. As they won't make money off you anymore.
You might just learn you paid for something you already owned for free.
Consult this site for hundreds of articles about CLIX and Unix. Teach yourself how to fish.
CFB Answer Pack
Don't forget the answer pack for the article series CLIX False Beginners.
ftp://rixstep.com/CFB.zip (1668 bytes)
Happy fishing.
See Also
Learning Curve: 1st Time CLIX?
CLIX: The #1 Power Tool for OS X
Learning Curve: CLIX False Beginners
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