The safest place to get apps for your Mac is the App Store. Apple reviews each app in the App Store before it’s accepted and signs it to ensure that it hasn’t been tampered with or altered. If there’s ever a problem with an app, Apple can quickly remove it from the store.
I bought the iBoostUp app when I was using Lion, and one day it suddenly stopped working, I uninstalled it, and yesterday I got Mountain Lion hoping that it would get magically fixed, but it didn't. Any clues on how to restore the app? “iBoostUp” is damaged and can’t be opened. Delete “iBoostUp” and download it again from the App Store! The Dark Sky app, priced at $3.99, continues to be available, and today Apple released an update for the app. Dark Sky version 6.8.5 features a new extra large watch complication to be used with. Some apps might consistently ask you to enter your username and password followed by the above app damaged issue. To resolve this, do the following steps: Restart your Mac computer. Open App Store on your Mac and login to your Apple ID through App Store. Once you are logged in, re-authenticate all your apps and purchases. I was having a different problem than initially described in this post, but step 4 solved my problem. Since updating to 10.14.6 from either.5 or.4 (can’t remember which), I’ve been having this issue where, if I download an updated version of an application and drop it into the applications folder, overwriting the old version, that new application gets put into “App Translocation.
If you download and install apps from the internet or directly from a developer, macOS continues to protect your Mac. When you install Mac apps, plug-ins, and installer packages from outside the App Store, macOS checks the Developer ID signature to verify that the software is from an identified developer and that it has not been altered. By default, macOS Catalina also requires software to be notarized, so you can be confident that the software you run on your Mac doesn't contain known malware. Before opening downloaded software for the first time, macOS requests your approval to make sure you aren’t misled into running software you didn’t expect.
Running software that hasn’t been signed and notarized may expose your computer and personal information to malware that can harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.
View the app security settings on your Mac
By default, the security and privacy preferences of your Mac are set to allow apps from the App Store and identified developers. For additional security, you can chose to allow only apps from the App Store.
In System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click General. Click the lock and enter your password to make changes. Select App Store under the header “Allow apps downloaded from.”
Open a developer-signed or notarized app
If your Mac is set to allow apps from the App Store and identified developers, the first time that you launch a new app, your Mac asks if you’re sure you want to open it.
An app that has been notarized by Apple indicates that Apple checked it for malicious software and none was detected:
Prior to macOS Catalina, opening an app that hasn't been notarized shows a yellow warning icon and asks if you're sure you want to open it:
If you see a warning message and can’t install an app
If you have set your Mac to allow apps only from the App Store and you try to install an app from elsewhere, your Mac will say that the app can't be opened because it was not downloaded from the App Store.*
If your Mac is set to allow apps from the App Store and identified developers, and you try to install an app that isn’t signed by an identified developer or—in macOS Catalina—notarized by Apple, you also see a warning that the app cannot be opened.
If you see this warning, it means that the app was not notarized, and Apple could not scan the app for known malicious software.
You may want to look for an updated version of the app in the App Store or look for an alternative app.
If macOS detects a malicious app
Mac App Store Damaged And Cannot Be Opened
If macOS detects that an app has malicious content, it will notify you when you try to open it and ask you to move it to the Trash.
How to open an app that hasn’t been notarized or is from an unidentified developer
Running software that hasn’t been signed and notarized may expose your computer and personal information to malware that can harm your Mac or compromise your privacy. If you’re certain that an app you want to install is from a trustworthy source and hasn’t been tampered with, you can temporarily override your Mac security settings to open it.
In macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave, when an app fails to install because it hasn’t been notarized or is from an unidentified developer, it will appear in System Preferences > Security & Privacy, under the General tab. Click Open Anyway to confirm your intent to open or install the app.
The warning prompt reappears, and you can click Open.*
The app is now saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can open it in the future by double-clicking it, just as you can any authorized app.
Mac App Store Damaged Android
*If you're prompted to open Finder: control-click the app in Finder, choose Open from the menu, and then click Open in the dialog that appears. Enter your admin name and password to open the app.
If you recall, last week we saw an issue that plagued some Mac users and developers that caused some apps downloaded from the Mac App Store to display a “damaged” error when they were opened. Apple has sent an email to developers explaining what happened, and how to fix their affected apps.
MacRumors:
In the email, which developer Donald Southard Jr. shared on Twitter, Apple explains that the company issued a new security certificate for the Mac App Store in September in anticipation of the expiration of the old certificate. The new certificate used a stronger SHA-2 hashing algorithm instead of the old SHA-1 algorithm. Hashing algorithms are used by certificate authorities to sign security certificates.
There were actually two issues that caused issues when apps were started. Apple says the first issue involved a caching problem with the Mac App Store that required a computer restart and re-authentication with the Mac App Store to clear out the old cached information. Apple is working on a fix for this issue. The second involved some old apps that were running an older version of OpenSSL that didn’t support SHA-2. Apple notes it replaced the SHA-2 certificate with a new SHA-1 certificate last Thursday night.
Mac App Store For Windows
Apple says that while “most of the issues are now resolved,” some apps might still experience issues if the apps make “incorrect assumptions” about the Mac App Store’s security certificates. Apple points developers to the Receipt Validation Programming Guide, asking them to make sure their apps adhere to the guide, and to resubmit their apps if necessary for an expedited review.
The full email can be seen in the screenshot below: