In February of this year, Apple announces that it will launch OS X Mountain Lion in 2012 and presented us with some of its functions. Of these, two stand out that will change the way Mac owners will use third-party applications that are not in Apple's Mac App Store. Developer ID and Gatekeeper is a security measure that Apple will implement starting with OS X Mountain Lion and which will require that the developers of applications that are not in the Mac App Store have a Developer ID that certifies that their applications are secure, and can be installed on Macs.
The Mac App Store is the safest place for users to get software for their Mac, but we also want to protect users when they get applications from other places. Gatekeeper is a new feature in OS X Mountain Lion that helps protect users from downloading and installing malicious software. Signing your applications, plug-ins, and installer packages with a Developer ID certificate lets Gatekeeper verify that they are not known malware and have not been tampered with.Mac Developer Program members can sign applications with their Developer ID now to get ready for Gatekeeper. If you're not already a member, join the Mac Developer Program today.
In the beta versions of OS X Mountain Lion, I found Gatekeeper active and I couldn't install applications that didn't have Apple's Developer ID, but the company promises not to natively activate this function. In order to prepare developers for the release of OS X Mountain Lion, Apple last night sent emails to everyone asking them to register their Developer ID on the company's website. Without this Developer ID, applications from outside the Mac App Store will not be able to be installed if Gatekeeper is active and it will be interesting to see how many developers will choose to use the Apple store or give up developing applications for this platform.
