Kerio Connect Account Assistant handling on OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

Apple has added an important new feature called GateKeeper in OS X 10.8 which is designed to protect the end user from running malicious software from unknown developers. This depends on developer signing which becomes complicated with the way the Kerio Connect Account Assistant is built on-the-fly for the end user.

The GateKeeper feature in OS X 10.8 is designed to allow developers to sign their applications in a secure way so that you can be assured of any threat that a malicious attacker might pose. This works well for most applications which never change.

However, the Kerio Connect Account Assistant is actually modified for you by Kerio Connect when you choose to download it. It is created with your settings - username, special server settings, etc., so that you will not have to bother yourself with those things to configure your programs. And, since the Kerio Connect Account Assistant is modified by its very nature, it cannot be signed using the GateKeeper protection provided by Apple.

It is easy to get around this by holding down the Control key when you click the program to run it. This works when you download and run the Kerio Connect Account Assistant from within the Kerio Connect webmail interface.

Apple describes this Control-Click process as running Apps from anywhere in their Core Technologies Overview document available on their website.