My friend installed something called Jamf on my MacBook

Question

I have a MacBook Air 7,2. My friend installed something called Jamf on it. Now I can't access most of my applications. My son said he couldn't force quit it so I'm thinking it must be some kind of virus.

The IT man managed to get it up on Activity Monitor, but when he tried to force quit it, it just reopened and when he tried to uninstall it with terminal it just blocked terminal.

Any help that could be offered would be appreciated because otherwise, I may need to just throw out the MacBook and buy a new one.

Answer 1

Jamf is a device management/mobile device management solution. It enables remote control and management of the configured device.

Due to the nature of the software, it can restrict users of the machine (even the admin users) from performing certain administrative operations (depending on the applied configuration). It is thus obvious that the end-users cannot uninstall and/or quit the Jamf app.

Jamf is one of the well-known among many remote/mobile device management solutions, generally used in enterprise/school environment to centrally manage a large number of mobile devices (laptops/tablets/phones). Jamf is absolutely not a virus, nor is it a ransomware.

You can learn more about Jamf product offerings here:

• https://www.jamf.com/products/

There is absolutely no reason to throw away your MacBook. I'd advise you to get in touch with your friend and ask him for the reason why it was installed in first place. You can also ask to remove it, if it was installed in accident, or just out of curiosity.

A mobile device management solution is generally not required for personal devices.

Answer 2

The instructions to remove the framework just require you to have a local admin password.

/usr/local/bin/jamf removeFramework

• https://www.jamf.com/jamf-nation/articles/153/removing-jamf-components-from-computers

This will remove all the things that the tool installed (apps, profiles, certificates) and then remove the management framework. You do not want to do this if you have FileVault keys not in your direct control or don't have a good backup or you are trying to circumvent a proper installation.

Since this can break things, you might check with the team that runs JAMF for the organization your friend belongs. Removing the framework doesn't have to break anything if the IT department put light controls in place.

Checking with their team means they can also remotely run the uninstall or tell you the things this will delete, but you certainly don't need to throw away the hardware (or throw it here - I know several people that would use it happily).

Answer 3

The tool is every bit as @Nimesh said. I would like to add some extra tips:

1. Don't throw away your laptop. Instead backup your documents, photos and other important data. Erase your laptop and clean reinstall it;

2. Don't give your account password to anyone. If they need it to perform some special task, enter it yourself;

3. Create Guest Accounts for such occasions.

Answer 4

Nimesh and Alexander answered the question about Jamf Now.

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Thre are 2 possibilities to get rid of it.

First of all: Ask your friend why they did that with your device and ask them to remove it from jamf Now management.

In Order to do that you must follow few simple steps:

1. Log Into Jamf
2. Select Yout Device
3. Click on three dots on the right upper corner
4. Click unenroll your device.

This will remove all Jamf now Setting and your device won't be controlled over this MDM anymore.

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Second option works ONLY IF your device was not pre-enrolled using DEP. (in that case you must ask your friend or someone at their company to remove that serial number from Apple's DEP portal since that will drive re-enrollment into MDM). If either not the case, back up your Mac data so you can restore to the "before Jamf" state.

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You can also try new clean installation of your Mac once you have a backup. You will then know if it's enrolled through DEP or if this was a simple MDM enrollment that was optional and not forced via Apple.

Good Luck!