Summary
This article describes how to install Smoothwall Cloud Filter on an individual macOS device. This procedure is only suitable for small-scale evaluation purposes. It cannot enforce the restrictions necessary to prevent users from circumventing the filter functionality. Deploying the software on multiple devices for real-world use will require an MDM solution such as Jamf.
These instructions refer to version 2.x of the native Unified Client, which was released in May 2023. Please be aware that it is substantially different from previous versions.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you will need admin (sudo) permission for the macOS device you are installing the software on.
You will also need the following information:
- Your Smoothwall Cloud Filter serial. It looks like this: "UNCLxxxxxxxxxxxx".
- Your Smoothwall tenant ID, if you have one. It looks like this: "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx".
You will also need the Chrome browser installed for all users in the main Applications folder. Installing Chrome per-user is not supported.
Uninstall old versions
Please uninstall any old versions of the native Unified Client before continuing.
If you have version 1.x installed, then run this command on the Terminal to uninstall it:
sudo "/Library/Application Support/Smoothwall/uc-desktop.app/Contents/uc-desktopUninstaller"
Note: The exact name and location of the uninstall script may vary depending on which version you have installed. You may need to look around to find it.
If you have version 2.x installed, then run this command on the Terminal to uninstall it:
sudo "/Library/Application Support/Smoothwall/Unified Client/configure.sh" uninstall --delete-all
Install the native client
Go to the downloads page here: https://software.smoothwall.com/
Under "Unified Client", click the macOS link to download the installer. It should be a ZIP file.
Unzip this, and you should find a PKG file inside. Make a note of the path.
On the Terminal, you can install the PKG with by running this command:
sudo installer -pkg PATH_TO_INSTALLER -target /
Replace PATH_TO_INSTALLER with the path of the PKG file you obtained from the zip file.
Configure the native client
Now that you have installed the software, you will need to configure it before it can be used.
On the Terminal, run this command, replacing OPTIONS as described below:
sudo "/Library/Application Support/Smoothwall/Unified Client/configure.sh" install OPTIONS
The following options can be specified:
--serial SERIAL
Required. Replace SERIAL with your Smoothwall serial, starting "UNCL".
--tenant TENANT
Required if you have a tenant ID. Replace TENANT with your Smoothwall tenant ID.
Please do not specify this option if you do not have a Smoothwall tenant ID.
--username-transformation DOMAIN
Optional. Specify a domain which will be automatically added to usernames when connecting
to the Smoothwall servers. This is useful for simulating a user directory. If the domain
ends with a backslash (e.g. "EXAMPLE\") then it will be prepended to the username. If it
starts with an "at" symbol (@) then it will be appended (e.g. "@example.com").
--ipc-port PORT
Optional. This can be used to change the local port used to communicate between various
components of the Unified Client. Port 38380 is used by default. You only need to specify
this if you are experiencing port conflicts.
Note: The --serial item is always required.
The software will start running in the background as a daemon, and will automatically run for all users every time the system starts.
Install the browser extension
The native Unified Client doesn't do anything on its own. It works in conjunction with the Smoothwall Cloud Filter browser extension. For evaluation purposes, you can manually install the browser extension by opening this page in Chrome:
Click the "Add to Chrome" button. It should connect to the native Unified Client and start working immediately.
Note: In future, restrictions in Chrome may prevent manual installation from working correctly. It may be necessary to force-install the extension via MDM instead.
Uninstallation
If you have finished evaluating the software, then you can remove the extension by opening the extensions page in Chrome (chrome://extensions), locating the Smoothwall Cloud Filter extension, and clicking the button to remove it.
Uninstall the native Unified Client by running this command on the Terminal:
sudo "/Library/Application Support/Smoothwall/Unified Client/configure.sh" uninstall --delete-all
That will stop the software from running, and delete all files from the system.