Dyknow’s Cloud Connector feature enables Dyknow Administrators to create the Mac Cloud Connector in Dyknow and check the connection status of the installed Mac Cloud Connector on student devices. The Dyknow Cloud Connector .pkg is designed for and supported on student Mac devices only.

Note: Student Mac monitoring happens when the Cloud Connector .pkg is installed on the Mac AND the account name used to login to the Mac matches the username recorded in the student's Dyknow user profile.

To identify login credentials on a student Mac device:

Navigate to Settings > Users & Groups > Login Options
Identify the Account Name (this must match the Dyknow Username)

This document is a resource for Dyknow Administrators to understand how to:

CREATE MAC CLOUD CONNECTOR IN DYKNOW

Follow the steps below to confirm in Dyknow that students at your district use Mac devices.

1. Login to Dyknow.

2. Click the gear icon ; you will be redirected to the Admin Settings.

3. Click the Cloud Connector tab.

4. Locate the Choose all student device types section.

5. Click Mac.

6. Review the new Mac Cloud Connector section.

7. Click the download icon to download the Mac Cloud Connector; the Download Cloud Connector window will appear.

8. Click Download; the MonitorInstall.pkg file will begin downloading immediately.

9. Continue to Install the Mac Cloud Connector, either via third-party software or manually.

INSTALL MAC CLOUD CONNECTOR WITH THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE

Follow the steps below to install the Mac Cloud Connector onto students’ Mac devices using a third-party deployment tool (e.g. Casper, Jamf, or Apple Remote Desktop). Or check out these articles for MDM-specific instructions:

1. Login to your third-party software as an Administrator.

2. Ensure that the machines to which you’re deploying the Mac Cloud Connector have the same user credentials as the deployment tool you’re using.

3. Create a new Package you will deploy to student devices.

4. Add the Mac Cloud Connector MonitorInstall.pkg file to the new Package.

5. Identify the shared network path for the Package you will deploy.

6. Deploy the new Package to your students’ Mac devices.

7. Verify that the Dyknow icon appears in the system tray of the Mac device after installation.

Note: If the icon does not appear, please contact Dyknow for assistance.

8. Continue to Configure (Required) Mac Device Settings.

INSTALL MAC CLOUD CONNECTOR MANUALLY

Follow the steps below to manually install the Mac Cloud Connector onto a student’s Mac device.

1. Login to the student Mac device as an Administrator.

2. Open the MonitorInstall.pkg file downloaded during the Create Mac Cloud Connector in Dyknow process.

3. Verify that the Dyknow icon is showing in the top menu bar of the Mac device after installation.

Note: If the icon does not appear, please contact Dyknow for assistance.

4. Continue to Configure (Required) Mac Device Settings.

CONFIGURE MAC DEVICE SETTINGS

The following settings are required for students with Mac devices. Follow the steps below to configure these student device settings and optimize your Mac Cloud Connector.

TURN OFF PARENTAL CONTROLS

Based on your school's macOS configurations, Parental Controls may cause a message on some students' devices that says "You do not have access to update DyKnow." To resolve this message, be sure Dyknow is always allowed in your Parental Control settings. These settings may exist in your MDM, or locally on the device.

1. Disable Parental Controls on your students’ Mac devices; review the options below:

Option 1: Parental Controls exist in third-party deployment software.

Login to your third-party software as an Administrator.
Access the device management settings.
Turn off Parental Controls.

Option 2: Parental Control settings exist locally on the Mac device.

Click the Apple icon.
Click Mac System Preferences.
Click Parental Controls.
Click the lock icon from the Parental Controls window and enter your Administrator credentials.
Select the User account for which you want Parental Controls disabled.
Select Turn Off Parental Controls.

INSTALL PRIVACY PROFILE

If students at your district use macOS 10.14+, install the privacy profile. Due to a new policy for Macs in MDM environments, privacy profiles must be configured in your MDM. Until you push out the privacy profile, your Teachers will only see Safari or Chrome in the Activity Tracker during monitoring sessions and in Class/Student History.

Prerequisite: Group Targeting macOS 10.14+

As of 10.14.3, privacy profiles pushed to 10.13 and below remain ineffective after upgrading to 10.14. Skip this section if you already have appropriate smart group(s) created to handle this requirement. You can read more information here in Jamf's official documentation.

Follow the steps below to install the privacy profile, and check out this FAQ article for more info:

1. Download the Dyknow MDM privacy profile; review options below:

Option 1: macOS 10.15 or below

Click here to download the Dyknow MDM privacy profile; the Dyknow_10_15_andolderv1.1.mobileconfig file will begin downloading immediately.

Option 2: macOS 11+

Click here to download the Dyknow MDM privacy profile;
the Dyknow_Latestv1.1.mobileconfig file will begin downloading immediately.

2. Login to your MDM.

3. Click Computers.

4. Click Configuration Profiles.

5. Click Upload.

6. Upload the Dyknow.mobileconfig file.

7. Click the Scope tab.

8. Set Target Computers to your Computer Group (from step 3).

ENABLE PRIVACY SETTING

Due to security changes in macOS 10.15+, you may have to physically allow access to the Dyknow Cloud app from the student Mac device itself. Follow the steps below to enable Dyknow in Mac Privacy Settings, and check out this FAQ article for more info.

1. Open System Preferences on the student Mac device.

2. Click the Security & Privacy icon.

3. Click the Privacy tab.

4. Click Screen Recording from the left-hand menu.

5. Select the Dyknow app.

6. Click Accessibility from the left-hand menu.

7. Select the Dyknow app.

8. Close the System Preferences window.

9. Return to the pop-up notification and select Quit Now.

Installing Dyknow Cloud Connector on student Mac devices