All new computers’ security settings are kept default by the Operating System. The same thing happens with Mac’s Operating System. But if you want to keep your Mac as secure as possible, default settings aren’t going to be enough for you. But configuring Mac’s security settings is going to be challenging as they keep all kind of activities hidden behind the curtain. So, it’s healthy to check your privacy settings when you’re setting up a new Mac or upgrading an old one to the latest version of OS X.
There are a lot of ways you can lose your data. Also, sharing files with others and downloading files opens up your computer to new threats and the numbers of threats are rising day by day. So if you want to keep your Mac safe from any potential threats these tips are for you.
Install Antivirus Software
Everyone should use antivirus software on their computer. The same goes for Mac users. Yes, even Macs are not safe from viruses and malware. Those who thought that Macs are invincible, sorry to say but you were ill-informed. Macs are becoming more popular day by day. The amounts of malware that attack OS X are also increasing with Mac’s popularity. Installing a good antivirus will help you identify any virus or malware that tries you attack your OS X and block any future threats.
You’ll also be able to scan external hard drives and SD cards and keep them secure as well. But if your SD card somehow gets corrupted and loses all its data, you can restore your corrupted SD card by using corrupted SD card recovery tools.
Backup and Restore
Creating backup is really important since your mac can face crash problems and hard drive issues anytime. These threats will put your data at risk and you might lose all your precious data. The best way to deal with this problem is backing up your files.
You can backup your entire hard drive by using Time Machine Backup. It will back up your hard drive from time to time so that you can restore your Mac to your previous backup point if your data gets erased somehow. But you should also consider backing up your important files to another external hard drive in case something happens to the Time Machine Backup. You can also try backing up your important data to cloud storage for extra safe keeping.
But if you still lose your hard drive data or if it gets erased somehow you can recover them by using Mac data recovery software.
Full Disk Encryption
A good way to keep your data safe from hackers is to encrypt important data. Enabling encryption system creates an additional layer of protection to your precious data. Suppose your Mac gets stolen somehow, the thieves can access your data if it’s not encrypted, even if you have password protected it. But if you get your data encrypted, no one will be able to access them without the administrator’s permission. Using Apple’s File Vault is a great way to encrypt your data. File Vault encryption uses a secure encryption algorithm, XTS-AES 128 to encrypt your entire hard drive. You should use this feature because Macs hard drive isn’t fully encrypted on its own.
The encryption system encrypts all your data as soon as you turn off your computer off. It decrypts them back as soon as you log back in so that you can use them again. But that also means if someone gets their hand on your pass they can access your data even if it’s encrypted. So, using a secure and not so obvious password is also important to keep your data safe and secure.
Use Non-Admin Account for Regular Use
Using a non-admin account means you can’t do any major change in your Mac. Since you can access your administrator account anytime and do changes in your Mac, using a non-admin account for regular use means you won’t be able to make any accidental changes which might put your Mac in danger.
You may accidentally delete any important files while using your administrator account or someone who has access to your computer might do that too. But you won’t have to face that problem if you keep a non-admin account for regular use. And if you want to make major changes while using your non-admin account your computer will ask for administrator’s password. Though this way you’ll have to go through password request every now and then, it’ll also make you think twice before performing any major change to your pc.
You can never do enough to secure your computer as much as possible. There’s always something more that you can do. You can go through Mac’s privacy settings and make it more secure by changing settings like auto log-in and other features that enable others to get access to your Mac. But I think following these tips will secure your Mac enough for using it regularly without any danger.
