Mac Security.....

[Grasbak]

Just wanted to check if I am being a bit sloppy with my Mac in terms of security. Obviously when I bought it I was aware there are effectivly no viruses etc.

My mac is (wirelessly - WPA) connected to the internet via a adsl router with a firewall. The OSX firewall is on. I only have 1 account which is the administrator account which I do not have a password on.

I leave the mac on all day (i would be at work) connected to the internet, it sleeps or shutdowns at night (sometimes it wakes up (seemingly) at random).

Any extra security steps I should be taking?

 

[epochblue]

Just wanted to check if I am being a bit sloppy with my Mac in terms of security. Obviously when I bought it I was aware there are effectivly no viruses etc.

My mac is (wirelessly - WPA) connected to the internet via a adsl router with a firewall. The OSX firewall is on. I only have 1 account which is the administrator account which I do not have a password on.

I leave the mac on all day (i would be at work) connected to the internet, it sleeps or shutdowns at night (sometimes it wakes up (seemingly) at random).

Any extra security steps I should be taking?

You're already doing more than I do (except that my admin account requires a password, and my machine requires a password at startup). I'd just tell you to keep abreast of viruses and any other malware that might appear for the Mac.

I'd also turn off the "Open Safe Files After Downloading..." option in Safari, as that's a great vector to sneak things in.

Beyond that - be mindful of the sites you visit and the places you download from, and you should be fine.

 

[mkrishnan]

You're generally doing well. You could create a non-admin everyday account, and I think that's a good practice, but first off, your admin account really must get a password. The reason is that any kind of trojan horse or other attack that gets controverted because you have to give a password for it to gain superuser rights is not protected, because your account has no password. At least, I think it's a really bad idea to have a no-password admin account.

 

[twoodcc]

You're generally doing well. You could create a non-admin everyday account, and I think that's a good practice, but first off, your admin account really must get a password. The reason is that any kind of trojan horse or other attack that gets controverted because you have to give a password for it to gain superuser rights is not protected, because your account has no password. At least, I think it's a really bad idea to have a no-password admin account.

i agree here. you should put a password on your admin account.....and any account for that matter

 

[Grasbak]

but first off, your admin account really must get a password

had a feeling that might be the case - I will look at that tonight!

 

[clevin]

Just wanted to check if I am being a bit sloppy with my Mac in terms of security. Obviously when I bought it I was aware there are effectivly no viruses etc.

My mac is (wirelessly - WPA) connected to the internet via a adsl router with a firewall. The OSX firewall is on. I only have 1 account which is the administrator account which I do not have a password on.

I leave the mac on all day (i would be at work) connected to the internet, it sleeps or shutdowns at night (sometimes it wakes up (seemingly) at random).

Any extra security steps I should be taking?

download and install 10.4.9 mega package, apple patched something like a dozen security holes.