Securing a new mac questions

[WannaGoMac]

Hi,

1) Can anyone point me to a good guide to setting up a secure OS X environment?

2) Is the user account password a decent first level protection?
Since OS X is Unix, if the computer is stolen will a user account password stop the thief from being able to login/startup the computer and getting to the files? Thereby force the thief to do a complete system restore to get access...

3) Is Filevault pretty good? Does it slow down OS X too much?

Thanks!

 

[spinne1]

Hi,

1) Can anyone point me to a good guide to setting up a secure OS X environment?

What do you mean by secure? From hackers or from people sitting down at your computer and being able to use it?

If you mean hackers, do nothing. It is secure enough right now. If you mean people sitting down at your computer, you can simply go to System Preferences and then Security and check the box that says "require password to wake from sleep or screen saver." That keeps my family off my computer when I don't want them on, and they are not savvy enough to bypass it.

2) Is the user account password a decent first level protection?

Yes, much like the above password scenario. I only have one account on my computer and I require a password when booting, but after that the computer would be fair game to my family if I did not set the other password (my comp is on 24/7)

Since OS X is Unix, if the computer is stolen will a user account password stop the thief from being able to login/startup the computer and getting to the files? Thereby force the thief to do a complete system restore to get access...

No, the thief could get your files by simply booting into another OS with your drive installed.

3) Is Filevault pretty good? Does it slow down OS X too much?

Thanks!

I've never tried it. I'm not concerned with people stealing my files however. They'd have to break in my house and take the computer and even if they did, the files themselves I'm not that concerned about. But if you need that kind of protection, I'm sure Filevault works fine.

To get a better idea about it, read this:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/2003/12/19/filevault.html

 

[WannaGoMac]

Thanks for your response.

By security I think primarily preventing a thief from getting to my files if the Macbook is stolen. I am not as worried about being "hacked" on a Mac.

With that said, I found this nice 8 steps to secure your mac article.

http://www.macworld.com/2005/02/features/8macsecuritytips/index.php

 

[sfisher]

3) Is Filevault pretty good? Does it slow down OS X too much?

It works perfectly and I never noticed a slowdown when using it. I think it unlocks the "vault" and leaves it unlocked and open as long as you've logged in with your password so there would be no slow down. The key is choosing a good password that you can remember, otherwise you'll lose access to everything