Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Web Browsing

Web browsing on Mac OS X is as easy as launching Apple’s own Safari, which ships with Mac OS X. You can find it in /Applications, and the Dock displays its icon (a compass face) among its default icons for new users.

Alternative Browsers

Safari is a fine browser, but curious users may want to investigate some of the alternative browsers available for Mac OS X. They all serve the same basic function of letting you view HTML files on the World Wide Web, but each has its own style and set of unique, fine-tuned features.

Network Disks and Security

All these remote disk-mounting methods are great for safely sharing information with other computers located elsewhere on a closed intranet, when you and they are all tucked safely behind a firewall or grouped together through a virtual private network (VPN). When sending information (including the passwords you use to connect to these network services) over the worldwide Internet, however, the packets that make up this information must potentially pass through many points unknown. A malicious eavesdropper sitting somewhere in between and running a network packet-sniffing program could intercept your passwords and other sensitive information, which would be Bad. When possible, consider using a secure Internet protocol, such as ssh for remote logins or sftp for file transfers. Unfortunately, this precludes the connections that the Finder makes super-easy. Express due paranoia when appropriate.

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