Macs All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition

Chapter 2

Protecting Your Mac against Local and Remote Threats

In This Chapter

Locking your Mac

Adding passwords

Encrypting your documents with FileVault

Configuring Firewall and Privacy settings

Adding other users to your Mac

One of the Mac’s advantages is that it seems to be a minor target of viruses — but that certainly doesn’t make it immune. With the worldwide connectivity of the Internet, everyone is vulnerable to everything, including malicious software (malware) and malicious people with above-average computer skills (hackers). Worse are those hackers who like to use e-mail and websites to steal your personal identity information, such as credit card accounts or Social Security numbers (phishing), or those who send out software masquerading as one thing but as soon as you open it, you discover it’s harmful (Trojan horses disseminating malware). Although threats over the Internet attract the most attention, your Mac is also vulnerable from mundane threats, such as thieves ...