With the first option checked you can access the sharing services you’ve enabled on your Mac. To remotely access and track your Mac, open the iCloud system preference and switch on the Back to My Mac and Find My Mac iCloud services. There are few cases where it’s not a good idea to lock your Mac when it sleeps. The shorter the time interval you use in this feature, the better, especially for laptops. Just enable the Require Password option and choose Immediately or 5 seconds from the pop-up menu and you’ll be required to enter a password to use your Mac after it’s gone to sleep or the screen saver has started. You set up the first of these options in the General tab of the Security & Privacy system preference. This prevents data recovery by unauthorized third parties, who might try to access it using Target Disk mode on your Mac or by removing your Mac’s hard drive and attaching it to another computer.Ī final couple of options for protecting your Mac include securing your computer when you have to leave it unattended and enabling remote access to it-not only to interact with it from afar, but also to track and lock it down, if needed. However, before it’s unlocked (ie, your Mac is shut down), all data on the drive will be scrambled. When your drive is unlocked, files on it can be read. For a walkthrough on setting up FileVault,įull disk encryption is primarily useful for protecting a stolen Mac. This may take a while to do, especially with large mechanical drives, where both encrypting and optimizing may take a number of hours to complete. Click Continue and your Mac will begin encrypting your drive. When you do this you’ll be asked to choose the user accounts that are authorized to unlock the disk (you can add other accounts later, if you like). To enable FileVault, go to the FileVault tab of the Security & Privacy system preference, unlock the preference, and click Turn On FileVault.

Enable FileVaultįileVault is the full-disk encryption routine in OS X that will secure all files on the drive, including OS X system files, applications, caches and other temporary files any of which may contain personal or sensitive information. For home networks you can usually rely on your router’s firewall for protection, though enabling the OS X firewall for added security generally won’t cause additional problems. The firewall is a good option to enable if you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network, such as one at a cafe, library, or other hotspot.

OS X’s advanced filewall settings give you more control over what comes in to your Mac.

How do i run a security check on my mac