Author: Alan Stonebridge

When you first set up your Mac, the only security measure that’s enforced is that you add a password to your user account. The Setup Assistant makes no mention of extra measures you might want to enable, even though several are built into OS X. The features we’re about to look at are defenses against local attacks, rather than protection against online attacks. The measures are particularly important if you work in an open environment, such as a library, an office, or a café, and if your Mac is stolen, because they help to keep your data under lock and key.

One thing that isn’t covered here is FileVault, which encrypts everything on your Mac so it’s unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have your password. It’s what you might call a nuclear option, though, and carries a risk: if you lose both your password and backup recovery key, which lets you reset your password, you’re forever locked out of your files. You can store your recovery key with Apple, but three questions must be answered precisely for access, so this also carries a risk. FileVault is extremely secure, but its seriousness means we don’t recommend it for everyone.

 

1. Turn Off Automatic Login

Automatically logging into a user account on startup is risky. After holding down the power button to turn off the Mac, a restart is all you need to gain access. Automatic login can be disabled under Login Options in the “Users & Groups” preferences pane.

 

2. Obfuscate Login Details

The login window shows account names by default, leaving passwords to be input. Under Login Options, switch to “Name and password” so both details need to be entered. Changing Fast User Switching to show an icon stops names being read from the screen.

 

3. Restrict Your Abilities

Daily, it’s safer to use a Standard account, but an admin is needed for system changes. Create a new admin in the Users & Groups pane, log out, then into the new account. Select your regular account and clear “Allow user to administer…” to reduce its rights.

 

4. Fully Protect

To protect critical settings, log in from an Administrator account, open the Security & Privacy pane, click General, then click the Advanced button and ensure “Require an administrator password to access system-wide preferences” is checked.

 

5. Request Password to Wake

Waking a Mac from sleep gives access to whatever account was left signed in. Under “General” in the Security & Privacy pane, turn on the option that requires a password to wake, and set how soon it’s needed. Longer than the “5 seconds” option is risky.

 

6. Tighten Keychain Security

Your password also protects your Keychain, giving access to its contents to Safari’s AutoFill feature, for example, just by logging in. To require separate consent, open Keychain Access, right-click “login” in the Keychain list and choose “Change Password…”

 

7. Sharing Services

Features in the Sharing pane allow you to log into a Mac remotely or simply copy files. In particular, review the options under Screen Sharing and File Sharing to ensure your Mac and its contents can’t be accessed by just anyone connected to the same network.

 

8. Lock the Keychain

In the same menu, choose “Change Settings…” for options that lock the Keychain upon sleep or after inactivity. In the app’s preferences, you can add a menu bar icon to show Keychain status and to lock it. When locked, system services may prompt you for access. 

 

9. An Unplugged Hole

Without a firmware password, Recovery Mode gives the unfettered ability to reset any account’s password from Terminal. The Keychain password is unaltered by this, so an intruder won’t be able to read website logins, but they will have access to local files. That’s why you should set a firmware password, as detailed in the next step.

 

10. Set a Firmware Password

Restart your Mac and hold Command + R at the chime. Choose Utilities > Firmware Password Utility from the top bar. Set a password and don’t forget it — you’ll need it on rare occasions such as restoring your Mac from Time Machine, and to use other startup key combinations.

Are you one of those people who likes to organize your life around to-do lists? If so, Mavericks’ Reminders app is here to help. Just as on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, Reminders makes it easy to create to-dos and synchronize them seamlessly with all your devices using iCloud — with any changes made on one appearing on all the others.

You get a default Reminders list to start things off, but it’s easy to add new ones. You can rename a list by right-clicking on its name, choosing Rename from the pop-up menu, typing a new name, and pressing Return. Reminders also lets you set up categories of lists so that you can get a quick overview of specific tasks, such as birthdays and anniversaries. We’ll show you how to add items to your Reminders list, set up and both time- and location-based alerts, and sync them using iCloud. To set iCloud up, open the Apple menu and go to System Preferences > iCloud. If you’re not logged in, type in your Apple ID and click Sign In > Next > Allow. Once that’s done, check that Calendars and Reminders is ticked. Next, sign in with the same Apple ID on any iOS devices you own by going to Settings > iCloud.

1. Create a Reminder

Open Reminders and click the + symbol (top-right). Type the name of the reminder and press Return. This creates a simple “to do” without a due date, time, or location. To mark it as done, click the box to the left of the reminder and it goes into your Completed items.

 

2. Timed Reminders

Repeat step one, but this time, hover the mouse pointer over the “to do” you’ve created. Click the “I” that appears. In the box that pops up, click “On a day,” then click the date to make a mini calendar appear. Now, simply choose the date to be alerted to your reminder.

 

3. Choose Your Time

Click the date you want to be reminded about. Now, click the hour to highlight it, then type in when you want the alert to appear — doing the same for the minutes — and click Done. Your reminder is now set and an alert will pop up on all your Apple devices.

 

4. Location Aware

You can make reminders appear when you’re in a certain place — handy if you’re syncing your Reminders to an iPad or iPhone. To do this, create a reminder, click the “I” as in step 2, and tick “At a location.” You need to have Location Services switched on.

 

5. Pick Your Place

Type in the location — an address from Contacts, a zip code, or the full address — and then hit Return. Pick 
the location from the list that appears, then choose whether you want to be reminded when you arrive or when you leave that location.

 

6. Completed Reminders

When you click the box next to a reminder, it’s marked as “Complete” and is moved to the Completed list. You can click on it to check on your completed tasks. Click to uncheck the reminder and it goes back on your reminders list. Reminders also appear in iCloud.devices.