Working on Mac is an excellent experience, and Apple is putting in the effort to amplify the device’s security. If you are a new Mac user, you need to personalize your system’s settings to ensure that it meets your needs.
Though you may find the security settings difficult to configure, it’s significant to keep them up to the mark.
Create a Non-Admin Account for Regular Activities
By default, your Mac is set to the administrator account; you must change it to non-admin to prevent malware attacks. For changing your admin account to non-admin, go to System Administrator and click Accounts, then create a non-administrator account.
To manage your daily activities, such as web browsing or emailing, you may use your new account. Though it is necessary to have one administrative account on Mac for installing software or managing permissions a single mistake can put data at risk. Admins can accidentally delete files that are essential to Mac, leaving it prone to security risks.
With a standard user account, you will have limited access rights to your system. You can create, move, edit files in the home folder, and if the permissions allow, you can access folders on the shared volumes. In short, standard accounts are more limited and don’t involve many security risks.
Check Your Mac for Viruses
Apple offers multiple security measures to protect your data from virus attacks; the protection depends on your understanding of potential risks. Virus attacks in Apple may vary from a Trojan to a .dmg file, so you need to keep track of what you are downloading from the web.
Have you ever wondered how do I do a virus scan on my mac? If yes, then you must start examining your MacBook to discover if any suspicious element exists. Subsequently, check if any new extension has appeared suddenly on your system or if there is any change in the browser homepage.
The first step you should take towards scanning your computer is to start with clearing the Downloads folder. Secondly, check for browser extensions in Safari, click Preferences, and check the Homepage URL. Moreover, remove any suspicious apps or delete the unfamiliar login items.
Run Software Updates & Patch Properly
Outdated software or application versions can trigger security issues by attracting ransomware attacks. Use Software Update for updating or upgrading macOS versions. Apple releases updates regularly along with security patches that are vital to keeping your applications up to date.
If you receive notifications about available updates, you should install them immediately or set a reminder for the latest possible time. Alternatively, you can check for available macOS updates manually by entering System Preferences and then System Updates. You can also check and install updates for applications that you have downloaded from the Apple Store.
If the Software Update feature says that your macOS is up to date, it means that the latest updates for Safari, FaceTime, Music, Messages, Photos, Books, Mail, and Calendar have already been installed. If any error occurred while installing updates, try updating in Safe Mode.
Encrypt Sensitive Data on Mac With FileVault
If you have confidential information on your Mac, protect it with FileVault encryption to prevent unauthorized access. FileVault encodes the data stored on your system so that users are only able to access it by entering the password. You need to remember your password and the recovery key; else, you won’t be able to access your FileVault account.
When you turn on FileVault, it will also activate other features to provide better protection to data. For iMac Pro and other Mac models with Apple T2 Chip, the data on the hard drive is already encrypted automatically. However, turning on FileVault will add more security to data as you will require the login details to access it.
If FileVault is turned on and encryption begins, you will not be able to turn it off until the encryption process completes. It may take several minutes to a few hours to complete, based on the amount of data that needs to be encrypted. However, you can still work on your Mac system as you usually do because it will not affect your functionality. You can turn off FileVault once the encryption process completes.
Wrapping Up!
To avoid data loss, you should back up MacBook data regularly. Clone your Mac system to an external hard drive or a solid-state drive and keep the storage device at a secured, remote location. Always download applications or files from a reliable source to keep your system safe.
You can synchronize your files between two Mac systems so that the most recent version of your files is present on both machines. Check for browser privacy guidelines regularly for a safe browsing experience. These practices will protect your data from unauthorized access and will help you restore your files in case of virus attacks.
