How To Prevent Malware on Lion & Snow Leopard Macs
The myth that Macs are immune to viruses was put to rest once and for all by Flashback, a malware program that infected hundreds of thousands of Macs. As a result of that attack, Apple was forced to respond with a removal tool. Don't wait for the next big Mac breach--there are five simple things you can do now to keep your Mac safe from infection. Here they are.
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Flashback, a Trojan capable of stealing passwords and other information from users through their Web browsers, caught over 600,000 Mac users by surprise when it hit last year. Other sorts of malware and viruses appear often enough to prompt Apple to change its "virus-free" sales pitch at the end of June. What most Mac users don't know is it's easy and inexpensive to make a Mac secure. In this slideshow we'll go over five easy-to-implement security steps you can take.
1. Use a non-administrator account most of the time. The default account that comes with most Apple machines has administrator privileges, meaning it can delete and otherwise manipulate files, which could wreak havoc if malware strikes. Fortunately, because OS X is based on Unix, it has a sophisticated user privilege hierarchy that can lock out attackers. A non-admin account is simple to create and will protect your machine from attacks by malicious software.
2. Keep your software updated. It's important to keep your Apple software up-to-date, and that includes new versions of the operating system. In his review of Mountain Lion's developer preview 4, BYTE's Chris Spera tried out Gate Keeper, a new security feature that gives users the option to restrict downloaded apps to those that have an Apple Developer ID, which means they have been digitally signed by the developer.
3. Lock down your Mac. Make use of built-in OS security settings to keep intruders at bay.
4. Set up a firmware password. If you create a firmware password, your Mac will require a password if an attempt is made to boot your machine to anything but the hard drive.
5. Use third-party security software. Most people are familiar with Windows anti-virus packages such as Norton Security and McAfee Anti-Virus. Although those tools also are available for OS X, there are a number of free competitors that do the job just as well. If you're concerned that the above steps might not be enough to secure your machine, installing an anti-virus package will make it that much safer. I recommend Sophos or ClamXav.
Use a non-administrator account: Step 1
To set up a non-admin account, open system preferences, and under the System heading click Accounts. In the bottom left of the account pane, click the lock to enable changes.
Enter your credentials. Next, click the "+" button just below Login Options, which is now enabled.
Use a non-admin account: Step 2
Ensure the new account is set to Standard, and fill out the rest of the form. If you click on the button with the key icon, you can use a password helper tool to generate a difficult password. When choosing a password hint remember that others, including laptop thieves, can see your hint. I recommend not using hints and just keeping a hard-copy list of your passwords in a safe place. If you must use hints, pick something that other people won't be able to guess. A good hint is "What's the name of my first pet?" A bad hint is "Where was I born?"
Make sure this password is different from your administrator account's password.
Use a non-admin account: Step 3
If the machine prompts about automatic log-in, turn it off. Until you have finished securing the machine, remain logged in as the administrator account. Once you do log into your new, secure non-admin user account, you'll have to set up your email and browser settings again, as well as re-sync any cloud services such as Dropbox.
Keep your software updated
Make sure your system is checking for software updates daily, not weekly. Updating your system software every day will ensure that the latest security holes are patched and sometimes even clean malware automatically, like with Apple's automatic tool for Flashback. To change update frequency, go to the Software Update pane, check off the box Check for updates, and choose Daily. I recommend installing just about every update unless there's a compelling reason not to in the description.
Lock down your Mac: Step 1
Go to the Security settings screen and unlock it by clicking on the lock in the bottom left corner. Match the security settings in the screenshot above. Note: disabling location services and remote controls is for people who want to be excruiciatingly careful. To my knowledge there haven't been any exploits of either feature deployed on a large scale. But remember, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't tracking you through location services.
Lock down your Mac: Step 2
Next, go to the Firewall tab and turn the Firewall on. Depending on what software you're running in the background, you'll likely get immediate prompts to allow or deny incoming connections. I recommend denying all of them, finding out what's not working, and then opening only the necessary ports.
FireVault, another option, encrypts files. It adds a layer of protection, especially for mobile users, but in my experience it doesn't play well with Dropbox.
Lock down your Mac: Step 3
Yet another security option is to block all incoming connections. As you can see above, I've chosen to allow Dropbox to connect to my Mac so I can keep my files synced.
Set up a firmware password
A firmware password could be useful if you're concerned about your computer getting stolen. It's a difficult thing for most thieves to get around. Once you've set up a firmware password, booting your Mac to anything but the hard drive requires the password.
If your Mac is running the Lion OS, enter Recovery Mode by pressing the Command and R keys during a boot. Pick the language, and in the Utilities menu select Firmware Password. Follow the instructions. For machines running an OS X older than Lion, Apple offers an installation guide.
Warning: If you forget your firmware password you will need to take your Mac to an Apple store for recovery.
Use third-party security software: ClamXav
ClamXav is based on the GPL ClamAV anti-virus engine that's for detecting and eliminating Trojans, viruses, malware, and other threats. ClamAV claims it's the standard tool for mail gateway scanning. ClamXav in a nutshell:
Free virus definitions, updated almost daily.
Crashed occasionally in my tests.
Works with OS X 10.5 through 10.8 (Mountain Lion).
Good documentation but not much in the way of support.
Gives you the choice to turn off background scanning for times you prefer not to slow down your work.
Use third-party security software: Sophos
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers scanning, scheduling, and quarantine features similar to ClamXav's and it's easier to use. The highlights:
Has a clean, intuitive interface.
Works with OS X 10.4 through 10.7.
Updates virus definitions almost every day.
Use third-party security software: Sophos
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers scanning, scheduling, and quarantine features similar to ClamXav's and it's easier to use. The highlights:
Has a clean, intuitive interface.
Works with OS X 10.4 through 10.7.
Updates virus definitions almost every day.
Flashback, a Trojan capable of stealing passwords and other information from users through their Web browsers, caught over 600,000 Mac users by surprise when it hit last year. Other sorts of malware and viruses appear often enough to prompt Apple to change its "virus-free" sales pitch at the end of June. What most Mac users don't know is it's easy and inexpensive to make a Mac secure. In this slideshow we'll go over five easy-to-implement security steps you can take.
1. Use a non-administrator account most of the time. The default account that comes with most Apple machines has administrator privileges, meaning it can delete and otherwise manipulate files, which could wreak havoc if malware strikes. Fortunately, because OS X is based on Unix, it has a sophisticated user privilege hierarchy that can lock out attackers. A non-admin account is simple to create and will protect your machine from attacks by malicious software.
2. Keep your software updated. It's important to keep your Apple software up-to-date, and that includes new versions of the operating system. In his review of Mountain Lion's developer preview 4, BYTE's Chris Spera tried out Gate Keeper, a new security feature that gives users the option to restrict downloaded apps to those that have an Apple Developer ID, which means they have been digitally signed by the developer.
3. Lock down your Mac. Make use of built-in OS security settings to keep intruders at bay.
4. Set up a firmware password. If you create a firmware password, your Mac will require a password if an attempt is made to boot your machine to anything but the hard drive.
5. Use third-party security software. Most people are familiar with Windows anti-virus packages such as Norton Security and McAfee Anti-Virus. Although those tools also are available for OS X, there are a number of free competitors that do the job just as well. If you're concerned that the above steps might not be enough to secure your machine, installing an anti-virus package will make it that much safer. I recommend Sophos or ClamXav.
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