Scare Tactics

The Mac OS X security scare season is upon us again! However, there are some basic built-in measures, which every Mac User should have enabled, that should make life difficult for those Cylon computer viruses.

Built-in Firewall
The Firewall (accessed from the Sharing Pane in System Preferences) is disabled (by default). Switch it on and, whilst you're there, click on Advanced and select these boxes:

•Block UDP Traffic
•Enable Firewall Login
•Enable Stealth Mode

Security
Go to the Security Pane and select these boxes:

•Disable automatic login
•Require password to unlock each secure system preference
•Use secure virtual memory

Safari
Go to Prefences, General and deselect this box:

•Open "safe" files after downloading

There, that was easy wasn't it? Now, spend sometime reading Corsaire White Papers.

Please note that the above configuration (using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger) is only a suggestion. I take every care in the preparation of this web site. However, it is for information purposes only. I accept no liability for any loss or damage incurred as a result of acting on or refraining to act on information or other material within this site. You should always seek professional advice on the facts of your particular matter.

Fort Knox

The NSA has released a public paper concerning security settings for Mac OS X 10.3.x. Although the majority of Mac Users have little need to run a fortress as it were, it is at least worth a casual perusal and you may learn something too. At the end of the day no computer, irrespective of the defense level (virus scanner, firewall and on the fly encryption), is 100% impregnable on a network. And we need to keep some perspective as moral panics* need to be put into context.

As Apple continues to seed developer builds for 10.3.6, I've bitten the bullet and performed a clean install. Most of my applications are now reinstalled and Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 is fantastic.

[*‘An episode, condition, person or group of persons’ that have in recent times, been ‘defined as a threat to societal values and interests’ generally fueled by the dominant mass media - what Stanley Cohen has termed ‘The Moral Panic’ (Cohen 1972).]