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Basic Mac OS X Security

That's the title of an entry at MacGeekery. I've long operated as the administrator, but on the urging of this article I've decided to demote myself a bit. After all, what's the harm in entering a username and password now and then? We shall see, because I do a lot of "admin" type duties.

I did implement a few other things, too, including using secure VM, disabling automatic login, checking on my firewall (no changes necessary), and locking the Keychain after five minutes (despite the fact that I already required a password to get back from the screen saver).

This reminds me that Carey still doesn't know my password(s), and it's not because I don't trust her (I do), but more because I was taught never to give out your password. Period. Ever.

You wouldn't believe, when I was working as a Mac Genius, the rate at which we could guess passwords knowing next to nothing about someone. No, we weren't doing anything "wrong," just trying to service computers where the password provided was either incorrect or missing. Guessing was often faster than calling the customer and asking them for the password!

2 Responses to "Basic Mac OS X Security"

  1. It is a fun world running as a non-Admin user--hopefully you'll have much better luck writing about it than I ever have. Two pieces I have include one on iSync and another on the Apple Installer.

    Recently I've been working on getting NeoOffice installed. The current version requires that you be an Admin (or authenticate) just to try this office suite for yourself.

  2. I haven't had much trouble (yet).