OS X Built-in Security (4) – Disk Utility

24. June 2013 Security 1
This is the fourth post in the series. You should be well on your way to a properly secured Mac after configuring Security & Privacy, Users & Groups and Sharing settings. Now it’s time to explore Disk Utility. As the name implies this tool allows you to perform all kinds of disk related tasks and ...

The Apple Support Communities

23. June 2013 Security 4
Not directly related to security but i wanted to make the readers of this blog aware that Apple has a support forum on their website where you can ask any Apple related question you want. The support community has some incredibly smart and skilled folks amongst their users that take time out of their day ...

OS X Built-in Security (3) – Sharing

21. June 2013 Security 2
This is the third post in a series covering OS X’s built-in security settings. You can read the first post here and the second one here. The Sharing settings are important as wrong configuration can punch a serious hole in the security of your data and privacy. Open up the settings by going to System ...

OS X Built-in Security (1) – Security & Privacy

19. June 2013 Security 6
I have referred to OS X’s built-in security tools before and while OS X is a robust and secure system out of the box, it can get 300% better with a few simple tweaks of these settings. So here it is, OS X’s built-in Security & Privacy step by step. [Updated on December 22nd, 2013 to ...

Java update patches 40 bugs

18. June 2013 Security 2
Java has released an update, get it by going to System Preferences > Java > Update (if you have Java installed). Apple has also made updates available that can be downloaded through Software Update. This Critical Patch Update provides 40 new security fixes. 37 of these vulnerabilities are remotely exploitable without authentication. 34 of the ...

Your trusted device

18. June 2013 Security 1
With two factor authentication being offered now pretty much everywhere you’d be wise to use it. After all if someone offers you added security at no cost why wouldn’t you use it? Usually this means adding a trusted device to your account that can be used as an extra piece of the puzzle to unlock ...

Excuse me, you left some location data laying around

18. June 2013 Security 4
These days we share more photos than ever before. On websites, blogs and social media. What a lot of people don’t realize is that a photo has a lot of hidden information in it (metadata or EXIF data) or underestimate just how much information can be extracted. While this information is not always accessible by ...

Apple – Open Source

17. June 2013 Security 0
“Apple believes that using Open Source methodology makes Mac OS X a more robust, secure operating system, as its core components have been subjected to the crucible of peer review for decades. Any problems found with this software can be immediately identified and fixed by Apple and the Open Source community.” This is true, OS ...

Uninstalling Applications

17. June 2013 Security 1
As we all know, OS X does not come with a built-in uninstaller. While many do not see this as a problem, i do feel it’s an issue. Just throwing an application in the trash leaves files behind all over the hard drive and this clutter can cause your system to run slow down the ...