Do credit card fraud, hacking, identity theft, and online shopping and banking risks concern you? How about the dangers of malware, phishing, and Wi-Fi sniffing when you use your Mac? You are not alone — these dangers top the lists of security concerns in many surveys. But you needn’t unplug to stay secure, no more than you should barricade yourself in your home to keep from being mugged. Instead, you can take common sense precautions to reduce the risks and avoid the harm that could befall you, your Mac, and your data.
Take Control of Security for Mac Users is a calm, friendly look at the topic, designed to help you determine your risk level (from 1-4) and provide sensible recommendations for increasing your security without causing undue inconvenience.
In particular, you’ll find help with:
- Determining your risk level (from 1-4)
- Implementing essential quick security fixes
- Identifying and avoiding phishing attempts
- Controlling access to your Mac via a firewall
- Managing local access to your data with sensible user accounts
- Sharing Mac resources like screens and files safely
- Securing your home network and working securely on someone else’s network
- Protecting your Mac’s data from snoops and thieves with FileVault
- Sharing/transferring encrypted files
- Keeping your iCloud data (such as email and photos!) safe
- Preventing data theft with encrypted disk images, files, and folders
- Deleting data securely to prevent unexpected leaks
- Deciding whether to use anti-malware software
- Improving passwords to block unauthorized access
Perhaps most important, you’ll also find advice about what to do if something bad happens, with suggestions about how to recover from data loss, a malware or phishing attack, a network intrusion, or identity theft.
About Joe Kissell
Take Control publisher Joe Kissell is the author of more than 75 books and hundreds of articles on technology topics. He formerly wrote for publications such as Macworld, TidBITS, and Wirecutter. Before he began writing full-time in 2003, Joe managed software development for Nisus Software and Kensington Technology Group. In his hypothetical spare time, Joe likes to walk, cook, read, and practice tai chi. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with his wife and their sons.
