How To Make Your Mac Safer Online

Your Mac is at risk from many things. It can be malware, viruses, spyware, hackers and also the risk of physical damage too. But, there are things that you can do to keep your Mac safe especially while using it online.

• Lets start with the basics, take care of your password. Firstly, ensure that your password is a strong password. So, include alphabets and numbers in your password and avoid using birthdays, anniversaries, etc. as passwords. Don’t use the same password across different sites. It might be easier for you to remember but it makes it easier for the hacker too. Keep changing your password. Using the same password for a very long time will again make it easier for hackers to hack into your account. If a site offers two step authentications then opt for that. Use a password manager. It will help you out in keeping track of passwords, confirm whether the password is strong and generally do everything to keep your Mac secure as far as passwords are concerned.
• Use a firewall. Apple has helpfully provided Mac with one but that is not enough to keep it safe. To this end you might feel that router firewalls should be enough but it is not so. It can be helpful to a certain extent but it is better to get one dedicated to the Mac.
• Unless you are using encrypted mail it is best not to send confidential information by email. In a similar vein do not open mail that is sent by unknown senders. And never open email attachments unless you are absolutely sure about the person who sent it or about the content of the attachment. Attachments turn out to be viruses more often than not. Like email attachments another thing that you should avoid doing is clicking on the send button that comes along with the email.

• Invest in antivirus software. While there are no threats specific to Mac computers you can never be too sure when it comes to these things. And also make sure that you update it on a regular basis. Otherwise it’s just useless software sitting on your Mac.

• Make sure the service that you use for your wireless connection is a secure one. Just like you change passwords for your accounts, keep changing passwords for your router. And the same rules for passwords apply here too. Limit the number of machines that can access your Mac.
• Use the services provided by Apple in an effective manner. If you are upgrading anything ensure that you know how it will affect your machine before you do that.

Getting a password manager or antivirus software will be helpful but you have to be vigilant constantly, for that you should keep up to date about the latest threats to your computer. You can do that by subscribing to Apple’s software updates and installing them. Also, you can use online and offline sources to keep informed. Don’t limit yourself to Apple products but keep yourself informed about other products like Microsoft products as well.