7 Best Practices for Securing Your MacBook
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Reading Time: 7 min
Numerous security tools that come with macOS work to protect your device. To increase the security of your data, whether it is being stored online or offline, you must create an additional layer of defense. Cyberattacks on your Mac can come through browsers, emails, infected applications, and documents.
You need to pay attention to every vulnerability point and strengthen the security in that area. The use of antivirus defense software, application updates, the creation of strong passwords, and improving email security are just a few of the crucial actions you can take. These and many extra best practices will assist in protecting your MacBook and enhancing your brand’s efficiency.
Key Takeaways
- Enabling antivirus protection tools is essential for defending against various security threats that target Macs.
- Regularly updating macOS and other software is a critical measure to seal security loopholes and block new threats.
- Implementing strong email security practices helps prevent unauthorized access and protects sensitive data from cybercriminals.
- Utilizing email authentication methods like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM enhances email security and helps safeguard your reputation.
- Disabling remote access and automatic login can significantly reduce vulnerabilities, protecting your data from potential breaches.
How to Secure Your MacBook? – 7 Tips and Tricks
1. Enable or install antivirus protection tools
Daily, your MacBook faces various types of security threats as new types of viruses get released online. The people who create the virus codes target computers with weak security walls in and around them. If your MacBook is not well protected, your business could get common types of virus attacks such as.
- Compromised emails
- Different types of malware and phishing attacks
- SQL injections
- Worms
- Browser hijackers
- Computer network hacks
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Although you might have a security suite installed in your company, periodic checks can help you make sure it is updated all the time. Your company might not have a security suite installed but you can choose a top-notch security program for your brand. The work of security apps is to find, combat, and archive the vast majority of attacks such as viruses, malware, and ransomware. Furthermore, antiviral software shields users from phishing, fraud, and identity theft schemes. They send you alerts about infected links or websites before you open them. You could easily forget to scan your Mac for viruses from time to time.
The best way to make sure your computer and company system are safe is to configure your antivirus application for automatic scanning. When automatic scans are enabled, the software checks for vulnerabilities in the background and blocks most types of threats keeping your computer safe. Cybercriminals keep developing new types of malware to help them succeed in penetrating vulnerable systems and computers. You must use the best antimalware tools to keep your MacBook secure all the time.
2. Keep your Mac’s OS and software updated
One of the greatest methods to protect your MacBook from cybercrime threats is to update it. Cybercriminals are aware of how to enter your computer to steal information, hold it for ransom, or disable it. They look for the weakest points and one of them is through unupdated software.
When the wall of protection around your computer is strong, it makes it harder for them to penetrate your computer system to steal data. Keeping your macOS software updated helps block viruses from penetrating your computer. It seals loopholes through which hacking tools can install adware, spyware, or send viruses into your system. Additionally, implementing robust Mac device management protocols ensures centralized control and monitoring, further fortifying your system against potential breaches.
The most important strategy is to enable automatic software updates including macOS to make sure you are safe. You will be safe from new-age phishing threats and other types of cybersecurity challenges. Your company will receive some of the following benefits when you keep your MacBook updated.
- You keep your data safe from loss
- It seals up security vulnerabilities in your system
- Your software gets the latest features
- Your Mac performance improves
- You protect your computer from threats
3. Don’t forget about email security
Some of the most common threats that enter your MacBook through emails are spoofing and phishing. They cause serious data threats and could lead to malware and other types of attacks in your company. Without proper protection, your sign-in credentials and private data could be compromised and you could also suffer from social engineering breaches.
Another way cybercriminals gain access to your computer is through unprotected passwords. You can use AI to protect passwords from access by AI-powered password cracking tools. By observing the best email security practices, you protect your brand’s name and enhance its reputation. Your brand gets many other types of benefits such as:
- Prevention of data breaches
- Saves costs incurred when recovering from successful breaches
- Your brand increases productivity
- You benefit from compliance with data security guidelines
- You protect yourself from phishing attacks
Regardless of the size of your business, paying attention to email security is important. Modern businesses connect with their clients and workers through cloud-based systems which makes email security a critical issue. Improper security on emails could lead to password and critical data losses for clients and workers. Cybercriminals might begin to send phishing emails from your domain and destroy your reputation. You can use the DMARC tool to prevent cybercriminals from sending emails from your domain and boost your brand’s reputation.
4. Use of Email Authentication
Internet criminals target your emails to infiltrate your computer with malware, harm it, or prevent it from functioning. Some of the cybercriminals steal or delete your data for malicious purposes. They leverage the latest technologies to launch attacks and get the most data from their targets. Today’s cybercriminals use technologies such as AI and machine learning to automate attacks and enhance attack efficiency, frequency, and speed.
Email authentication provides you with improved email security through sender authorization. Email authentication protocols like DMARC, SPF and DKIMWhen you input your password, the system immediately sends you a code or verifies your identity using biometrics. With two-step verification, you can increase email security while simultaneously protecting your other accounts. Your brand benefits from the following.
- It makes it harder for cybercriminals to impersonate your domain name
- Enhances your email’s deliverability
- Secures your MacBook against malware or ransomware installations that may be spread via malicious email attachments
- It adds an extra protection layer from breaches
- Enhances confidence in your online security
5. Disable remote access
Modern companies including marketers, freelancers, SaaS companies, and digital agencies connect with customers and employees remotely. Remote systems offer flexible access, centralized storage, and shared resources. Your brand may enable remote access to allow quick response times from your remote teams, save costs, or connect to third parties with ease. For remote teams looking to boost productivity, check Apple Intelligence Review for insights on Mac’s built-in AI capabilities.
However, enabling remote access comes with many challenges. It can result in safety violations that could result in system outages and time losses, which could negatively impact your work efficiency and the confidence of your clients. The remotely located desktop could be used by individuals with malicious intentions to gain control of your remote environment. They could install malicious software or steal your sensitive data.
To improve the security of your Mac and the business, you must keep your remote access disabled, notwithstanding any potential benefits. By default, your desktop remote access is normally turned off, but you can turn it on if you choose. However, your Mac might not be encrypted to offer you enhanced security. It is safer to keep it disabled.
6. Disable automatic login
Automatic login can save you time needed to type in your login credentials. You don’t need to remember all your passwords as long as you have access to your MacBook system. However, automatic login might give data thieves an easy time to access your accounts. Your Mac could contain data for your clients, leads data, payment information, and large volumes of customer data stored in your storage systems. Someone could accidentally get access to your computer and destroy your brand reputation.
Despite the benefits, you should disable automatic login into your accounts or MacBook screen, preventing unauthorized access and reducing the risk of getting your account disabled in App Store and iTunes due to security breaches. Your login information is saved on your device system if you use an automated login. There are many types of password-cracking technologies that attackers can use to steal your login information and access information across different interconnected systems. Due to this, cybersecurity experts advise it is more secure to manually key in your passwords anytime you want access to your accounts.
7. Create a non-admin computer account
An admin account offers you permissions for managing the accounts of other users. It connects to every individual or company connected with your online system. As an administrator, you can update the security settings of users, install hardware, or get access to the files of users. This can be a great advantage especially if you are a marketing, SaaS, or cybersecurity company.
The main problem with an admin account is that hackers can get access to your network. If this happens, hackers might take over your system and give themselves the rights of administration. They might reconfigure your entire system and take control of all your client and employee data. If one computer gets infected, the infection could quickly spread to other users under your administration.
Begin to use a non-admin account sooner to strengthen the system’s credibility. Since only administrators can configure your system, it is more secure to use non-admin logins. It safeguards every aspect of your system’s cybersecurity and stops hackers from taking control of the whole system if they manage to access just one account. Although you might have administrative rights, use them only when it is very necessary.
Conclusion
Apple helps keep its devices secure by installing applications enhanced with security features. However, you need to improve the safety of your computer by observing offline and online security best practices. Keep your applications updated and pay attention to your email security. Improved security of your system enhances trust from your customers and increases confidence in you concerning your data security.
You need to pay attention to your passwords and implement two-factor authentication as an extra wall of protection for your passwords. Secure systems do not record downtime due to attacks and your company remains productive.
Domain & Email Security Expert at PowerDMARC
Ahona is the Marketing Manager at PowerDMARC, with 5+ years of experience in writing about cybersecurity topics, specializing in domain and email security. Ahona holds a post-graduation degree in Journalism and Communications, solidifying her career in the security sector since 2019.
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