How to Secure your Mac in six simple steps

Manage logins

1

In System Preferences, click Users & Groups; under your username you can add a password or change an existing one. In Login Options, make sure you turn off Automatic login, too. Gatekeeper 4

To change your Gatekeeper settings, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Here you can choose whether to allow apps from outside the App Store to be installed.

Reset user passwords

2

To reset an account password, hold Cmd+R at startup. When the macOS Utilities window appears, go to Utilities > Terminal, type resetpassword, then follow the on-screen instructions. FileVault 5

In System Preferences > Security & Privacy, click the FileVault tab, then the padlock icon. Type an admin name and password, then click Turn On FileVault. The Mac then silently encrypts its drive.

Firmware password

3

If you’re worried about passwords being reset from Terminal, set a firmware password. Hold Cmd+R at startup, go to Utilities > Startup Security Utility, then click Turn On Firmware Password. Root user 6

This has total access to your Mac’s files, so don’t enable it without a very good reason, and be sure to disable it afterwards. See bit.ly/mfru for help — and give it your own strong password!