Mac Security

Sousuke · July 4, 2014

Hey Guys,

I've known a small trick with Mac OS X Since 10.1 however I don't know a way that I can protect my own system without needing to do anything inside the EFI as my graphics card won't display the EFI.

Its the old "Password Reset" Trick by removing the .applesetupdone file from the var/db folder by holding Command+S.

Is there anyway to protect myself from this incase my machine is somehow stolen?

Thanks

Sousuke

KevinTYJ · July 5, 2014

Well All OS is so easy to reset the password via so many ways, I think the best solution is to never lose you laptop, but you never know...

But there is solutions out there than locks your mac, or just resets it as soon as its stolen. And Apple can take care of the rest, well I have never lost an laptop before so I never know how usefull it is. But when your laptop is stolen, if you want it back, its a really really slim chance.

Well but if you are not worried about the computer but the data inside your computer, than find my mac is a free application that can wipe your computer, and I heard of Mac Keeper having great security features, but I never recommend using mac keeper. I personally pay for using avast, and its probably the best one out there dose not bother you and it takes care of the job.

BTW I have two personal macs, macbook pro early 2011 model late 2013 retina model.

mooseducks86 · July 7, 2014

There is a very simple thing you can do. Encrypt the drive using filevault. You can choose to store the key with Apple using your Apple ID (but I wouldn't recommend this). Write down the key and keep it in a safe, safety deposit box, tattooed on your foot, wherever you won't lose it. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4790

A few other tips: don't enable guest login, turn off unnecessary sharing services, rename your admin account, and set the password as something complex and write it down on the same piece of paper as your recovery key (along with the username), and then create another user account for yourself. Disable fast user switching, and require at login for you to type your user name (don't display the list).

Filevault disables the resetpassword command, so if you DO forget your password and recovery key, you're hooped! This is why it's good to have another user account and password on your recovery key slip. (if someone has one or the other, they can access the files, so you don't need to separate them, but you DO need to keep them secure to prevent them from getting it!)