05-21-2010, 11:43 AM

I recently bought myself an iMAC 27 and so far, I have enabled the Fire-Wall and disabled automatic log in, so that a password is required.
I also downloaded the free version of PC-Tools iAnitVirus.

Is there anything else I should do besides the obvious like avoiding dodgy websites?

I want to be able to shop on line and do internet banking without worrying.

05-21-2010, 12:25 PM

If you're using wifi at home, make sure you're using WPA2 encryption.

Don't download pirated stuff.

The only other thing you might want to do is uninstall the AV.

05-21-2010, 12:54 PM

Every @bobtomay said, and know that there are no virus that specifically target the Mac's. Be weary if anything asks for the admin password without you having done something specifically (starting an installer) beforehand..

If you don't have a router with a hardware firewall, get one and that'll keep you completely safe..

Be smart about what you do and you should be completely fine..

Regards

05-21-2010, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

If you're using wifi at home, make sure you're using WPA2 encryption.

Don't download pirated stuff.

The only other thing you might want to do is uninstall the AV.

I have set up the D-Link DSL-2640R router which was provided by my ISP to wired.

The thing is that I also have a Windows Vista laptop which I would like to use as well for out in the garden.
How do I configure the router for WAP2 encryption? (Unless it already did this automatically)

All I did when I unpacked it, was to follow the on screen instructions for power cables and filters, so my apologies for showing my ignorance.

My ISP printed a network password label on the router, so I assume that is secure and not a default password.

05-21-2010, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by new2compooters

My ISP printed a network password label on the router, so I assume that is secure and not a default password.

Change the password and change the encryption to WPA2 if it is not set as that already. I am afraid you are going to have to look at the disk that came with the router for instructions, but it isn't that hard.


And as bobtomay said, uninstall PC-Tools iAnitVirus, it will cause more harm than good on your mac. If it hasn't got a proper uninstaller try AppDelete

05-21-2010, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by louishen

Change the password and change the encryption to WPA2 if it is not set as that already. I am afraid you are going to have to look at the disk that came with the router for instructions, but it isn't that hard.


And as bobtomay said, uninstall PC-Tools iAnitVirus, (it will cause more harm than good on your mac).
If it hasn't got a proper uninstaller try AppDelete

As my Mac is currently set to wired, is that why I did not see anything about WAP2 encryption?

Does that mean I will have to change my router settings to allow a wireless network to use my laptop?

Also, is it really a bad idea to use an anti-virus program on a MAC?

And last question, does only wireless need encryption and not wired?

Perhaps wired is the safest way. (Just guessing).

Sorry for these seemingly dumb questions, but I am trying to learn safe internet use as well as computer use and I am new to this stuff.

05-21-2010, 04:21 PM

Yes, you will only set up encryption for wireless. Even if you're not going to use wifi, you should go into the router and see if the ISP set up wifi on it with WEP and if so disable the wifi.

Not necessarily a bad idea, but definitely not a good idea. We see a fair amount of issues with a/v apps on Macs. And since there are no virii in the wild which can affect OS X, the best advice I can give is to get rid of it.

05-21-2010, 04:54 PM

Yes it is a really bad idea to use antivirus on a MAC. Since it's a network protocol, it doesn't really take too well to having antivirus software put on it. Likewise, it is a waste of system resources to use antivirus on a Mac (note how it isn't an acronym).

05-21-2010, 06:33 PM

And again yes yes yes AV software will bloat an slow down your Mac. Scrap it and if you do run Windows on a Bootcamp partition, download Microsoft Security Essentials.

05-23-2010, 12:38 PM

I uninstalled the iAnti-Virus program as suggested. I am new to MAC computers, so still a bit sceptical. WPA2 encryption is on, a password is required and I have used the File-Vault device.
I am not sure of the optimum setting for the Firewall, so I have check to stealth mode as well.
Am I safe now?

05-23-2010, 01:11 PM

You will very rarely need that tight of security settings, I barely have any on and I'm good. I can't express enough on the need to turn OFF File-Vault, if you forget that password for some reason (maybe you suffered from memory loss or something like that) your files are gone, there is NO way to recover them.
So to answer your question, I think you're going way too far.

And on a side note, it's Mac, not MAC