New Mac user concerned over security issues.

Hello.

I'm a recent switcher and new to the forum. I have a couple of things on my mind regarding security. I've been browsing the Official Mac Antivirus and Firewall FAQ thread as I feel little insecure coming from a PC surrounding.
I've set the OS X's own firewall to Allow only essential services, haven't done anything with the FileVault (don't really understand it yet) and I'm using my iMac only with the admin account I made during my first startup.

Is the firewall with the aforementioned settings sufficient? Can someone explain me the FileVault and it's usage in a nutshell. Should I create a another account for my day-to-day computing needs and only use the admin account when needed. Is the admin account the same thing as the "root" account, a term I've stumbled upon while reading through several apple/mac forums?

I'm the sole user of my computer and I'm running OS X 10.5.2.

Any information highly appreciated!

For now you have nothing to worry about.

Filevault puts your entire user folder (I think its just your user folder) into an encrypted disk image. I never tried it, but i heard it slows things down, and if one thing becomes corrupt, then EVERYTHING becomes corrupt. It is definitely overkill for the average home user.

As far as your account goes, you should be fine running as an admin, i do that for my MBP. Even as an admin, the OS will still ask for a password before making any system changes.

So in short, I think the firewall you have is enough and the settings your at are fine. Just start using your computer and enjoy!

Whoa! Talk about fast a reply!

Thanks guys. Maybe I'm just overreacting since everything been smooth sailing the first few days on my new Mac. As a former PC user this all just seems too easy.

Just start using your computer and enjoy!

Click to expand...

Will do.

I think a lot of PC switchers have the same mindset. We're so used to needing Anti-Virus and Firewalls locking our PC's up tight, that when we're treated to lax security, we feel very insecure about it.

I'm running Little Snitch on my MacBook instead of the default FireWall, and have found it really easy to setup and maintain.

Yes, only use the admin account you set up when you first powered up your Mac for administrative changes. Create a Standard account for every day use. As for the AV issue, there are no viruses for OS-X at this time. No worries there.

You mentioned the root account

Admin is not a root account, root is not enabled by default on a mac, root is a super user account that can see everything and access everything. It is certainly not needed for day to day use.

And apple's firewall (especially if you switch on the stealth mode) is good enough

When you connect to the internet on a mac - only the barely needed ports are open, coupled with no root account to start with makes it extremely secure

Big thanks to all of you!
Just created a standard account which I'll be using from now on. Did forget to mention on my first post that I had already enabled the stealth mode.