Secure your Mac by tweaking your login options - OS X Tutorial

A default installation of Mac OS X is set up to automatically log you in, as that’s the fastest way to get to your Desktop and start using your Mac. But with increasing amounts of sensitive data stored on our Macs, such as bank details, it’s a very good idea to activate a password at the login stage so that nobody can get to your data. Naturally, with any portable Mac this is very important, as it’s not guaranteed that it’ll always be in a secure location. But even when at home, you’re not with your Mac all the time, and there’s the possibility it could be stolen. Adding a password and other stages at login can give you peace of mind that nobody else can get at your personal data.

Step 1: Open System Preferences
Click Accounts in System Preferences and select your account. Click the padlock and enter your admin password to enable changes to be made.

Step 2: Review your password
Make sure your password is unusual and not easy to guess, like your name or pet’s name. And certainly not that it is ‘password’ or left blank.

Step 3: Use password help
To generate a random password, click on the key icon. You can choose from easier to remember ones or truly random ones. Click to edit the password manually.

Step 4: Go to Login Options
Click on the Login Options button and turn off Automatic Login. This will stop the Mac from zipping straight to your Desktop when you boot it up.

Step 5: Change Login Display
If you display the Login Window as a list of users, people may be able to guess your password. Switch it to Name and Password to avoid showing usernames.

Step 6: Hide the buttons
Untick the ‘Show… buttons’ option and anyone trying to access the Mac without logging in won’t be able to restart, sleep or shut it down using the mouse.

Step 7: Turn off password hints
If you turn off password hints, any that you’ve entered in the Password section won’t be shown. This makes it much harder for someone to guess your password.

Step 8: Show Input Menu
If ‘Show input menu in login window’ is ticked, anyone logging in can use foreign characters not on a regular keyboard – helpful if your password contains them.

Step 9: Fast User Switching
Turn Fast User Switching on if you want to be able to leave your account logged in securely while someone else logs into theirs. Switch it off for maximum security.

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