1.1 Before You Sign Up

If you haven't already signed up for your .Mac account, there are some things you might want to take into consideration before doing so, including selecting a member (or user ) name and choosing a password.

1.1.1 Try .Mac Before You Buy

If you don't already have a .Mac account, go to the Mac.com web site and click on the big red Free Trial button. This will take you to a page where you can sign up for a 60-day free trial .Mac membership. The trial .Mac membership includes the following:

• A Mac.com email address with 5 MB of email storage

• An iDisk with 20 MB of storage

• Software to back up to your iDisk

• Use of the HomePage web page builder

The trial .Mac membership should give you a taste of what's to come if you decide later that you want the full membership.

If you have a trial .Mac membership, you should be aware that the Backup application (discussed in Chapter 6) only permits you to backup data to your iDisk. You won't be able to use Backup to make backups to CDs, DVDs, or to a networked or external drive.

1.1.2 Read the Fine Print

Before you sign up for your .Mac membership, there are a couple online documents that you should read. These include:

Privacy Policy

Apple's privacy policy (http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy) describes how the information you provide to Apple will be used and protected.

Terms & Conditions

The .Mac Terms & Conditions (http://www.mac.com/1/membership_terms.html) details the rules and usage terms by which all .Mac members must abide. Make sure you read this in its entirety, particularly the Acceptable Use Policy Guidelines section.

1.1.3 Selecting a Member Name

When selecting the username for your .Mac account, keep in mind that your member name will also be your Mac.com email address (e.g., membername @mac.com ), as well as the lead-in for your Mac.com HomePage (http://homepage.mac.com/ membername ). So, you should select your username with care, being conscious that the username you select will be your permanent moniker.

You can opt for a plain- vanilla member name by combining your first and last names (e.g., chucktoporek or chuck_toporek ), or something radically different to reflect your persona or personality (e.g., chuckdude or chuckanut ). Member names can consist of letters or numbers , and may include hyphens (-) or underscores ( _ ). The letters in your member name are case insensitive, meaning, if you enter an a member name by mixing upper- and lowercase letters, all of those letters will be interpreted as lowercase. For example, if I were to enter chuckDUDE as my member name, it would be interpreted as chuckdude .

1.1.4 Choosing a Password

The password you select will be used for all aspects of your .Mac account, such as logging in to check email, connecting to your iDisk, and accessing your account information on the Mac.com web site.

When selecting a password for your .Mac account, I highly suggest that you choose something other than the password you use when logging on to your Mac. Also, your password cannot be the same as your .Mac member name. As with any system, you should have different passwords for different systems and accounts. While this may make it more difficult for you to keep track of which username and password is used for which system, it also makes it harder for people to crack your account. If you use the same password for everything, all a cracker needs to do is guess one password correctly, and they'll have access to everything you do.

Your .Mac password needs to be 4-8 characters in length. The characters can either be lower- or uppercase letters, numbers, or a combination of the three. Try to pick something that's easy for you to remember, but not something so easy that someone else can guess it correctly. You should also stray away from using "dictionary" words (i.e., words commonly found in any English-language dictionary), since crackers tend to use those first when trying to break into an account. Another common practice is for people to use numbers in place of letters. For example, if you wanted your password to be "smile" you could use "5m1L3" instead, using 5 instead of an "s," a 1 instead of an "i," an uppercase "L," and a 3 instead of an "e."

Of course, it's all up to you as to what your password will be. The more difficult you make it, the harder it will be for someone to crack into your account, and the more often you change your password, the harder it will be for someone to catch on to what you're doing.

For a tip on how to remind yourself to change your .Mac account's password, see Section 1.4, later in this chapter.