Set a Password to Protect Your Hard Disk


As you’ve seen throughout this book, and when working with Mac OS X, you need a password for your user account, and you also need passwords to access certain services or web sites. Password protection is at the heart of computer security, but one thing that’s not protected, by default, is your hard disk.

In Chapter 21, I tell you how to start up your Mac in FireWire target mode. This lets you connect your Mac to another Mac and start it up as if it were an external hard disk. If the other Mac is using Mac OS X, permissions are respected, but if it’s running Mac OS 9, the other Mac can access any of your files. The same is true if anyone starts up your Mac from an installation CD or from some disk repair CDs—anyone can access your files since your hard disk is not password-protected.

Apple offers a utility called Open Firmware Password that allows you to provide disk-level protection. You can download this free program here: www.apple.com/downloads/macos/apple/ openfirmwarepassword.html. Open Firmware Password is a simple program; it sets a password in the boot sectors of your hard disk, and no one can do anything with your hard disk without this password. Other users cannot change your startup disk (which you set in the Startup Disk preference pane), nor can they start up your Mac from an external FireWire disk, a CD-ROM, or another partition or disk in your Mac.

To set this password, download Open Firmware Password from the preceding URL, and then follow its instructions. Make sure you don’t lose this password; you’ll need it if you want to make any changes or start your Mac up from a different disk.

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Voices from the Community—Protecting Macs from Hackers and Vandals

I've always been a Mac user, starting with an Apple II. For me, the Mac is much more than a computer; it's a philosophy, a way of life. I like Macs because they allow me to do things I had never thought possible, and do them simply and easily.

When I set up my first company, PowerBox, in 1994, I was the first person in France to sell Apple's Netwon. I believed in the Netwon from the start, and not only sold hardware, but PowerBox also developed and sold software. The Netwon was way ahead of its time, and I regret its passing.

PowerBox was also the first importer and reseller of what was then the Palm Pilot. I have always felt that portable devices were the most useful, and still think that the future of computing is moving toward such nomadic devices.

In 1997, I co-founded Intego in order to develop and market software for the Mac. This coincided with the sudden growth of the Internet, and we saw that the many dangers inherent in this worldwide network needed protection. This is why we developed Intego's first product, NetBarrier, the first personal firewall for the Mac. We have since gone on to develop other security products, such as antivirus software, parental control programs, and more.

Panther is a fabulous operating system! Apple has made great progress, and there are many opportunities for new products for Mac OS X. Intego is constantly innovating, researching new ideas for security software and other programs that will make using a Mac safer and easier. One of the biggest problems for Internet users today is junk mail, and we're working in that direction now.

Jean-Paul Florencio is Executive Vice President and co-founder of Intego, a software company specializing in security software for the Macintosh. He lives in Paris, France.

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How to Do Everything with Mac OS X Panther
How to Do Everything with Mac OS X Panther
ISBN: 007225355X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 171

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