Many people neglect their PC security because of their busy schedule and other reasons until a real and impairing problem arises. A Mac computer may witness internal as well as external issues. Mac users are exposed to a number of security-related problems, vulnerabilities, and threats that are debilitating for other computer users as well. What many people fail to notice is that Mac computers have a number of security features that when properly applied can help you stay secure and make your PC run efficiently without any problems.

Disable the “Automatic” login feature
Apple provides its Mac OS users the convenience of a logging state within the operating system. Mac users are not required to enter a username and/or a password to log into the system. Most of the Mac users like this convenient feature, but it puts the security of the computer at stake. You need to turn off the auto-login feature to improve Mac’s security. For further improvement of the security, you need to disable the computers Guest account as well. You can access this feature by going into the system preferences menu.

Make complex passwords and do not repeat them
It is important that all your passwords are complex in configuration. To make your password complex, you can use a combination of alphanumeric characters, small and large caps, and special characters. Make sure that you are using different passwords for different accounts as going with the same password can be a bit risky. For instance, the system administrator account password should not be used for other logins. Also, keep the length of the password long. An ideal password length may range from 8 to 12 characters or even more.

Enable the Mac’s firewall
The firewall is a built-in security feature that protects your computer from malicious malware and also does not allow unauthorized and unsecured access to Mac’s programs, services, and applications. The firewall can monitor as well as control both outgoing and incoming network traffic on the basis of certain security rules. It is your computer’s barrier against all untrusted networks. There are certain advanced options available as well and you can authorize and permit the incoming connections that you want. You can also authorize the computer to run only those programs that have a valid certificate.

Always download the security and software updates provided by Apple
Both Apple and Microsoft routinely create, release, and issue the security upgrades. The software and performance updates are also issued and released from time to time. The new security upgrades and updates released are in lieu of the new security threats that your computer is exposed to. You can enable the auto-download option for these upgrades and they can get downloaded and installed automatically.

Enable the full disk encryption feature
You can protect all your important and valuable data files by encrypting them. The FileVault full-disk encryption feature of Apple can provide an additional security layer to all your valuable data.  

If you are using a Mac laptop or PC and if it unfortunately gets stolen, lost, or misplaced, all the important files, documents, emails, images, spreadsheets, presentations, and valuable data may fall into manipulative and dangerous hands. As your computer may also provide access to the cloud storage platforms without the use of a password, the security threat turns into a more grave one. If you are using the computer for business purposes and have a record of your bank account and other financial data on it, you may lose large amounts of money as well. Hence it is important that you follow the tips given above and also use a good antivirus to protect your Mac system.