Anytime security is an issue on Mac, you can bet that it’s there for reason. On no other machine will you have this many security options. With Leopard, specifically, there are three new categories to choose from—General, FileVault and Firewall. Each of these tabs at the top give you the chance to really secure or un-secure your Mac. If you don’t ever share your computer, keep it at the office and occasionally have some personal information on there, it may be smart to take a gander at some of these new and improved security options.

• (General tab) As always, you can choose to require a password to wake the computer (specific to you as the Master user)
• (For all account users on your computer) Choose to disable the automatic login—necessary especially if the computer is shared or partitioned
• The System Preferences… really allows users to get at the guts. So, you can tick a box to make any changes to passwords. No changes can ever take place if the user doesn’t know the original Master Password
• Auto log out of inactive users: 1 min to 999 min
• Use secure virtual memory—Allows you to use more memory and store more info because the computer writes the info differently. If someone wants to recover information that you wanted gone, for example, turning the virtual memory ON will make this easier. Keep it Off if you use sensitive data
• You can disable the infrared remote that came with your computer (Mac Mini,
MacBook, etc)
• Make any remote work with your computer by “Pairing” them
• (FileVault tab) Encrypts your computer’s contents. It will open/close them when you use them as long as you know the Master Password
• Set Master Password by following the button’s directions (always remember it)
• Turn ON/Off FileVault
• (Firewall tab) Keep your computer “open” to outside connections
• Turn ON/Off the essential services (Internet WiFi, for example)
• Add specific applications with the Advanced… option

Spotlight

Spotlight is that little bloodhound that allows you to practically find anything on your computer. By pushing the Cmd + Spacebar, the Spotlight will appear in the top-right of your screen. The Spotlight preference, on the other hand, allows you to change the inner workings of Spotlight by simply dragging and dropping your computer’s categories as you’d like them to appear. So, you can:

• Change the order in which your computer’s categories show up when you search for things with Spotlight
You won’t be able to delete the “category” but you can put it last on the list (number 14) under the Search Results tab; you can un-tick the category to keep it from showing up entirely when you perform a Spotlight search too
• Change the shortcut key to any of the F# options
• Change which keys operate the Spotlight Menu and Window
• (Privacy) Keeps certain choice files, documents or folders from appearing when a search is performed in Spotlight
Drag and drop the files—pictures, documents, passwords, media and the like—into the list window; you can also add or remove the files with the + and – buttons
• Again, you can change the shortcut keys under the Private tab too

Jeff Graber is CEO of the [url=http://www.macsupportstore.com]Mac Support Store[/url], a Mac consulting-support company. Since 1996, he’s led the company to consult and support over 17,000 Macintosh computers for business clients. Graber’s "Inside Wire" and "Essential Apple" columns appears whenever the spirit moves him.