Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness - not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.

You can’t rely on third-party protection either. There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it - the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. Such attacks were rare on the Mac platform until sometime in 2011, but are now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous. A trojan is malicious software (“malware”) that the user is duped into installing voluntarily. The free anti-malware application ClamXav is not crap, and although it’s not routinely needed, it may be useful in some environments, such as a mixed Mac-Windows enterprise network.Ĥ. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.Īs a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for - such as creating, communicating, and playing - and does not modify the way other software works. The more actively promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” 'haxies,' “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers,' “optimizers,” “accelerators,” “extenders,” “cleaners,” 'doctors,' 'tune-ups,' “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” 'barriers,' “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial 'virus scanners,” 'disk tools,' or 'utilities.' With very few exceptions, this stuff is useless, or worse than useless. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible.ģ. This is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.

Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. In the Software Update preference pane, you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.Ģ.

Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. Don’t back up your backups make them independent of each other. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times.

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