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TMO Quick Tip - Protect Your Mac with Tiger's Firewall

by , 7:30 AM EDT, April 14th, 2006

Your Mac may be inherently safer on the Internet than its Windows counterparts, but that doesn't mean you don't need to pay attention to your Mac's online safety. Luckily, you don't even have to buy any extra software because Mac OS X comes with an industrial strength firewall ready to keep hackers out of your computer. Your Mac shipped with its firewall deactivated by default, but it's easy to turn on.

  • Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
  • Click the Sharing Preference Pane.
  • Click the Firewall tab.
  • Click the Start button to turn your firewall on. If the button says Stop, your firewall is already running.


Use Tiger's firewall to protect your Mac from hackers.

Once your Mac's firewall is running, no one without authorization should be able to get at your files wither through your network or through the Internet. In essence, a firewall is like a wall that surrounds your Mac, protecting it from any network or Internet-based attacks.

You can also make your Mac invisible to other computers on the Internet. Here's how:

  • While you are still in the Sharing Preference Pane's Firewall tab, click the Advanced button.
  • Check Block UDP Traffic.
  • Check Enable Stealth Mode.
  • Click the OK button.


Enabling Stealth Mode makes your Mac invisible on the Internet.

Protecting your Mac from unwanted hacking attempts is what a firewall is good at, but it can't keep you safe from virus threats. Although viruses aren't a big threat today, you'll need to install an antivirus application if you want any protection from potential virus, worm, and trojan horse threats. We'll take a look at antivirus software in another Quick Tip.

if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:aryugaetu Posts: 15 Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Subject: 99% spot on, but...

Enabling the Firewall and its Stealth Mode is excellent advice, and I wonder why Macs don't come with it enabled.

Your final advice of "...you'll need to install an antivirus application..." is not the best advice though, and is not endorsed by Apple. Every Mac Genius that I have talked with officially states that it is not necessary and may be an unnecessary burdensome application that could slow down the processing speed of other aps.

The current virus protection software for Mac merely checks your computer's email for Windows viruses so you don't become a carrier by forwarding an infected email to someone dumb enough to to be using a Windows PC. Personally, I do not forward such lame emails and I certainly am considerate enough to be sure what attachments I send my friends and family.

None of the computers in any of the 140+ Apple stores have any virus protection (go ahead and ask them!), and I am quite sure that none of the computers in Cupertino have any virus protection aps either.

When Apple themselves feel the need to virus protect the most highly hacker-targeted computers on the planet, then I will, too. But, until then, there is no need to burden yourself or your computer with the false FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) tactics of the virus protection software developers.

View Name:Guest
Subject:
Close Name:Jeff Gamet -   TMO Staff Posts: 98 Joined: 15 Mar 2006
Subject: Re: 99% spot on, but...

Quote
aryugaetu wrote:
Your final advice of "...you'll need to install an antivirus application..." is not the best advice though


Actually, my point was that a firewall does not offer virus protection, and that if you feel the need to have some sort of antivirus protection on your Mac, you will have to install additional software. Many people confuse the two, I and see it as an important point to note for those that don't understand the difference.

By and large, I find virus protection applications to be cumbersom, clunky, and quite often the cause of poor Mac performance. I also know many Mac users that have to use Microsoft Word and Excel in their jobs, and need to use some sort of virus protection tool to remove macro viruses that are embeded in the documents their Windows co-workers give them. The infected files make the Office applications unstable on the Mac, and they usually crash.

Although it should never be your responsibility to police your co-workers files for infections, that responsibility seems to fall on the shoulders of Mac users far too often. Most Mac users don't need to even think about virus protection, but for those that do, they need to be aware that software is available for them.

Jeff

Close Name:Rainy Day Posts: 607 Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Subject: Uh huh

Sorry, but you lose creditability with the anti-virus suggestion. All you had to say is: Firewalls deter intrusion, but not the mythical MacOS X virus (nor unicorns nor evil fairies).

Suggesting someone waste a dime on anti-virus software is irresponsible. It was Symantic, after all, which developed the first Trojan Horse you actually have to pay for!

View Name:Guest
Subject: Failed to mention...
Close Name:John F. Braun -   TMO Staff Posts: 229 Joined: 11 Jun 2001
Subject: Anti-Virus Helps Protect Windows Users

Please remember that there are cross-platform viruses, with various Microsoft application macro viruses being the most famous. Although the infected file may not damage your Mac, you could be acting as a conduit for spreading viruses to Windows machines.

Close Name:gslusher Posts: 2063 Joined: 13 Nov 2002
Subject: Firewall is different in Panther

Panther doesn't have the "Advanced" mode for the Firewall. As for being enabled out of the box, my iMac G4 came with Panther and the Firewall WAS enabled by default.

View Name:Guest
Subject: Installing virus programs on a Mac
View Name:Guest
Subject: Firewall
View Name:Guest
Subject: Virex with .Mac
View Name:Guest
Subject: to install or not to install virus protection...
Close Name:LaurieF -   TMO Forum Mod Posts: 3519 Joined: 15 Jun 2001
Subject:

Your Macbook is acting funny - in what way? If you give us some of the symptoms, we may be able to help you.

And if you register, you'll know when your posts have been responded to, and we may be able to help you more.

Close Name:oakes Posts: 1 Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Subject: bit tolerant

hi recent to mac pc always used microsoft. i just swapped over to imac my question is... when downloading a file from bit tollerant site i always scan for viruses, on a imac pc the recomendation is that i don't need an antivirus programme my query is if i don't have a antivirus programme and i download a file from a tolerant site i could infect my mac pc. please can you advise me on a good antivirus programme compatable to my imac as i use bit tolarants alot regards

Close Name:LaurieF -   TMO Forum Mod Posts: 3519 Joined: 15 Jun 2001
Subject:

Hmm - it looks as though your computer has already been affected: your caps key doesn't work, and you can't seem to find your comma. Proof-reading your post would help the rest of us to read it more clearly. And it's "Bit Torrent".

I run a GPL Unix virus checker on my Macs called Clam. You can download it from here.

But, without starting up the usual flame war by Microsoft bigots and Mac bigots alike, there are no viruses in the wild for Macs. Pick an integer between -1 and 1 - that's the total. There have been proof-of-concept ones, and there are holes in the OS which the unscrupulous could get through; in the real world there are none.

I have been running Clam for the last year and, except for a couple of phishing links somewhere in a webbrowser cache, there have been no hits.

Nevertheless: practise safe hex.

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