Best Practices For Mac

We design Mac hardware and software with advanced technologies that work together to run apps more securely, protect your data, and help keep you safe on the web. And with macOS Big Sur available as a free upgrade, it’s easy to get the most secure version of macOS for your Mac.*

We’ll do our best to cover both macOS and Windows in this article. For the most part, the user directory structure is the same, and the strategies should apply to both Mac and Windows. The Goals of Your Organizational System. There are three overarching goals for your file organization system. The best practice for setting up the To-Do Bar is to: Show a Date Navigator (turned on by default). Show tasks (turned on by default). Show favorite contacts. The default arrangement for tasks is by Due Date, but you might consider changing the arrangement to Start Date, depending upon how you use flags. If you want to see the tasks that you.

Apple M1 chip.
A shared architecture for security.

Siri: On your Mac you have an intelligent personal assistant that assist you in multitasking to get your work done faster! You can use Siri to find files on your Mac, ask questions, set reminders, or even launch applications. Her sassy personality makes her a fun loving asset to your Mac and save you some time if you’re in a hurry.
3 year-end best practices for Mac users by Erik Eckel in Software on December 2, 2018, 9:44 AM PST Take advantage of traditional year-end slowdowns to prep your Mac for optimal performance in 2019.
MAC FORENSICS - STEP BY STEP Disclaimer: Before using any new procedure, hardware or software for forensics you must do your own validation and testing before working on true evidence. These best practices are summarized from SUMURI’s Macintosh Forensic Survival Courses which is a vendor.

The Apple M1 chip with built-in Secure Enclave brings the same powerful security capabilities of iPhone to Mac — protecting your login password, automatically encrypting your data, and powering file-level encryption so you stay safe. And the Apple M1 chip keeps macOS secure while it’s running, just as iOS has protected iPhone for years.

Apple helps you keep your Mac secure with software updates.

The best way to keep your Mac secure is to run the latest software. When new updates are available, macOS sends you a notification — or you can opt in to have updates installed automatically when your Mac is not in use. macOS checks for new updates every day and starts applying them in the background, so it’s easier and faster than ever to always have the latest and safest version.

Protection starts at the core.

The technically sophisticated runtime protections in macOS work at the very core of your Mac to keep your system safe from malware. This starts with state-of-the-art antivirus software built in to block and remove malware. Technologies like XD (execute disable), ASLR (address space layout randomization), and SIP (system integrity protection) make it difficult for malware to do harm, and they ensure that processes with root permission cannot change critical system files.

Download apps safely from the Mac App Store. And the internet.

Now apps from both the App Store and the internet can be installed worry-free. App Review makes sure each app in the App Store is reviewed before it’s accepted. Gatekeeper on your Mac ensures that all apps from the internet have already been checked by Apple for known malicious code — before you run them the first time. If there’s ever a problem with an app, Apple can quickly stop new installations and even block the app from launching again.

Stay in control of what data apps can access.

Apps need your permission to access files in your Documents, Downloads, and Desktop folders as well as in iCloud Drive and external volumes. And you’ll be prompted before any app can access the camera or mic, capture keyboard activity, or take a photo or video of your screen.

FileVault 2 encrypts your data.

With FileVault 2, your data is safe and secure — even if your Mac falls into the wrong hands. FileVault 2 encrypts the entire drive on your Mac, protecting your data with XTS-AES 128 encryption. Mac computers built on the Apple M1 chip take data protection even further by using dedicated hardware to protect your login password and enabling file-level encryption, which developers can take advantage of — just as on iPhone.

Designed to protect your privacy.

Online privacy isn’t just something you should hope for — it’s something you should expect. That’s why Safari comes with powerful privacy protection technology built in, including Intelligent Tracking Prevention that identifies trackers and helps prevent them from profiling or following you across the web. A new weekly Privacy Report on your start page shows how Safari protects you as you browse over time. Or click the Privacy Report button in your Safari toolbar for an instant snapshot of the cross-site trackers Safari is actively preventing on that web page.

Automatic protections from intruders.

Safari uses iCloud Keychain to securely store your passwords across all your devices. If it ever detects a security concern, Password Monitoring will alert you. Safari also prevents suspicious websites from loading and warns you if they’re detected. And because it runs web pages in separate processes, any harmful code is confined to a single browser tab and can’t crash the whole browser or access your data.

Find your missing Mac with Find My.

The Find My app can help you locate a missing Mac — even if it’s offline or sleeping — by sending out Bluetooth signals that can be detected by nearby Apple devices. These devices then relay the detected location of your Mac to iCloud so you can locate it. It’s all anonymous and encrypted end-to-end so no one — including Apple — knows the identity of any reporting device or the location of your Mac. And it all happens silently using tiny bits of data that piggyback on existing network traffic. So there’s no need to worry about your battery life, your data usage, or your privacy being compromised.

Keep your Mac safe.
Even if it’s in the wrong hands.

All Mac systems built on the Apple M1 chip or with the Apple T2 Security Chip support Activation Lock, just like your iPhone or iPad. So if your Mac is ever misplaced or lost, the only person who can erase and reactivate it is you.

macOS Security

Have you noticed your machine running particularly sluggish lately? Here are a few things you can do to improve performance.

Keep your software updated

Updating software will often come with many bug fixes, security improvements, or more exciting features. It is always a great idea to update your operating system (OS) to the latest version. Right now, the latest version is v10.15, or macOS Catalina. The best part about these updates is they're free! Be sure your Mac is set to check for new and updated versions of software at least once a month.

Note: If you’re running High Sierra (10.13), Sierra (10.12), or El Capitan (10.11), upgrade to macOS Catalina from the App Store. If you’re running Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8), you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store. Visit the Apple support site for more information on upgrading to macOS Catalina (10.15).

Here’s how:

Select About This Mac from the Apple menu

In the following window, click Software Update...

If there are updates, follow the prompts to install it for any programs that need updating.

Back up your files

A good safety procedure you can follow is to frequently back up all your important documents, pictures, and other files to an external hard drive, or to the Cloud by using a Cloud service like iCloud. After it's backed up, you are welcome to delete them from your computer if not in use. This will clear up any space and is especially helpful for recovering important information if your laptop breaks, is stolen or damaged.

Delete applications you don’t use

These applications waste valuable space on your hard drive and can slow performance. Some software comes with uninstallers. It's easiest if you open up Applications and drag programs to your trash.

Install an anti-malware program

These programs will monitor your computer and keep malevolent files off the computer. The amount of malware that targets OS X products is growing and it's great to keep your system protected against it. Malwarebytes is a great program for keeping your Mac safe.

Quit applications when not in use

One of the differences between macOS and Windows is that simply exiting an application doesn't completely close out of it. On Mac, in order to fully stop using a program, you will have to quit the program. You can do this by right-clicking on the icon in the dock, or by clicking on the application name in the top left corner and select quit program. You can tell which programs are running in the background by checking if they have a black dot underneath their icon in the dock. Quitting programs can preserve battery life and will reduce the workload on your computer.