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OS X – Do you really need to be admin ?

As a smug mac user, the one security point I often make to Windows users, is that I am not using a root level account by default, so unlike windows any malware on the mac (if there was any of course) could do only limited damage.

adminWhile my point is strcitly true, as this Mac Geekery blog post notes you are by default in OS X running an Admin account, which while not as scary as root, still offers more system level control than is really needed on a day to day basis.

The moral of this story is to change your user account to a standard account now, it’s very easy to do, as explained by Mac Geekery, taking just two minutes, and you will be that bit more secure..

2 replies on “OS X – Do you really need to be admin ?”

Yes, I found that article quite worrying (though the one at http://www.macgeekery.com/tips/security/how_a_malformed_installer_package_can_crack_mac_os_x is much more scary).

Being admin isn’t necessary, it’s true. When I download new (non Apple) apps these days, I put them into a folder that’s a subfolder of the Applications folder. Means, apart from anything, you can back them up easily.

Hope the weather’s nice in France – that’s a smart thing you’ve got going there in the sidebar. Now to find out Ed’s home address and see how well his alarm works 🙂

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