Security isn’t the most compelling OS feature to read about, but it sure is important. Lion’s new security improvements are relatively unsung -- they toil away in the background, and you might not even notice them unless something goes wrong. Our advice is to check them out (System Preferences > Security & Privacy) when you get started with Lion, then go back to forgetting they’re there.
Although security may not have received as much attention as flashier additions like Mission Control and Multi-Touch gestures, Lion includes an arsenal of new features to keep users safe from harm. Just how secure is Lion? According to researchers, Mac OS 10.7 represents a major overhaul of the operating system’s security that trumps even those in Microsoft Windows 7 or Linux Ubuntu—and so Mac users are encouraged to part with their $29.99 as soon as possible.
“It’s a significant improvement, and the best way that I’ve described the level of security in Lion is that it’s Windows 7, plus, plus,” Dino Dai Zovi, coauthor of The Mac Hacker’s Handbook told The Register. “I generally tell Mac users that if they care about security, they should upgrade to Lion sooner rather than later, and the same goes for Windows users, too.”
Be sure to peruse all the options in System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
Lion’s most visible security component is FileVault 2, a new version of the built-in encryption software found in System Preferences. While users care about security, they tend to care more about speedy performance. And the previous FileVault had a noticeable impact on many systems. Apple made the FileVault 2 encryption/decryption process faster and less obtrusive, securing your computer in the background as you work, even giving up valuable processor cycles to higher-priority tasks such as web browsing or file copying.
FileVault was also limited to encrypting only the user’s Home folder, leaving system-level support files vulnerable. FileVault 2 brings strong XTS-AES 128 encryption to your entire drive structure, with support for external USB or FireWire drives, including your precious Time Machine backup. FileVault 2 also adds instant wipe, the ability to remove an encryption key from your Mac and scrub the entire drive prior to selling or otherwise disposing of your Mac.
Lion also works hard to keep intruders from getting in via other methods. Malware screening alerts are built right into Safari, Mail, and iChat, giving you a chance to opt out of launching an application that may not have your best intentions in mind. Lion also introduces “sandboxing,” a technique already used by iOS to restrict the actions of an application, limiting file access and what other programs can be launched from it. Sandboxing also prevents browser plug-ins such as Adobe Flash Player from crashing and taking down all of Safari with it. (Rejoice!)
Privacy features in System Preferences > Security & Privacy allow you to control which apps have access to your location data. Safari also includes its own set of options (Safari > Preferences > Privacy) to limit or block cookies and website access to location services.
Safari’s preferences let you block websites from leaving cookies and grabbing your location data.
Of course, none of these security features would be worth much if they were complicated for the user. So Apple made it as simple as flipping a switch in the System Preferences > Security & Privacy pane for turning off automatic login, updating the safe downloads list, or even logging you out of the computer after a specified amount of time.
Perhaps Apple’s greatest tool in the fight against malware is the existing Software Update mechanism we all know and love. Following the Mac Defender malware scare at the beginning of May, Cupertino responded quickly with Security Update 2011-003, subsequently rolled into both Mac OS 10.6.8 and now 10.7 Lion. Long considered a bastion of freedom from viruses and malware, Apple has moved quickly to plug holes in their software as soon as they rear their ugly heads.
Ray Dittmer
January 30, 2012 at 6:25pm
About that Snow Leopard startup flashdrive. I purchased an iMac recently with Lion installed. After grinding my gears a bit on the migration of old data (I was running Tiger on a iMac G5) and finding that only firewire migration would work, I solved that problem. Since I did not begin this adventure expecting a Lion install on my iMac, I needed a way to preserve my legacy app data. I tried your solution of a Snow Leopard flash drive. No go, Lion will no even let me boot from the Snow Leopard install DVD. Apparently, if you buy a Mac with Lion installed, there is no way to even revert to a previous OS on an external drive. Help!
ndor@gci.net
August 27, 2011 at 1:47pm
I can' read my old Netscape files with the Lion.
I can't open any files that used Power PC applications in Lion either.
IF, I had know that I could not read those files which I access about every day, then I would not have downloaded Lion.
However, I did download Lion, so, I asked what Apple, the best computer company in the world, is doing to fix that problem.
The said you can bring in your iMac to an Apple store, they will uninstall the Lion, and then re-install Snow Leopard.
I am 72 years old and it is hard for me to get around. It would be easier for me to get a fix that Apple should provide so that all versions of the MAC OS are backward compatible.
After all, all my files, since 1984, on Macs, have been done using Mac OS.
Best regards,
Nels Anderson, Jr.
Anchorage, Alaska
bhargis75
August 16, 2011 at 11:08am
Um you don't need a third party app to use a key command for Launchpad. Just go to system preferences-keyboard and set up a key command for Launchpad. Easy as pie.
iMac.27
August 15, 2011 at 9:57pm
in iCal section you say...
Creating events is easier, too, thanks to natural language input that can turn “Apple Genius appointment tomorrow 2pm” into an item on your schedule. Faster, simpler to use, more functional? Yeah, we can make time for that.
Um. I can't find this feature anywhere. How do I talk to my iCal?
And the Comment:
I TOTALLY disagree will William's post. Lion is a VERY good OS. $29 is a small about of money, and who the hell needs a disc? You could have made a disc before you installed it if you really wanted one.
If you waited for Lion to release before getting a TrackPad, that's on you. I got one the day it came out.
However, with Snow Leopard, it was nearly useless. Now, with Lion, I use my TrackPad 99% of the time, it truly is "Magical."And why would you buy a new OS without researching it a little FIRST? You bought it then "disabled all the useless crap" ??? Why the hell did you buy it in the first place? I do not understand all the people who go spend money on Lion and then try to make it "look and feel" like Snow Leopard... ummm, Just STAY with Snow Leopard?? Duhhhhh.
I find that ANYONE who buys a product, just to turn around and b*tch and Moan about it, is an idiot. (not a personal attack on William, encompasses EVERYONE that does this)
Why not watch the Keynote on Apples web site? ( it was only on there for what, 5 months before release)
(and with the 384kbps download speed, it should have finished within a month of release)
Why not go to a store and try it first? (they sell apple at best buy even if you don't have an apple store near by)
Why not find out what would and wouldn't be compatible BEFORE you install something like that?
Then, on top of everything else, rock a 384Kbps internet connection in the year 2011? and,... wait for it..... you b*tch about how long it took to download??? WFT? My iPhone 3G downloads faster than that.Last, what did you expect for $29 bucks? a disc and massage with happy ending?
Microsoft windows 7 Retail is $250 bucks. $29 sounds WAY better. Even if I pay $29 4 times for 4 upgrades like Lion, I STILL come out cheaper then ONE update from MS.
If Apple would have charged you $129, gave you a disc and radically change the entire OS where it didn't even remotely look, feel or act like the old Apple OS you were used to, you would not have been any more happy. You would have complained about how apple went TOO FAR!Dude, you should get a Dell....
maclover
August 16, 2011 at 8:37am
If you press the "+" button I think it is in the top left, you can add a new event by just typing a sentence basically. There is no speech to text feature, yet :D
William R Grubaugh
August 15, 2011 at 6:09pm
Except for the increased security I think Lion is pure CRAP! 29 dollars plus tax 8.25% for some data from their server (huge profit for Apple) and at 384 Kbps, hours too download more inconvenience and money, Have to get third party App to make Disc which Apple should have provided, more inconvenience and money, or pay Apple another 69 dollars plus tax 8.25% for USB Flash Drive, more inconvenience and money - 69 dollars plus tax 8.25% for the NOT so Magic Track Pad, more inconvenience and money - must purchase new Applications, Apple hopes from their App Store to replace now obsolete Apps because of Lion, more inconvenience and money - Now more inconvenience and money trying to figure out how to disable all of the worthless Crap you just payed way to much money for, or purchase/acquire more third party Apps to make some of your newly acquired Crap work! Apples greed and imposition are shocking and shameless. I may never upgrade another OSX from Apple or IBM I should say, which is most fitting considering their new leader and business plan! My loyalty and confidence in Apple is waning rapidly. Truly sad, I used to think of them as a different type of Company, but after discovering all of their China connections and now all their recent missteps, the honeymoon is over!!!
brandonwalkermedia
August 15, 2011 at 11:58pm
um you don't have to buy a third party app, you use what Apple gave you (you know the ability to burn!) P.s. i downloaded it at 10MBPS it seems your wifi (if you did even download it) is stone age. Also i have not had a single app not be compatible (other then not supporting new futures like full screen yet) and only 3 of them have updated for lion. And last China is a great place to make connections, think about it over 1 billion people to sell to (not to mention lower taxes) bottom line yes there here to make money! same as when you go to work and service others!
BTW seems like your a PC user thats never tried a Mac (as you seem to know nothing of it)
William R Grubaugh
August 16, 2011 at 5:28pm
All I'll give you, which is to much! You're a punk smug moronic idiot who doesn't know your a%s from a hole in the ground! READ AND SEARCH, THERE'S A BIG WIDE WORLD OUT THERE, THAT"S NOT YOURS, BUBBLE BOY! Damn it, I gave you to much. Oh Well???
trianoaj
August 16, 2011 at 11:16am
william_r_grubaugh you my friend are FULL OF CRAP!!
You talk about issues that do not exist:
Your internet connection is CRAP! My download with FIOS took all of 20 minutes.
You dont need Third Party anything to make a Lion install disk or Thumb Drive!!
Try a new site called google, ooh wait since your internet connection is CRAP! you cant even do that. Only 1 app that I had in snow leopard am i still waiting for its dev. to make compatable with Lion. All 57 other work just fine.Few people might not like the new looks or features in Lion, but the word FEW is even assuming to many! If you had a mac you would know that Lion has made alot of old processes and menus more seeamless and flowing.
Open your mind, your eyes and your wallet while your at it (get better internet service) and realize that the WINBLOWS PIECE OF CRAP! that you are implying your willing to "leave Mac os x for" is a god send for use TRUE mac users, it actually filters all the STUCK ON CRAP users out of our community!
William R Grubaugh
August 16, 2011 at 5:15pm
I live in far mid-western Texas in the middle of know where and have three choices for ISP's. The highest I can get is 768 Kbps' it's to pricey for me, so I pay $32.00 for 384 Kbps, and am thankful, I don't have to pay the same for Dial-Up. I am feed up with the comments from smug ignorant morons about 384 Kbps. Caged Metropolitans who know nothing, but the Rank and File. Truth and Objectivity! I greatly enjoy my intel iMac circa late 2008, Snow Leopard 10.6.8, after the eighth update they finally got it right and now every thing works like it should. But where to go from here, not sure at this point, for I have a lot of money invested in Apple products and Third party Apple products. It's smug morons like you and Apples new Business plan, that will destroy Apple. Read the reviews, there all over the internet, I'm not alone Moron!
