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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.*
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. OS X Yosemite (/ j oʊ ˈ s ɛ m ɪ t i / yoh-SEM-it-ee; version 10.10) is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.' S desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and released to public beta testers on July 24, 2014.
Apple M1 chip.
A shared architecture for security.
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
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Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Is this a familiar situation? You and other members of your family each own libraries of music, videos, and apps purchased from the iTunes Store, but there’s no easy way to share that material among your collected iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices. Or perhaps you’re ready to give a device to a child, but you’re wary of the potential for racking up out-of-control charges for media or in-app purchases.
Apple’s Family Sharing feature finally attempts to catch up to reality: Not all of our devices exist in their own little worlds. We want to be able to copy a favorite album to another family member’s iPhone without jumping through a lot of hoops. We want to maintain some control over a kid’s device, but also give her the freedom to explore. Family Sharing provides all that capability and more.
Alas, the service isn’t perfect. This article lists 10 facts you need to know to help you decide whether enabling the Family Sharing service is right for your situation.
1: You need iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.
Family Sharing is a feature introduced with Apple’s latest operating systems. Although those operating systems cover a wide spectrum of hardware, you might have some old machines or devices handed down to kids or other family members—equipment that’s not capable of running a modern Apple OS.
iOS 8 runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and OS X 10.10 Yosemite runs on Macs. That list includes plenty of devices: the iPhone 4S and later, iPad 2 and later (including the iPad mini), the fifth-generation iPod touch.
Yosemite can be installed on Macs that are up to eight years old:
- iMac (mid 2007 or newer)
- MacBook (late 2008 Aluminum, early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (mid/late 2007 or newer)
- MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)
- Mac mini (early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (early 2008 or newer)
- Xserve (early 2009)
The more practical consideration is that everyone needs to be on iOS 8 or Yosemite to take advantage of Family Sharing; someone holding out with an earlier version can’t join the digital family.
2: All iTunes and App Store purchases are paid with one credit card shared by everyone.
For some people, this is a significant sticking point: The entire family’s purchases come from one account. The benefit to this approach is centralized control over purchases (as I’ll discuss shortly).
Switching to Family Sharing doesn’t wipe out all of the purchases that family members made previously. Purchases from iTunes actually become available to everyone in the family. However, content you’ve added to iTunes from other sources (ripping your own CDs, or buying DRM-free tracks from other sellers) aren’t included, even if you subscribe to Apple’s iTunes Match service.
3: One person is designated as the Family Organizer, who sets up everything.
Although it sounds like a throwback to a 1950s patriarchal attitude, Family Sharing requires one person to be the Family Organizer, providing a single point of contact associated with the credit card on file. That person also manages parental restrictions and sets everyone else up with the service.
4: You can create an Apple ID for a child.
Family Sharing requires each member to have an individual Apple ID, which in the past has been tricky when it came to children. Now, you can create a specific ID for a child under age 13. This option unlocks one of the best Family Sharing features: Ask to Buy. When a child wants to buy something from the iTunes Store or the App Store, the Family Organizer (or other members of the family that the Organizer allows) must approve the sale first. The confirmation arrives almost instantly to your Mac and iOS devices, letting you decide right away if the purchase should be processed (see Figure 1).
Figure 1A child can request to buy an app (left), which must be approved by the Family Organizer (right, OS X notification shown).
It’s not obvious how to create an Apple ID for a child, however. For example, when you create a new family member in the iCloud settings on an iOS device, look for the small text at the bottom of the Family screen that reads, “Want to add a child who doesn’t have an account? Create an Apple ID for a child.”
5: With some trickery, you can change a regular Apple ID to a child ID.
What if you’ve previously created a regular Apple ID for a child? You would have had to alter the child’s birthdate to make the ID, and the account wouldn’t be eligible for the Ask to Buy feature because the account holder (the child) would be too old. Well, there’s a workaround.
In a web browser, go to appleid.apple.com and sign in using the child’s Apple ID. Click the Password and Security option and change the birthdate to January 1, 2001. Apple’s system now thinks you have a teenager! You can then view the account in your iCloud settings as the Family Organizer and turn on the Ask to Buy feature.
6: Media bought by another family member isn’t streamed.
I’ll admit this fact stumped me at first. I assumed that Family Sharing would work like iTunes Match, in that I could simply stream anything from a shared library whenever I wanted. Instead, the media sharing mechanism requires that you download tracks, videos, or apps that you want to use. In truth, this requirement is only slightly inconvenient, but the interface for getting other media isn’t obvious. I’ll demonstrate by sharing a song:
- On an iOS device, open the iTunes Store and navigate to the Purchased screen. It’s separated into My Purchases and Family Purchases.
- Tap the name of the person whose device has the music you want to download, and then tap Music to view that person’s library.
Navigate to the song or album you want to download and tap the iCloud Download button to start transferring it (see Figure 2).
Figure 2Downloading music purchased by another family member.
7. Media can be hidden from other family members.
Not everything needs to be shared. Perhaps you’ve bought music or eBooks you don’t want to share with other people. Follow these steps to hide something from Family Sharing:
- In iTunes on a Mac or PC, or iBooks on a Mac if you’re working with eBooks, view your purchased items.
- Position the mouse pointer over the item you want to hide, and click the X that appears in the upper-left corner.
When asked to confirm that you want to hide the item, click OK (see Figure 3). The hidden item won’t appear in the lists of purchased items on other devices.
Figure 3Hide an item that you don’t want others to download via Family Sharing.
You can unhide items by going to your account settings in iTunes or iBooks and clicking the Manage button that appears next to Hidden Purchases.
8. You can play media via Family Sharing on the Apple TV.
The Apple TV is still a satellite device amid the Apple galaxy, but it’s tied into Family Sharing. With the Apple TV signed into the Apple ID of one of the family members, you can watch or listen to anything purchased by that person.
Note: This arrangement doesn’t extend to rentals, which are restricted in many ways. For example, a rented movie on the Apple TV can be watched only on the Apple TV. Renting a movie through iTunes on a computer can be streamed to an Apple TV on the same network by using AirPlay. But if you want to watch that same rental on an iPad or iPhone, you must connect the device to iTunes and transfer the file, after which it exists only on the device (and you need an Internet connection so iTunes can verify the transfer with the Apple mothership). If you rent a movie on an iOS device, you can watch it on the Apple TV via AirPlay, or on the device itself.
9. You can share a group of photos among all family members.
One thing most people definitely want to share with family members is digital photos. Family Sharing lets the Family Organizer create a single shared photo album that’s accessible by every family member. It’s just a group pool, but easy to access (found in the Photos app under Shared). Tapping the plus (+) button lets any family member add images from their photo library (see Figure 4).
Figure 4The shared Family album includes photos from several family members.
10. You can keep track of group schedules and reminders.
I’ve mostly focused on sharing media, but another key aspect of Family Sharing is the ability to share important information with everyone. When you set up Family Sharing, a new Family calendar is created and added to everyone’s accounts. Any event you put into the Family calendar appears on everyone else’s devices (see Figure 5). The same is true for reminders you add to the Family category in the Reminders app. (Now you can’t claim ignorance about important appointments you miss.)
Figure 5The yellow events are part of the shared Family calendar.
Family Circle
The Family Sharing feature requires you to commit to its infrastructure, with its single source of payment and limitations on what can be shared, but for many people this structure makes working with multiple devices easier in the long run.
Yosemite Apple Store Link
In an upcoming article I’ll touch on other key features: locating family members, or finding family devices that are lost or possibly stolen.