Macs Become More Secured With the Latest Apple OS - OS X Mountain Lion

Inspired by its smartphone counterpart, OS X Mountain Lion from Apple brings in a bevy of new features to desktops and laptops. It will be available to users July onwards from the Mac app store at a price of $20. You can now mount your Mac on a gaming console, get notifications and do a lot more with features like iCloud, iMessages and Siri. Security too has been improved on the Mountain Lion. Apple has come up with loads of new features to improve the security of Macs. The new security features are: Worried about malware intrusion? Gatekeeper blocks them all Allowing malware to invade your system unintentionally will now be looked after by Gatekeeper. It is a tool that monitors your entire download and blocks the malicious software from gaining entry into your Mac. Apple has introduced Developers ID which each developer has to sign before they are made available in the Mac App Store. If you download apps from places other than the Mac App Store, and Gatekeeper detects tampering with ID, it automatically blocks them from being downloaded. This tool also takes care of app installation. It allows you to choose an option according to when you want to install a downloaded app. Unsigned apps are barred from installation by Gatekeeper. Data encryption using FileVault 2rnWorried about your data landing up in criminal hands? Apple introduced FileVault 2, a data encryption tool built in Mac OS X Mountain Lion that encrypts the storage drive completely with XTS-AES 128 encryption. Removable storage drives can also be encrypted using FileVault 2. The preliminary round of encryption is quick and is not visible to end-users. You can also use this tool to scrub off data from your Mac before you give it to others. Besides erasing all the data, FileVault 2 also removes the encryption key thereby making data completely out of reach from unauthorized people. Startup Protections for Safer BootingrnIn OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has introduced new features that prevent malware from harming your Mac. The XD (execute disable) feature loaded into the processor separates memory allocation for data and executable programs completely. Malware, while intruding your Mac, does not distinguish between data and executable programs. It simply harms your machine by attaching itself to an executable program, which is prevented by the XD on the Mountain Lion. The storage location of an app is changed within the memory by Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR). Rogues attacking your machine will thus find it troublesome to re-organize the bits of an app meant for causing the planned attack.rniCloud helps locate your lost Mac If your Mac gets stolen or misplaced, you can use iCloud from OS X Mountain Lion. Log on to iCloud from any system and the ‘Find My iPhone’ app on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will help you trace your lost Mac on the map. In case your Mac is not connected to the internet at the particular moment, you can direct the app to shoot an email the moment your Mac is online. Besides, you can remotely lock your stolen Mac with password for preventing unauthorized use. The remote wipe feature on OS X Mountain Lion allows you to remove all your data from the Mac and go for a default restoration.rnParental Control to bar children from explicit use In case you are bothered about your children’s explicit use of the internet, you can monitor their usage on the OS X Mountain Lion. The Parental Control preferences comes with a set of procedures that allows you to know how much time your kids spent on the internet, the websites they browsed through and their chat details. Apple has always been reputed for their products’ security. After the incident of Flashback Trojan infecting Macs earlier this year, the company has put in lot of effort to tighten security. Some of the features mentioned above are adept at combating crimes. More will be revealed once the Mac OS X Mountain Lion is officially out for use after a short period.