Keeping the college student’s Mac secure

No viruses, no spyware, malware, none of that. So how do you keep your Mac secure? I am talking about keeping your Mac secure from those who walk right up use your computer while you are MIA. Specifically for the college student who leaves their Mac on all day, I have a nice selection of tips to keep intruders out!

As a college student I do a lot of eating, and a lot of work on my Mac, some of which is spent together. I never eat anything that has crumbs around my computer, but nevertheless I am eating. In fact I am eating a Cup of Noodles as I type, crafty eh?

Physical Protection

Marware Protection Pack
I have heard some terrible things about the discoloring of the Macbooks due to sweaty wrists (Macs get hot), in order to prevent this I recommend picking up a protection pack from Marware. I finally have mine to fit with out the air bubbles, and when I am away I cover the key board and do not worry about anything falling into the precious keys. For just twenty bucks and a trip to your local Apple store you can keep your Mac fresh and clean with the Marware protection pack, it has really helped me for when I spend those long nights on papers.

Screen Wipes

For some reason when people come to see my beautiful computer they feel the need to touch the screen, finger prints drive me crazy, I like to keep my Mac pretty. So in order to do so I picked up a generic pack of 80 screen wipes, for only six dollars at Best Buy I clean my laptop and it keeps it looking fresh and new every day.

Security

How trusting are you? I guess I have lost my faith in trusting people, I lock up my computer when ever I leave it, and now I am even using my iSight to peak at people that mean harm to my baby.

iAlertU

Adding a car alarm to my computer is exactly what I need, and I know that it comes in handy. iAlertU is an open source application that locks your computer and whenever a peripheral is unplugged, or the mouse or computer is moved, the computer goes into freak-out-car alarm mode. To arm your computer push the menu button on your Apple Front Row remote. I like to keep my alarm on for as long as it can run. In addition to freaking out, iAlertU also snaps a picture of the person trying to swipe your Mac. A good first step.

Gawker

I ran across an animation application today at Lifehacker, called Gawker. The concept of this application is to create stop animation or time lapse films, it uses the iSight to record these films and snaps a picture every 30 seconds. I use this to run in the background and monitor those that play with my computer. It records these clips in a Quicktime movie  file and it perfect for watching hours of footage in a few seconds.

Recommended usage

To use these applications I recommend hiding all of your windows, especially the Gawker recording window, and lock the screen with iAlertU, this will hide the dock. Also I would push down the screen so that you know when it is pulled up someone is using your computer.
Also be sure to keep the Front Row remote with you, or in a place that could not easily disable the alarm system.

Keep it secure

College is great, but you should be careful with your precious new Mac. I hope these applications and tools can help to keep your machine safe and secure.