OS X Mavericks: Guard your privacy
Privacy is an important concern when using apps that exchange information across the web. OS X includes security features to enhance your privacy and control the amount of information about you and your Mac that’s exposed over the Internet.
Here are some ways you can protect your privacy:
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Limit and monitor who your kids can chat and email with.
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Use the privacy features in Safari to enhance your privacy on the web by preventing sites from storing cookies, blocking pop-up windows, limiting location services, and more.
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Monitor which apps can access information about the location of your Mac using Location Services.
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Choose not to share diagnostic and usage information about your Mac.
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Create a firewall between your Mac and the network, and prevent your Mac from responding to queries from unauthorized users.
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Monitor which apps can access information about your contacts, calendars, and reminders.
Use parental controls
You can use parental controls to monitor your children’s computer use, control who can contact them using email or chat, and limit their access to websites.
Use the privacy features in Safari
Safari provides numerous features to help you control your privacy on the Internet. You can browse privately, so there’s no record of websites you visited or items you downloaded. You can block pop-up windows, stop sites from storing cookies on your Mac, and more. To find out more about privacy protection in Safari, see:
Use Private Browsing
Manage cookies and other website data
Block pop-ups and unnecessary content
Control the personal information you share with apps
Location Services lets apps, such as web browsers, gather and use information based on your location. You can turn off Location Services completely, or you can select which apps can see information about your location.
Some apps may gather and use information from your contacts, calendar or reminders
For more information about Location Services, see:
Manage which apps can use Location Services
For more information about which apps can access your contacts, see:
Manage which apps can access your contacts
For more information about which apps can see your calendar and reminders, see:
Choose whether to share diagnostic and usage information
Apple would like your help improving the quality and performance of its products and services. OS X can automatically collect diagnostic and usage information from your Mac and send it to Apple for analysis. The information is sent only with your consent and is submitted anonymously to Apple. For more information, see:
To choose whether diagnostic and usage data is sent to Apple, use the Privacy pane of Security & Privacy preferences.
Set up a firewall
You can use a firewall to protect your privacy by blocking unwanted network communications with your Mac. If the firewall is turned on, you can also use “stealth mode,” which prevents your Mac from being discovered by others on the web.
To set up and customize your firewall, use the Firewall pane of Security & Privacy preferences.