Apple

15 best ways to keep your Mac secure

When you ask someone why they want to own a Mac, they’ll often say because they’ve heard Apple’s computers are more user-friendly and secure than PCs. While the user-friendliness will come down to your own personal preference, macOS is a very secure operating system. Apple puts a lot of focus on user privacy and security…

When you ask someone why they want to own a Mac, they’ll often say because they’ve heard Apple’s computers are more user-friendly and secure than PCs.

While the user-friendliness will come down to your own personal preference, macOS is a very secure operating system. Apple puts a lot of focus on user privacy and security in every new release of its desktop OS. While the tech giant provides us with several great settings to help protect our Macs, it’s up to us to make sure we audit and enable them.

It’s important to remember that every security improvement comes at the cost of user convenience. With this in mind, not every setting may make sense for your personal use case. However, one thing is true for everyone — ensure to save your passwords somewhere safe, like in a password manager and backup your Mac to protect your data.

Every security tip in the world won’t help you if you can’t access your Mac.

Below are 15 ways to help make your Mac more secure:

1. Use a strong password

A strong password is the first line of defence when it comes to ensuring your Mac is secure. Many of us likely already use passwords on all of our devices, but we may not necessarily use strong ones. The best passwords are long and complex. I recommend changing your password to something that is an easily memorable sentence. Something like “i love my dog” would take 2 thousand years to crack. Consider changing it to “I l0ve my dog$,” which would take 4 billion years to crack. I recommend using a password strength checker like security.org to see if your password is strong enough to protect your devices.

To change your password on your Mac:

  1. 1.  Launch System Preferences
    2. Click Security & Privacy
    3. Click the General tab
    4. Click Change Password…
    5. Type in your old password
    6. Type in your new strong password
    7. Retype your new password under Verify
    8. You can enter in a password hint, but I recommended skipping this
    9. Click Change Password

2. Require password immediately after sleep

What use is a strong password if it doesn’t get enabled? Every time I walk away from my Mac, I press control+command+Q to lock it. The Center for Internet Security recommends setting a screensaver to start after two minutes of inactivity if you forget to manually lock your computer. Manually locking your Mac and setting a screen saver will minimize the threat of someone accessing your Mac when you step away from it.

To set your password to be required immediately after sleep or screen saver begins:

  1. 1.  Launch System Preferences
    2. Click Security & Privacy
    3. Click the General tab
    4. Check off Require password after sleep or screen saver begins
    5. Select immediately from the drop-down

To set a screensaver:

  1. 1.  Launch System Preferences
    2. Click Desktop & Screen Saver
    3. Click the Screen Saver tab
    4. Check off Show screen saver after

3. Disable password hints

Password hints are recommended by Apple and are an excellent way for you to remember your password. Unfortunately, they also serve as a perfect tool to help someone guess your password too. The Center for Internet Security actually recommends organizations turn off password hints as a way to help prevent someone from potentially guessing your password.

To disable password hints:

  1. 1.  Launch System Preferences
    2. Click Users & Groups
    3. Click Login Options
    4. Click the lock icon
    5. Enter your password
    6. Click Unlock
    7. Uncheck Show password hints

4. Require an administrator password to access system-wide preferences

If you share a Mac with family or friends, this setting will help ensure that only you and other administrators can make setting changes that impact all users. But, of course, standard users will still be able to make customizations for their individual profiles.

To require an administrator password to access

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Apple

South Africans can now buy Apple, Alphabet shares as digital tokens on Luno

From early August, Luno, a cryptocurrency and digital investment platform, will allow its users in South Africa to invest in tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making global equities like Apple and Alphabet accessible for as little as R20 ($1.13). The move positions Luno as a multi-asset investment platform and marks what it says is

From early August, Luno, a cryptocurrency and digital investment platform, will allow its users in South Africa to invest in tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making global equities like Apple and Alphabet accessible for as little as R20 ($1.13). The move positions Luno as a multi-asset investment platform and marks what it says is a first-of-its-kind offering in South Africa’s fast-evolving financial landscape.

Tokenised stocks are digital representations of real shares, backed 1:1 by actual securities. By enabling access via rands, Luno is removing longstanding barriers such as currency conversion costs, high fees, and trading-hour restrictions for retail investors in emerging markets.

“Until now, access to global financial markets has been locked behind red tape and legacy systems,” said Christo de Wit, Luno’s country manager for South Africa. “With tokenised stocks, we are offering South African investors easy access to global investments any time of the day or night.”

The platform will support over 60 U.S. companies and market indices, including Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and the S&P 500. These tokenised products are made available through partnerships with infrastructure providers like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance, which Luno says will ensure regulatory compliance, secure custody, and alignment with global financial standards.

How Luno tokenised stocks work

Customers can start investing with as little as R20 ($1.13), even in companies like Apple and Google. Instead of paying nearly R4,000 ($226) for a full Apple share, they can buy just a piece. These tokens are digital versions of real stocks, and customers trade them through blockchain. 

“This represents a fundamental shift in how we think about investing,” explained de Wit. “We are not just digitising old processes, we are reimagining what is possible when you combine improved technology with investor needs.”

Launched in 2013, Luno has grown to become one of Africa’s leading crypto exchanges, but now it’s adding tokenised stocks and ETFs. South Africa remains one of the continent’s most active crypto markets. Over 5 million South Africans are estimated to own crypto, with digital asset ownership expected to grow by nearly 8% annually through 2031.

Luno competes with platforms like VALR, Binance, AltcoinTrader, and wealthtech apps like EasyEquities and Satrix that focus mainly on traditional stocks and ETFs. 

Still, the expansion into tokenised equities could bring Luno under closer scrutiny. As digital tokens backed by real-world financial instruments, these offerings may fall within capital market regulations, including investor protection and transparency requirements. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is already in the process of licencing crypto asset providers and building a clearer framework for digital securities.

Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com

Sakhile Dube Associate Reporter

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