Mac Security Bible [Paperback]

This is definitely a book written by and for tech-heads. I consider myself a little bit of a geek, having used Macs for design, video and educational purposes since the mid-1980's. If not a full-fledged geek, I am at least very comfortable managing and administering my Macs myself with few serious mistakes or issues over the years. Even with this comfort level, I found that this book provides vastly more than I would or could ever use.

Perfect for an IT person or a user who needs to understand every (metaphorical) nut and bolt in his or her system, but if you are just looking for some tips on how to tighten up the basic security of your Mac, this book may end up being a bit more than you are interested in digesting.

That said, the writing is clear, concise, and meticulously organized. The parts that addressed my areas of interest were very well presented and easy to understand, but I definitely bit off more than I am interested in chewing when I ordered this book.

I have been using a Mac for going on 20 years. Right now, I've got two running for business use and a handful around the house, including one hooked up for TV streaming. So I am very comfortable with Macs and don't feel shy about noodling around under the hood. And I have more or less bought into the conventional wisdom that Macs are inherently more secure than PCs, so a 900-page book on Mac security seemed a bit over the top.

And then I cracked Kissell's book.

Over the top it is not. Sure, there is lots of stuff in here that even a hard-core, desktop only user can skim (e.g. certificates, Terminal and loads of stuff on Mac OS Server), and there is plenty that anyone with their head screwed on half-straight can just skip (backing up, setting up secondary user accounts, etc.). But each user has different needs, and Kissell plays no favorites. He delves in just deep enough on all fronts to make this book invaluable to everyone, from the newbie to the bithead. The chapters on securing your web browsing, avoiding malware, and securely deleting files ought to be required reading. And the detailed explanations of how to secure wired and wireless networks are important for anyone who has this responsibility. Throughout, the writing is very clear, the instructions cogent and well-illustrated.

The bottom line is one Kissell notes early on: "by far the biggest threat to Mac security is you"... you and conventional wisdom, that is. Complacency is your enemy and ignorance of the dangers lurking out there is nothing like bliss. Yes, a Mac is far and away a more secure and safe machine than a PC. But "more secure" is not enough. There are plenty of areas for vulnerability, and with this book and an hour of two reading the bits most relevant to you, you can lock down your Mac and prove conventional wisdom right.

Regarding an operating system which has had exactly NO viruses (in the wild) since its introduction, you would think it impossible to write 900 pages (including index) on security for the Macintosh. In the "The Mac Security Bible," author Joel Kissel, has done just that and has justified his efforts by providing a thoroughly comprehensive guide. There is much more to security than immunizing a machine or network from viruses. In regard to most other security vulnerabilities, the Mac is no less susceptible to hardware threats, social engineering attacks, network snooping, password cracking, and more.

The author is aa accomplished book writer and authors articles for MacWorld magazine, Tidbits, and others. He writes in amazing scope and depth here on technology topics without being ponderous. The book is written in plain English, straightforward and systematically, and covers both OS 10.5 and 10.6 (Leopard and Snow Leopard). Most sections of the book are heavily cross-referenced with in-line references to topics elsewhere in the book or online sources.

The book is framed by three major foci: protecting hardware, data, and privacy; understanding threats and their solutions; and balancing risks versus ease of work. There are five parts dealing with Mac security basics, privacy, network security and sharing resources, OS X server issues, and advanced security topics. Problems and solutions dealing with Apple's MobileMe cloud services system and other online services are covered as well as running Windows in the Mac. The book is not meant for enterprise situations but for the ordinary Mac user, although the coverage is deep, advanced, and provides more than enough information and guidance for even the most technical geeks. Kissel has a pragmatic approach to security, wanting to balance the best security measures against the trade-off to convenience and workflow. "Best practices" don't always fit the ordinary user.

Part One is a broad security overview of the Mac, dealing with preventing physical threats, securing user accounts, making security settings, using the Keychain application, securing security over networks, and backing up. Kissel provides a useful seven items checklist To Do Now!

The second part deals mostly with application security of e-mail, chat, VOIP, Web, VPNs, the Keychain, and encryption. Up to this point, casual Mac users can readily follow the discussions and take actions to protect their machines and networks while geeks could be a bit bored. But that ends as the depth and complexity develops in the later parts dealing with wired versus wireless issues, advanced firewall setups, configurations using logs, scanning networks, doing monitoring, checking file integrity, vulnerability scanning, and forensic investigating.

Part five covers issues with OS X server, and provides details about third-party applications and solutions to security problems. Much of the material is of a high technical level covering Directory Services, SSL certificates, file sharing, and other network services.

The book is a heavy thick item with easy to read text, many grayscale screen shots (mostly of configuration windows), with a handful sidebars on incidental matters - insurance issues, scripting, and an interesting discussion and explanation of "cold boot" attacks. This is where RAM chips are cooled by gas to preserve volatile memory long enough to pull data from them even when the machine is off. Who thinks these things up anyway!

(FTC disclosure (16 CFR Part 255): The reviewer has accepted a reviewer's copy of this book which is his to keep. He intends to provide an honest, independent, and fair evaluation of the book in all circumstances.)