2. At Login

Using the best protection with a passworded screen-saver or by bringing up a login window is useless if anyone can just restart your Mac to have unlimited access.  Let’s look at how to make the login process more secure.

Quick Login or Secure Login

The secure login is unfortunately not enabled right from the factory. When you start a new Mac, it will probably log you right into your administrator account without asking for any password and giving any user access to the file you are protecting with encryption.  To enable a secure login that will request your password each time you start your Mac:

1. Go to System Preferences.

2. Choose Accounts.

3. 3.If the options are grayed out, click on the padlock in the lower left corner and enter your administrator password.
   

4. Click on Login Options.

5. 5.Uncheck “Automatically log in as”.
   

Even More Secure Login

If you are afraid that your password might be too easy to guess for some people, you can use another option at login that will nearly eliminate all possibility of someone simply guessing your password.  With the option, instead of displaying a list of account names for you to choose from, the computer will bring up a text box.  You will have to enter both your account name and your password.  It can be enabled at the same place than the “Automatic login”, by choosing “Display login window as”: “Name and password”.