Call me crazy, I am not a security expert nor do I claim to be, but here are a few things that I think help keep your Mac safe and sound.

1. This rule applies to anyone running any OS out there. Do NOT download files that you don’t know where they came from. I don’t care if it says ‘See Britney Spears naked!’. I can guarantee you it is not worth the headache that it will bring.

2. Do not make yourself an administrator on your computer. By default, the first account OS X creates is an administrator account. The first thing I do is create another account that is not an administrator and use that account for my day to day use. This prevents applications that you may install from touching any files that may damage your system. OS X will prompt you if it needs to authenticate - this request should make you think and see exactly what it wants.

3. It is true that there are not any viruses for OS X. But that will only be true for so long. Someone, someday WILL write a virus for OS X. Do not be naive and think that this will not happen. It will. It is simply a matter of time before it hits. I use ClamXav to be safe.

4. Stay on top of Software Updates. Apple makes it so easy to stay current with the latest patches, there is no reason not to update.

5. Buy and use a good hardware based firewall. Simply plugging in to your cable/DSL modem without any type of protection is just asking for it. Learn to configure it and monitor the logs it generates.

6. Keep current backups. This isn’t even a security tip really, its just good practice. Some users are their own worst enemy. I personally use SuperDuper! and have found it to be the best backup program out there.

7. Turn off services you don’t use. If you don’t connect to your computer from another computer there is really no reason to turn on any sharing capabilities. If you do need to transfer files, I suggest just turning on SSH and using SFTP to transfer files.

Now don’t live in a bubble world and think everything is peachy because it isn’t. New vulnerabilities are found everyday. Just be careful and think about what you are doing.