HELP: New to Mavericks. Need advice on setting up secure user accounts

Question

Hi,
I need advice on how to best set up user accounts on Mavericks.
I must set up an Administrative account...Any suggestion for best settings here to protect against targeted malicious exploits?
I would also like to set up two user accounts for everyday work with applications and Internet browsing done in such a way that the machine would be protected from malicious attacks but with a minimum of inconvience for the users ( myself and my wife ).
Thanks

Answer 1

Hi hassiman, any exploits will come in the form of users downloading suspect pieces of software like browser add-ons and extensions, device drivers and non-trusted apps.
Make sure that you do not use the admin account for any day to day use
Create two normal user accounts, one for each of you and use them day to day
When using the admin account to set up your system, pay very careful attention to the System Preferences > Privacy & Security area. There are various things to set up properly here:
There are three settings for how people can download software, 1) From Mac App Store only, 2) From App Store and registered developers and 3) from anyone. It defaults to 2) but check it and if you feel uncomfortable with that, set it to 1). This might prevent you from downloading and installing software you think you might need; but think carefully about wether you really need it and therefore wether you should temporarily allow it via a lower setting.
For the firewall, if you dont have a firewalled internet gateway device (a wireless router or similar), make sure the firewall is turned on. Most internet connection equipment does have such a firewall; make sure it is blocking any incoming connections by using its admin tool (usually a web browser interface). Consult its documentation for details.
Whenever OS X asks for a password to complete a task of any kind, look carefully at what is making it ask and if you aren't sure, don't go through with it; it is usually wanting the admin account name and ppassword to complete some kind of system modification (install, config etc.).
Make sure that you are both aware of the danger of installing any software that wants to add itself to your system or web browser. Things like custom search bars, extensions etc. If you are viewing a web page and it says you need "x" to see it or use it properly, make sure you really need to use that web site; otherwise don't do it.
It really all comes down to common sense; the worst security breaches and damage come from users who don't know what to do, but they still click "OK" when they should be clicking "cancel" or "close". Make sure you and your wife are fully aware that responsibility lies with yourselves. It is better to take a minute to decide wether to install something (even if it's 20 times a week) than spend days fixing a compromised system.