Locking down Macbook Air

Just wondering how other owners of the Macbook Air are stopping people from walking off with their laptop?
since the thing has not got a way to use a laptop lock what creative ways have people come up with?
The people in my local applestore were rather useless when I asked them for a suggestion to stop the $3000 laptop being stolen..
Wondering how long it will be before Apple release a new lower case with the ability to at least lock it to a desk to stop it walking off - in the mean time I am going to have to continue to use my PC when I am on the road.

Extract from my MBA review here: http://www.notebooks.com/2008/05/29/macbook-air-user-review/
"The MacBook Air lacks one security feature, which many notebooks and also other Apple notebooks have: a slot for a Kensington lock to tether the notebook to another object such as a table. Therefore the Macbook Air should be with you, if you fear the possibility of someone walking away with it, while it is unattended."
Since it is small and thin, I put the MBA into a lockable drawer in my desk at work.
"I’ve made it difficult for people to access my data by enabling a strong password to protect access to my user account, encrypting my user data with FileVault, choosing a secure screensaver and by installing Apple’s Open Firmware, which will require the user to enter a password in order to install Mac OS on the hard drive. I also use third party software from Orbicule to increase my chances of recovering my laptop, or at least to make the MacBook Air hard to use for a thief."

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Time Machine Locked after MacBook Air reformatted. My MacBook Air was overfull due to an Address book issue (duplication) so after many attempts to clear space, I ended up wiping out the system and reloading Lion.

Time Machine Locked after MacBook Air reformatted. My MacBook Air was overfull due to an Address book issue (duplication) so after many attempts to clear space, I ended up wiping out the system and reloading Lion. This resulted in the Time Machine thinking that it was now connected to a different computer. Apparently this diables the existing information.
Now I can see that the back-ups exist (back to Sept 2012) but they are greyed out, therefore unavailale to restore. Again, this seems like an issue that shouldn't be happening. The whole point of the Time Machine is to enable reinstatement of data after catastrophic failure. What if my computer actually had to be replaced due to a hardware issue? How would I beableto restore anything?
The path already (unsuccessfully) taken;
Open Library on the computer, Open Time Machine, Select Correct date, drill down to correct data you wish to restore, click "Restore".
This did not work because the correct date was greyed out. Restore key was greyed out.

Time Machine Locked after MacBook Air reformatted. My MacBook Air was overfull due to an Address book issue (duplication) so after many attempts to clear space, I ended up wiping out the system and reloading Lion. This resulted in the Time Machine thinking that it was now connected to a different computer. Apparently this diables the existing information.
Now I can see that the back-ups exist (back to Sept 2012) but they are greyed out, therefore unavailale to restore. Again, this seems like an issue that shouldn't be happening. The whole point of the Time Machine is to enable reinstatement of data after catastrophic failure. What if my computer actually had to be replaced due to a hardware issue? How would I beableto restore anything?
The path already (unsuccessfully) taken;
Open Library on the computer, Open Time Machine, Select Correct date, drill down to correct data you wish to restore, click "Restore".
This did not work because the correct date was greyed out. Restore key was greyed out.

I have lock my MacBook air for everyone. How can I unlock it?

I have lock my MacBook air for everyone. How can I unlock it?

If you do it only for your user, you can try resetting permissions > http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/15/repair-user-permissions-in-mac-os-x-lion/
If this doesn't work, open Disk Utility from Recovery (if you have OS X Lion or Mountain Lion, pressing Command and R keys while your Mac is starting) or the Mac OS X DVD (if you have Snow Leopard or older, pressing C key while your Mac is starting), select Macintosh HD in the sidebar and repair permissions.
If this doesn't work, reinstall Mac OS X

Lock my MacBook Air

How do I lock my MacBook Air when I walk away? I'd like to set it to require a password to open.
Thanks!

lock it physically or password lock?
Walk away and come back you could find your Air has "walked away" too.
Next in System Preferences / Security & Privacy / General, check the Require password for sleep & screen saver; the Disable auto login is the same as that on the previous panel.

Locked up MacBook air

My MacBook air is locked and showing the coloured ball symbol. I have shut it down using car/alt/cud and start button, several times, when switched back on, although all applications are closed, it s fine for about 1 minute then it locked up again.

Can you boot to the Recovery HD?
Boot Using Command+R keys:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the
      "COMMAND" and the "R" keys together.
3. Release the keys when the Utilities Menu appears.
If so, then try repairing the drive:
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the Macintosh HD entry from the the left side list. Click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If Disk Utility reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit Disk Utility and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
If the drive is full and you cannot boot from it normally, then the disk directory is corrupted and cannot be repaired. You will have to erase the drive then reinstall OS X. There is no way to recovery your data if it isn't already backed up.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
      the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
           because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should install the version of OS X that you had installed.

Yosemite slowing down macbook air performance

Ever since upgrading to yosemite, my 2011 macbook air 11' has been very noticeably sluggish compared to how it was with mavericks. At first i thought it might be from some conflicts from the previous OS, so I did a completely fresh install with yosemite, but it's still dragging and sluggish, especially with any kind of graphics intensive process. I know the air isn't supposed to be a marvel at graphics performance, but I never had these performance issues with mavericks.
Is yosemite just too resource heavy for my macbook air? I wonder if I'd just be better off going back to mavericks. However, if there's some kind of settings I need to adjust, I'd be happy to experiment. I've already tried the 'reduce transparency' trick, but it didn't do much (not that I noticed anyways).

Gatekeeper is described here: OS X: About Gatekeeper - Apple Support. It is only one defense to protect you from inadvertently installing malware, and an effective defense does not rely upon only one method.
... I can use software that isn't officially "identified" by apple, even though it is trusted.
Apple's philosophy is such that a Mac user with Admin privileges always has control over what he or she installs. As I wrote Gatekeeper will serve to protect you against inadvertently installing malware, including the adware that is affecting your Mac. Adware does not get installed on its own - it requires your explicit permission, which you provided by supplying your Admin name and password. When that dialog appears, it should be expected, not a surprise, and its implications should be clearly understood. By providing your credentials OS X concludes you know what you're doing and the reason you're doing it. Determining the "trusted" aspect of software thereby falls to you.
In your case, by choosing the "anywhere" option you effectively circumvented this basic OS X security feature.
The problem with adware is that it relies upon deception to convince you that it's legitimate software offered for some beneficial purpose, when in fact all it will do is interfere with your normal activity and possibly crash your Mac.
Is there anything I can do to possibly identify which apps may be slowing my system down?
Yes, although you installed quite a number of them. For troubleshooting, read below the line that follows the end of this post.
An EtreCheck report generated on a Mac as it ships from Apple will show no entries under Kernel Extensions, Launch Agents, User Launch Agents, Safari Extensions, 3rd Party Preference Panes, etc. Everything that appears under those headings is there because you installed them. As I wrote it's a user's responsibility to understand the specific benefits they are intended to convey, the effects they will have, and the means of uninstalling them should they result in unacceptable performance - which was your original complaint.
It's also possible that the slowdowns are not caused by software, but given the extent to which your system has been modified, hardware failure is less likely than incompatible or poorly implemented software.
... anything that isn't officially "identified" by apple is adware?
Although OS X incorporates specific prohibitions against installing common malware, they can hardly attempt to classify specific user-installed modifications as adware. The only certain way to do that would be to prevent user-installed system modifications altogether, in the same manner as they do with iOS (iPads and iPhones).
Adware's appearance changes approximately every day. Their pathetic developers are desperate to change its appearance in an effort to continue their deceptive tactics, and a simple change of a file name precludes a reliable automated means of intercepting it. That's the reason it's incumbent upon Mac users to educate themselves about its appearance so that they are not so easily gulled into installing some junk. Gatekeeper merely helps you understand that's what you'd be doing.
Back up your Mac if you have not already done so. To learn how to to that read Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac - Apple Support.
If your Mac is momentarily unresponsive, consider the following.
Launch the Console app - it is in your Utilities folder. You can find it by selecting Utilities from the Finder's Go menu.
If the log list column on the left is not already displayed, show the log list by selecting Show Log List from Console's View menu. Select Show Toolbar if it is not already shown.
Locate system.log in the list and select it. Many date and time-stamped entries will appear, hundreds of them, and you must find the entries relevant to your Mac's problem.
To do that click the Clear Display button in the Toolbar. All previously displayed log entries will be disappear.
Next: Perform whatever actions cause the Mac to exhibit the slow behavior. If the problem is caused by errors logged by the system, the Console window will show them being recorded in system.log.
One or more of them, along with their time stamps, may reveal the reason for the problem you describe.
Copy and paste those log entries in a reply. If hundreds of the same repetitive messages appear, please edit them before posting. There should be no need for more than a few log entries.
Most of the entries will be cryptic but will contain information you might consider personal such as your Mac's name. If you do not want that information to appear, delete or obscure it when posting your reply. Leave enough information so that the entries can be deciphered.

Yosemite locks up MacBook Air then hangs on reboot

MacBook Air upgraded to Yosemite 10.10 (I think...can't login to confirm). Randomly freezes when it goes to sleep, won't allow login when I wake it up. I've tried resetting SMC, PRAM, holding SHIFT, pressing that... Nothing. I get nothing. I've read as many threads as there seem to be on the topics. Any other suggestions?
I'd also like to know if there is a simple way to get dual monitors from a MacBook Air, but nothing I've seen indicates it's possible.

Reinstalling OS X Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
Also see:
Reinstall OS X Without Erasing the Drive
OS X Yosemite- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Shutting down Macbook air

HI my new macbook air is shutting down randomly and without notice. is this something from within the computer? or do i have a virus? i just dont know what could be causing this and its new so im kinda freaking out.

Shutting down or just the screen going black? Big difference.
Either logic fault, monitor feed issue if the later. More info needed.
You need to make an appt. for free diagnostic evaluation from your local Apple store.

Kernel_task slows down MacBook Air

Every now & then my MacBook Air slow WAY down.
Activity Monitor shows that a process called kernal_task is using 144.6% of my CPU!!!
The CPU Usage graph, below, is almost all RED!
Can someone tell me what is going on?
And how to STOP it?

Refer to these threads:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2073531&tstart=50
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1696844&tstart=200
Keep after Apple to fix the issue. You may need a new logic board.
Dave M.
Check out the new remodeled MacOSG website! 24-hour Apple-related news & support.
 MacOSG: An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast  Follow us on Twitter: MacOSG

Text/Code when start and shut down MacBook Air 11.6

I just got a MacBook Air 11.6'' from the Apple store and whenever I start or shutdown, I get code/text appear on the screen for a while. I tried formatting and reinstalling OSx, but it's still there... it reads
http://lukeshepherd.com/luke/photo-3.JPG
http://lukeshepherd.com/luke/photo-5.JPG
Any ideas? I don't want to have to travel 40 miles to swap it at the Apple store.

Looks like its booting in verbose mode.
See: http://osxdaily.com/2007/03/25/always-boot-mac-os-x-in-verbose-mode/

What Would Happen if I Locked My MacBook Air?

I have been thinking what would hapen if i locked my mac.
If you know THANK YOU

This is what happens after remotely locking your Mac: When the Mac connects to a wireless network, it will restart on its own, rebooting from the Recovery partition. A prompt to enter the code you specified will appear. The Mac's contents cannot be accessed until that code is entered. Upon entering the code it will restart and the normal Login screen will appear.
Concurrently, you will receive an email informing you that your Mac has been remotely locked.

Will an Incipio hardshell case wear down MacBook Air 11" hinge?

I absolutely love the look of the Incipio hardshell cases, but a knowledgable friend told me that MBA hinges are calibrated so specifically that one can damage the hinge by adding the weight of a hardshell case.
Is this true? Obviously the hinge is affected, and it's not quite as stiff, but will it actually do damage or cause undue wear? If so, what kind of timeframe might one be looking at? Thanks in advance.

I have inCase hardshell cases on both of my Air's (11" & 13") and do not perceive any issue at all with the insignificant weight. Apple sells both Speck and inCase hardshells on their website for this purpose. I would think that if there were any significant issue, that they wouldn't.

Macbook air lock

has anyone used the silicon cover and lock?, Macbook air lock: has anyone used the silicon cover and lock?
http://www.maclocks.com/index.php/macbook-air-lock.html

I was trying to figure out how the macbracket actually worked, and this youtube video explains it better. However it does seem fiddly and would take a bit of practice to get used to it.
An alternative solution which is simpler but not as aesthetically pleasing is this macbook air combination lock.
Then of course there are the USB audio alarms, but they won't physically stop someone from running away with your precious MBA.
Would be interested to know if anyone used any of these products.

Yosemite slow on Macbook Air

Help! Seriously....
I updated to Yosemite the other day and since then my Macbook is extremely slow...
It is really annoying, especially because I have no clue what the reason could be.
I would really appreciate if anyone has an idea how to fix this.
Apple doesn´t seem to know the answer! (What a let down...)
Thank you very much for taking your time!
Some of the problems:
+ The fan is running much more often now
+ MacBook gets very warm
+ Battery drain is extremely high
+ Animations and scrolling inside OS not fluent anymore
I have already tried the following:
+ new install
+ verify disk permissions
+ SMC-Reset
+ PRAM Reset (Cmd+P+R)
Here comes my report, I really hope anyone can help me with that.
I am really disappointed of Apple... What a let down!
Problem description:
yosemite slows down macbook air
EtreCheck version: 2.0.6 (91)
Report generated 20. Oktober 2014 16:22:47 MESZ
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Air (Verified)
MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2
1 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core
8 GB RAM Not upgradeable
BANK 0/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 5000 -
Color LCD 1440 x 900
System Software: ℹ️
OS X 10.10 (14A389) - Uptime: 6:6:5
Disk Information: ℹ️
APPLE SSD SM0512F disk0 : (500,28 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
Macintosh HD (disk1) / [Startup]: 499.05 GB (172.22 GB free)
Core Storage: disk0s2 499.42 GB Online
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Configuration files: ℹ️
/etc/sysctl.conf - Exists
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] foo.tap (1.0) Support
[not loaded] foo.tun (1.0) Support
/System/Library/Extensions
[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
tap: Path: /Library/StartupItems/tap
tun: Path: /Library/StartupItems/tun
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[running] com.edb.launchd.postgresql-8.4.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
[running] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[loaded] com.redgiantsoftware.updater.plist Support
[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper ApplicationHidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox ApplicationHidden (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Porthole UNKNOWNHidden (missing value)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.09 - SDK 10.6 Support
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.09 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 71 Check version
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
AdBlock
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Growl Support
Java Support
Perian Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
     13% Folder Actions Dispatcher
      6% launchd
      5% launchservicesd
      5% coreservicesd
      4% WindowServer
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
1.33 GB Folder Actions Dispatcher
352 MB Safari
198 MB launchd
189 MB CalendarAgent
120 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
127 MB Free RAM
3.36 GB Active RAM
3.19 GB Inactive RAM
997 MB Wired RAM
2.81 GB Page-ins
36 MB Page-outs

Had the same problem, finally realized that the FileVault Encryption was struck at 19%. Speed back up to normal after I disabled FileVault using terminal command - sudo fdesetup diable
To check whether the FileVault is the culprit, go to System Preferences --> Security & Privacy --> FileVault to see if encryption is in progress.. For me the blue bar was less than a quarter with status 'estimating time remaining'..
Then open Terminal and type in: sudo fdesetup disable
It will then ask for the admin password (to be it asked twice), then it was disabled... Back to normal life again..
Here is my terminal log for reference:
Last login: Tue Oct 21 23:05:13 on console
Gowthams-MBP:~ asgowtham$ fdesetup status
FileVault is On.
Encryption in progress: Percent completed = 18.80
Gowthams-MBP:~ asgowtham$ fdesetup status
FileVault is On.
Encryption in progress: Percent completed = 18.80
Gowthams-MBP:~ asgowtham$ fdesetup status
FileVault is On.
Encryption in progress: Percent completed = 18.80
Gowthams-MBP:~ asgowtham$ sudo fdesetup disable
Password:
Enter a password for '/':
..fdes.
FileVault has been disabled.
Gowthams-MBP:~ asgowtham$ fdesetup status
FileVault is Off.

I'm signed in to my account on my macbook air's apple store, but when I try to update any apps, it has a locked in apple store user which is not mine, any help removing this?

I'm signed in to my account on my macbook air's apple store, but when I try to update any apps, it has a locked in apple store user which is not mine. I have no idea where this user came from, but I need to update my apps and get this user off my computer. The users email is locked, it is grey in colour and I can not get it off. I've tried my system settings and the app store, logging in does not change the fact that there is a strange email there. I need help, please! I don't know if this is a hack or what, I brought my computer into the shop to get some work done so it may be their account, I just need the account removed.

You installed a hacked app, originally from the Mac App Store. It contains the receipt for a different app, downloaded using an account that you don't control. You need to identify and remove the hacked app.
Important: The app you need to remove is not necessarily the one named in the App Store alert. For example, the App Store may prompt you to update "Angry Birds" or "Twitter," but the hacked app may be something else entirely. Don't make any assumptions about which app you're looking for. To find it, you must carry out a systematic search with Spotlight.
Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
kMDItemAppStoreHasReceipt=1
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
In the Finder, press command-F to open a search window, or select
File ▹ Find
from the menu bar. In the search window, select
Search: This Mac
from the row of tokens below the toolbar. Below that is a popup menu of search criteria, initially showing Kind. From that menu, select
Other...
A sheet will drop down. In that sheet, select
Raw Query
as the criterion, then click OK or press return.
Now there will be a text box to the right of the menu of search criteria. That's where you enter the raw search query. Click in that box and paste the text you copied earlier by pressing command-V.
The search window will now show all the App Store products that are installed. Compare those search results with the list of your purchases from the App Store. To see the complete list, you may need to unhide hidden purchases. If any apps were download from the App Store using other Apple ID accounts that you control, sign in to the store under each of those ID's and check the purchases.
At least one of the apps in the Spotlight search results is not among your purchases in the App Store. Move each such item to the Trash, after quitting it if it's running. You may be prompted for your administrator password. Empty the Trash.
Quit and relaunch the App Store. Test.

Locking down Macbook Air

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