What if a thief unchecks the Find My Mac box in iCloud? Doesn't that make it useless?

Maybe I'm totally missing this, but if a thief grabs my macbook and quickly unchecks the Find My Mac box in the iCloud settings, doesn't that render it useless? I wasn't able to find a way to put a security setting on that section of preferences.

Requiring a passcode to turn off wouldn't be much use. Every electronic device needs a hardware reset function in case the software crashes badly.
So, even if you could prevent the power off in software (by requiring a passcode), you'd only need to perform a hardware reset to bypass it.

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TS4006 What's to keep someone from just unchecking the "Find my mac" button?

There is no lock for the "Find my Mac" option, so what's to keep a person that steals my computer from just unchecking the box?

This issue here is on the Mac, not an iPhone pvonk.
I would sooner try to keep a thief from my data first which can also help keep them out of the settings. First steps is to set your Mac to not "Automatically Login" in System Preferences/Users and Groups/Login Options. There are also settings in Security & Privacy/General for requiring the User's password when the computer sleeps or enters a screen saver.
If they can't log in to your system they can't change settings. But you are correct in thinking there should be a lock in the iCloud Preferences Pane. Send Apple Feedback a note. http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Find My Mac problems after icloud activation

Has anyone else had the following problem.
In the icloud system preferences it will not allow me to tick the (find my mac) box.
It is giving the following message.
FIND MY MAC REQUIRES A RECOVERY PARTITION.
Some configurations, such as software or hardware raid, do not support a recovery partition and can't be used with find my mac.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Ash

I created a partition and it seemed to sort it out.

What happened to Slideshows from the finder?

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David

Choose Computer from the Finder's Go menu.
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In the iCloud preferences, there is a message asking for software update to use the "find my mac" option. However, my mac is updated. What should i do?

In the iCloud preferences, there is a message asking for software update to use the "find my mac" option. However, my mac is updated. What should i do?

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Could I still use the "find my mac"-app if I downgraded from OSX Lion to Snow Leopard?

In the beginning of 2012, I had the great misfortune of getting robbed and all my recording equipment was stolen, including my macbook pro 17" running on OSX Snow Leopard. I was able to buy a new macbook, same as the old one, but with the OSX Lion. It didn't take long before I noticed that it wasn't running as smooth as the previous OSX. At first I thougt it was the hardware; Steve Jobs had just died and I thought the people at Apple felt like they could finally ditch the high standards that were once enforced upon them and go Windows on our *****. But I soon learned it was the software. After re-purchasing my recording-software and trying and failing to install it, time after time, I got to a point where I just wanted to smash the whole thing and throw it out the window... Fortunately I managed to get a hold of myself. Now, I still want to get rid of the osx Lion and downgrade, but I don't want to have my stuff stolen again at some point and then find out that not only will Apple not pay out the insurance I payed for, but also I can't find my macbook anywhere, because I don't have this stupid application anymore because I downgraded. So, I was wondering if there's any chance to have the best of both worlds. (or the best of one world and then just the other/previous world) The only thing that's good about Lion is the "find my mac"-app. All the rest utterly ***** ***!!
Sincerelly,
a very disgruntled mac-user.

"Find my Mac" is an OS X Lion feature and is not available in Snow Leopard. So if you want Find My Mac in yor MacBook Pro you'll be stuck to OS X Lion.
I don't know what else to tell you other than consider buying Lo-Jack for laptops.
Hope this helps!

Can't type anything into the Finder's search box after installing Leopard

I installed Leopard today. I cannot type into the Finder's search box, although I can type into Spotlight's search box. Any ideas on why and what I can do to fix the problem. Please and thanks for any helpful advice.
Jamie

Same problem but intermittently. Bought mac with leopard. Thought first that this was related to the "frozen keyboard" problem, but seems to be different.

What software is recommended for the maintenance of mac?

What software is recommended for the maintenance of mac?

How to maintain a Mac
1. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times. One backup is not enough. Don’t back up your backups; all should be made directly from the original data. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
2. Keep your software up to date. In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.
Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of trouble with system updates.
3. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
The more heavily promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.
As a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for, and doesn't change the way other software works.
Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception to the above rule. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.
4. Beware of malware. Malware is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X used to be so rare that it was hardly a concern, but it's now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous.
There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it — the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness — not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.
In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
5. Don't fill up your boot volume. A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a boot failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem.
While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage use and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
If storage space is running low, use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.
6. Relax, don’t do it. Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
Let go of the Windows mentality that every computer needs regular downtime maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform. The machine should not be a focus of your attention. You shouldn't have to think about it at all. It should be a transparent, almost unnoticeable tool by means of which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a computer that depends on you to keep going, use a PC.
The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

My Mac has been stolen, but I have my iCloud account setup. The "find my mac" app has found the apartment block it's in, but I need an IP address. Is there a way to see the IP address of my Mac through iCloud?

My Mac has been stolen, but I have my iCloud account setup. The "find my mac" app has found the apartment block it's in, but I need an IP address for the police to go and claim it. Is there a way to see the IP address of my Mac through iCloud? I've tried to get the IP address through Gmail and Dropbox but no success. Is there any software that updates automatically that I could find the IP address through?

Shouldn't the IP address be on the box you bought the machine in? If you have the box, take it to the police as evidence that it's your machine. If I were you, I would set the firmware password when you get it back, but make sure you have the password written down in a safe place. If you forget it, there's only two ways to reset it. Either pay $400+ for the tool that can do it, or pay almost nothing for Apple to do it, I think it depends on where you live. The firmware password is this encrypted password and it can't be hacked either. The password prevents anyone from booting the machine into recovery mode, thus preventing them from restoring the computer to factory settings or performing any other functions. It's not stored in the hard drive so replacing that will be of no use either.
I hope you get your Mac back and I hope this was helpful!

I am trying to stream via ESPNWatch but I get a message saying I have a popup blocker that does not allow the streaming to happen. I unchecked the pop up blocker box in the Safari preferences to no avail. Any ideas?

I am trying to stream via ESPNWatch but I get a message saying I have a popup blocker that does not allow the streaming to happen. I unchecked the pop up blocker box in the Safari preferences to no avail. Any ideas?

Might be a Safari extension...
From your Safari menu bar click Safari > Preferences then select the Extensions tab.
If there are any extensions installed, turn that OFF, then quit and relaunch Safari to test.

How can I edit the Find my Mac Application

I have just added the find my Mac application/ feature for my Mac Book Pro,
and there is no name for it

It's not a stand alone application; it is part of iCloud - you should be able to find it in the iCloud Pane in System Preferences. Here is some info on it:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20122799-263/about-data-security-with-safar i-only-mode-in-os-x-lion/
P.S. Edit: I just saw you profile - you are on 10.6.7?? You need Lion to have iCloud.

I have multiple macs yet I only see one mac listed. How do I add another mac to the cloud account and have the find my mac enabled?

I have more than one mac. I have moved my account to iCloud but I cannot seem to enable the Find my Mac to recognize the second mac. Any ideas as to how to accomplish this?

Welcome to the Apple community.
Every Mac that you wish to appear in the listings for "find my Mac/phone" must be logged into the same iCloud account and have "find my Mac" enabled in system preferences> iCloud.

Trying to restore my iphone 5c, but it says i have to turn off the 'find my phone' option in icloud. when i try, it brings up the wrong apple id. I reset it under itunes

Trying to restore my iphone 5c, but it says i have to turn off the 'find my phone' option in icloud. when i try, it brings up the wrong apple id. I reset it under itunes & app store in settings but still not working...frustrated!

Open iTunes on computer, connect iPhone to computer with USB Cable, hold both home and power buttons for about 20 seconds until iTunes recognizes iPhone in Recovery Mode, click Restore button of iTunes on computer.

My mac is running 10.7.2 and wondering why the "find my mac" feature is not working. Instead, it says I need to system upgrade requires.. I believe it's already upgraded together with the 10.7.2

My mac is running 10.7.2 and wondering why the "find my mac" feature is not working. Instead, it says I need to system upgrade requires.. I believe it's already upgraded together with the 10.7.2

i get the spinning beach ball in all of my applications
have a look at this article: Troubleshoot the spinning beach ball

Where is my Mac App. I purchased a MacBook Pro about two years ago while in Okinawa. I recently moved to St Louis. When using the "find my Mac" app, it still says my Mac is located in Okinawa. How do I get it to recognize that it is now in St. Louis?

I purchased my MacBook Pro 2 years ago in Okinawa. I recently moved to St Louis. When using the "find my Mac" App, it still says my Mac is in Okinawa. How do I get it to accurately show my Mac is now in St Louis?

Open System Preferences using the menu item " > System Preferences" then select the "Security & Privacy" pane. selec the "Location Services" on the left and enable using the checkbox:
Just noticed you details show you are running OS X 10.7.5 so I am not sure this is exactly correct.

What if a thief unchecks the Find My Mac box in iCloud? Doesn't that make it useless?

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