Turning on Mac OS X Firewall

An Internet firewall is a piece of software or hardware that helps screen out hackers, viruses and worms that try to reach your computer over the Internet. Installing a firewall is the most effective and important first step you can take to help protect your computer. It is important to have a firewall and antivirus software turned on before you connect to the Internet.

If you're using Mac OS X (10.2 or later), you have a built-in firewall that offers significant protection for your computer. However for it to work you will need to enable it.

To check to see if it's running:

1. Click on the Apple Menu and go to System Preferences
   
2. In the system preferences panel click on the Sharing control panel icon:
   
3. Click on the Firewall tab
4. Click the Start button if the firewall is off
   
5. You can choose to allow certain services to go through the firewall, only allow services you know you will be using. This is the most secure option.
6. When you are finished go up to the system preferences menu and then quit.