OS X now includes a built-in Firewall. The Firewall will help keep your system safe from hackers, especially on unknown networks. This video tutorial shows you how to enable the OS X application firewall and configure it for proper use.

In an earlier installment, we showed you how to download a program using the Safari web browser. In this episode, we show you how to install it into the applications folder.

Apple has done an excellent job creating a secure multi-user system in OS X. Each local user has their own folder that remains isolated from the rest of the system.

From time to time, you may need to share files between your users. This is accomplished two ways. If you need to share with a single user, you can use the Drop Box. If you want to share files between all of the users you can use the shared folder.

The following video demonstrates how to use the Finder to share files using both methods.

It’s important to keep the software on your Mac up to date. Apple releases security updates and software improvements from time to time. Some of these are critical updates that Apple recommends that you install. This process is easy if you use the Software Update application built into OSX.

When you install OSX the Software Update application is set to run weekly. The application works by going out onto the internet to Apple servers and downloading any software updates. Then, if updates are available you are presented with a dialog box requesting you to install the updates. Some of these updates may require you to reboot the computer.

To manually check for updates, click the Apple menu in the menu bar and select Software Updates. This will open the update dialog presenting you with a list of updates that are ready to install.

Software Update is configured through the System Preferences application. Select System Preferences and Software Update to configure the application settings. Through this settings dialog you can configure the frequency of updates and look at a list of installed updates in your system.

Keep your Mac healthy by running Software Update and you will have years of happy computing.

Today’s installment of Learning OS X features the application Spaces. Spaces allows you to organize your OS X desktop by grouping your applications into virtual desktops or “Spaces”. If you like to multitask then the Spaces application will help you organize your desktop into various contexts. In this example I create two Spaces, one for personal information management and one for web browsing.

Let’s begin by enabling Spaces. Click the System Preferences and select Expose and Spaces. This will open the Spaces configuration window. There are two buttons labeled Expose and Spaces. Make sure that Spaces is selected. Select the check box Enable Spaces to turn on Spaces.

The application allows you to configure a number of Spaces by adding and removing rows and columns. For this example, I will setup two Spaces.

In addition, you can assign specific applications to open on a specific Space. I am specifying Safari to open in Space two and the Address book to open in Space one.

There are keyboard shortcuts to easily switch between spaces. The default behavior that I use most frequently is the Control key plus the left and right arrows to switch between these spaces.

Close the System Preferences and try out your new Space. Open Safari and your Address book. You will see that they open on two different Spaces. Use the Control + Left Arrow and Control + Right Arrow to switch between the two Spaces.

Spaces is a great way to organize your desktop. If you have any interesting uses for Spaces tell us about it.