CS101: Computing Technology and You
CS101: Computing Technology and You

MACINTOSH, WINDOWS, AND CHROMEBOOK SECURITY LAB

Part 1: Learn how to secure Macintosh, Windows, and Chromebook computers.
Today it is vitally important to know how to secure your personal computer.  Cyber criminals are numerous and their ability to infiltrate your computer grows everyday.   They are constantly devising new ways to hijack your computer and capture your personal information.  Contrary to popular belief, you are not safe with anti-virus software alone. Your computer needs multiple layers of security.  Using these instructions you will learn how to make your computer much more secure with no out of pocket expense.

Different types of computers have different ways they must be secured.  Below are links to directions on how to secure different types of computers.  To figure out which directions are relevant to you first you must determine the version of operating system your computer is running.

If you have a Macintosh computer you can find our what version of the Macintosh operating system you are running by selecting Apple menu > About This Mac and a window will open as shown below:

Apple system info 


When the About This Mac dialog box opens you will see the version of the operating system just below the text macOS.  For instance, in the About This Mac dialog box above the operating version is Ventura 13.0  The first two numbers of the Macintosh operating system version denote which major version of the operating system the computer is running.  The last number shows how many updates have been installed.  In the About This Mac dialog box above the major operating version is 10.15 and there have been 7 major updates installed.

To find out what version of the Windows operating system you are running do one of the following:

For Windows 11 click the Start menu > Settings > System Display, notifications, apps, power > About and then the following window will open:

Windows 11 Info

For Windows 10 click the Start menu > Settings > System Display, notifications, apps, power > About and then the following window will open:

Windows 10 System Info



When any of the above System dialog box opens you will see the version of the operating system just below the text Windows edition.  For instance, in the System dialog box above the operating version is Windows 10 Education.  In the same window you may also want to check if your System type: is a 32-bit Operating System or 64-bit Operating System (as is the case in the example above) as some software has you download either a 32 bit or 64 bit version.

To find your version of Chromebook follow the directions on this link: How to check your Chromebook OS version:
How to See Which Version of Chrome OS is on Your Chromebook.

Now that you know which version of the operating system you are running select the appropriate link below to learn how to secure our computer:

Macintosh:
  • Apple usually supports the last three versions of its operating system.  The current version is 12, therefore, it is suggested you should be currently running either 11, 12, or 13 as earlier versions of the macOS are no longer supported by Apple.
Windows:
Chromebook:
  • Chromebook's currently will automatically upgrade you to the latest operating system.  Once you receive a message that you will no longer be getting security updates you can no longer keep your Chromebook secure.  To secure your Chromebook click on the following link: