If you use a notebook Mac, then the risks are higher for getting your computer stolen. However, Apple has included a tool to protect your entire home folder (documents, pictures, movies, etc.) right within OS X. FileVault protects your computer against stolen data by encrypting/decrypting your home folder each time you login and logout.

To use FileVault, you must first set a Master Password. This password is a fail-safe if you forget your user login info. However, if you lose both your user login info and the master password, you will not be able to decrypt your home folder and your data (if not backed up in unencrypted form) will be lost forever. To set the master password, navigate to System Preferences > Security > FileVault > Set Master Password.

Once you have the master password set, you will be able to turn on FileVault and begin protecting your data. Click the "Turn on FileVault" button in the FileVault section of the Security preference pane. You will be asked for your master password, and a disclaimer will be displayed explaining the process. Please note that you will not be able to login to your Mac via SMB (Windows file sharing) after turning on FileVault.

FileVault provides a high level of data security, but some applications have a history of incompatibility with the feature; it's also very important that you have a secure and solid backup strategy if you choose to use FileVault. For best results with Time Machine, make sure that your FV home folder is upgraded to the Leopard image format (if you were using FV under Tiger, you may have to turn it off and back on to convert your home folder) and log out of your account periodically to allow backups to run.

More Mac 101, the TUAW answer to the unasked questions of novice Mac users. You've certainly seen the little house in your windows, but do you know who lives there? You do -- at least, your stuff does, and if Carlin said it that's enough for me.

Unlike Mac OS 9, which pretty much let you put your files and programs wherever you wanted as long as you left System and Finder inside the System Folder, Mac OS X has certain expectations regarding paths, the hierarchy of folders leading to a particular spot on your startup disk. The distinction between your personal files -- your documents, music, email, bookmarks, preferences & settings -- and everything else that helps your computer run can be stated simply: if it's in your Home folder, it's "your stuff," and if it's outside your Home folder, it's universal to the computer (or it belongs to your spouse/kids/etc.).

To get to your Home folder quickly, you can click the house icon in the sidebar of any Finder window; choose "Home" from the Go menu in the Finder, or hit Cmd-Shift-H. Once there you'll notice a few folders, including Documents, Desktop and Library. You may think "I don't like books. Why do I need a whole folder for a Library?" and be tempted to tuck it away in a "Misc" or "Stuff To Throw Out" folder. Don't be surprised, if you do, that you can no longer log into your computer -- Library has to stay exactly where it is, since it contains all your preferences and application settings. Likewise, there are some folders in Documents that have to stay put, particularly (if you use Microsoft Office) the Microsoft User Data folder.

Other than the preconfigured folders, your Home folder is pretty much yours to manage as you choose; you aren't limited to storing documents in Documents. Need a folder for Projects? Go ahead and make one (Cmd-Shift-N for a new folder), just don't get funky with the original items unless you know what you're doing.

One more tip on home folders: sometimes you'll see the notation "~/Desktop" or something similar in documentation for software, telling you where files will be installed. That "~" (it's called a tilde) is UNIX shorthand for the active user's home folder -- it expands to "/Users/myname/" when used in the Terminal, and whenever you see it you should assume it's talking about the place for your stuff.

When you download a new application, its installation process typically tells you to either drag it into your Mac's Applications folder, or it has a full-blown installer that takes care of this process for you. But who says you have to keep all your apps in the Applications folder? Many applications, from Firefox to Quicksilver and even FCP and Photoshop, can generally be run from nearly any folder on your Mac, allowing you to organize your applications any way you see fit.

Why would this matter, you ask? Well, if you're anything like me, you've built up a healthy collection of 3rd party apps that you use on a regular basis. If you want an easy way to either backup all these apps or quickly bring them all over to another Mac, you can simply keep them in a folder in your Home folder. This way, you can still use them and call them with tools like Quicksilver, OS X can still find them, and you can easily keep track of just your apps that matter most. This also saves a lot of time if you ever decide to do some serious "spring cleaning" and wipe your entire Mac.

Now, one word of caution with this tip: as a general rule, exercise care when moving around any of the big apps, as well as the apps that used a full-blown installer. I had no troubles moving the entire Photoshop CS2 folder and Final Cut Pro.app to my desktop and running them, but I have no idea if a move like that could affect the functionality of things like plugins or other addons. My personal rule of thumb (which hasn't failed me yet) is that if an app is a simple drag and drop install, it doesn't necessarily have to live in the main Applications folder.

If you've been using a similar trick like this, TUAW readers, feel free to discuss your ideas in the comments.