We just received several new Macs as we are converting the office over instead of going Vista, so I thought I’d share what we learned in the process.

Sure you can plug a Mac computer in, turn it on, and go online – but without the right configuration – it is not as secure and useful as it was designed.

Although better than PC products, they are still not a finished product right out-of-the-box like a CD player – they still need to be set-up and the how-to details that ought to be in a manual are missing.

The following steps will help you fill in those blanks.

Step 1: Secure your new Mac computer from online attack. Macs arrive with an important line of defense left open: firewall software to block online worms. To activate it, click the “System Preferences” icon in the dock at the bottom of the screen, click its “Security” icon, click the “Firewall” heading and then click the button next to “Set access for specific services and applications.”

Step 2: Download any available security updates. Ensure your computer has online access, then select the Apple-icon menu in the top left corner and select “Software Update.” Leave the computer alone until it installs these patches.

Step 3: Update the Adobe Flash software. Go to Adobe’s site for the latest version.

Step 4: Delete unnecessary programs. Remove the trial copies of Microsoft Office and Apple’s iWork ’08. To trash Office, open the Office 2004 folder inside the Applications folder and double-click “Remove Office.” To do the same with iWork, drag its folder from the Applications folder to the Trash.

Step 5: Make selective upgrades. Download a useful backup browser to Apple’s Safari at Mozilla Firefox browser. After you download it, drag it to the Applications folder and create a shortcut for the Dock (lower part of desktop) by opening the browser and selecting the icon in the Dock and clicking Keep in Dock.

Step 6: Only transfer what you need. Be selective when you move over your old files and settings using Mac’s Migration Assistant, don’t automatically install old programs as some may not work with the new machine’s operating system or may be the older version of software than what’s already on the machine. Try the new computer and see if you actually miss these applications. If you need drivers that let the computer talk to printers, download the latest versions from the vendor’s website not the original CD.

Step 7: Buy additional hardware. Save yourself the time and headache – buy a portable hard drive or flash drive that plugs into the computer making it easy to back-up your files. If you use a desktop machine, plugging into an uninterruptible power supply will stop you from losing work whenever the lights flicker.