1) Do you think I should log in/log out of my account when I startup my Mac and shut it down? I find it annoying, and since I'm the only user.
I've taken to setting/enabling "Require password for for sleep and screen saver" under Security & Privacy in System Preferences. There are a number of time frames which one can choose; I chose "after 1 hour". I don't find that it's all that inconvenient. And it would foil "drive-by" thieves.
I've also disabled automatic login.
