The 15-minute security check for a new computer
A new laptop ships with trial software, default settings and updates already waiting. Fifteen minutes on day one sorts out what actually protects you and what is just asking for a renewal later.
A new computer arrives in a curious state. The operating system is months older than the box, a stack of updates is waiting, and there's usually a security suite preinstalled on a trial that will ask for card details within a few weeks.
The checks below take about fifteen minutes, plus however long the updates take to download. They're written mainly for Windows 11, with Mac equivalents where they differ. Do them in order — updates first, because several later steps depend on them.
Step 1: Install every waiting update
A laptop can sit in a warehouse for months, and every security fix released in that time is missing until you install it. This is the single most useful thing on the list.
- Windows 11: Settings, then Windows Update, then Check for updates. Install everything, restart, and check again — updates often arrive in rounds, and the second or third pass is common on a new machine.
- Mac: System Settings, General, Software Update.
On Windows, also look under Advanced options for Optional updates. Driver and firmware updates sometimes appear there, and firmware fixes are worth having. A manufacturer's own update utility, if preinstalled, is worth running once too.
Leave automatic updates on. Pausing them for a week is fine; turning them off permanently is not.
Step 2: Decide about the trial security suite
Many Windows laptops come with a third-party antivirus trial already running. While it's active, Microsoft Defender Antivirus — the scanner built into Windows 11 — steps back, because two real-time scanners on one machine tend to conflict.
You have two reasonable options, and it's worth choosing now rather than when the trial expires:
- Keep the trial if you've looked at what the paid version includes and genuinely want it. Note the trial end date in your calendar, and check what it will cost after the first year, because introductory prices often rise at renewal.
- Remove it if you're happy with the built-in protection. Go to Settings, Apps, Installed apps, find the suite and uninstall it. If the provider offers a dedicated removal tool on its own website, that clears leftovers more thoroughly.
Either way, open Windows Security afterwards and check that Virus & threat protection shows a scanner as active. The worst outcome is a trial that has quietly expired, still registered as your antivirus, while Defender stays switched off. If you're unsure which route suits you, whether you still need antivirus on Windows 11 goes through the trade-offs.
Step 3: Lock down the account you sign in with
On Windows 11 you'll usually be signed in with a Microsoft account; on a Mac, an Apple Account. That account now controls your files, your backups, your recovery keys and often your purchases, so it deserves more protection than the laptop itself.
- Use a unique password for it — not one you've used anywhere else.
- Turn on two-step verification in the account's security settings, ideally with an authenticator app or passkey rather than text messages alone.
- Set up Windows Hello (a PIN, fingerprint or face sign-in) under Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options. The PIN only works on this device, which makes it safer than typing your account password each time.
- Set the screen to lock after a few minutes of inactivity.
Step 4: Check encryption and save the recovery key
Encryption means that if the laptop is lost or stolen, the drive can't be read by taking it out and plugging it into another machine.
On many Windows 11 laptops, device encryption or BitLocker switches on automatically when you sign in with a Microsoft account. Check under Settings, Privacy & security, Device encryption — or search the Start menu for "BitLocker" on Pro editions. On a Mac, the equivalent is FileVault, under System Settings, Privacy & Security.
The important part is the recovery key. If encryption is on, Windows usually stores the key in your Microsoft account, and you can view it by signing in to that account on the web and looking under your devices. Confirm it's there now. A firmware update or hardware change can occasionally ask for it, and without it the data on the drive is unrecoverable. Keeping a printed or written copy somewhere safe at home is sensible.
Step 5: Set up the browser properly
Most of what you do online happens in the browser, so a few minutes here goes a long way.
- Update it — the browser's About page triggers a check.
- Remove extensions you didn't add. New machines sometimes come with manufacturer or trial extensions installed.
- Check the default search engine and homepage are what you expect.
- Block notification requests by default in site settings. Pushy notification prompts are a common route for fake virus warnings later.
- Decide where passwords live. The browser's built-in manager or a separate password manager are both far better than reusing passwords. If you're moving from an old machine, this is the moment to set one up properly.
Step 6: Two safety nets before you start using it
Turn on device location. On Windows, Settings, Privacy & security, Find my device. On a Mac, Find My in your Apple Account settings. If the laptop goes missing you can locate it, lock it or erase it remotely.
Set up a backup. Cloud sync of your Documents and Desktop folders is a good start, but it isn't a full backup — a deleted or encrypted file syncs too. An external drive with File History on Windows or Time Machine on a Mac gives you a separate copy you can roll back to. Plug it in once a week and it takes care of itself.
That's the day-one list. After that, the ongoing work is small: let updates install, and review any renewal dates once a year.