Choose the USB stick and press <span class="keycap">Enter</span>. The USB stick appears as an external hard disk and might be labeled <span class="guilabel">EFI Boot</span> or <span class="guilabel">Windows</span> like in the following screenshot:
[[!img install/inc/screenshots/mac_startup_usb.png link="no" alt="Screen with the logo of an internal hard disk labeled 'Macintosh HD' and an external hard disk labelled 'Windows' (selected)"]]
To still protect your Mac from starting on untrusted external media, you can set a firmware password, available on macOS Mountain Lion or later. A firmware password prevents users who do not have the password from starting up from any media other than the designated startup disk.
<strong>If you forget your firmware password you will require an in-person service appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.</strong>