The Mincey household has teenagers. And those teenagers bring other teenagers into the house. The Mincey household also has Macs lying around all over the place. Unattended Macs. Macs with important files, special apps, photos, music, documents, movies. How do you keep what’s on your Mac safe from prying eyes and stick fingers? How do I loathe intruders? Let me count the ways.
Basic precautions are in order for a Mac user with a Mac full of important anything in a household where people come and go at all hours of the day.
Blocking Is Basic To The Game
Above all else, password protecting a Mac, and preventing automatic login, is essential. Prying eyes and sticky fingers won’t do much if they can’t do much.
Beyond the basics of password protection, Jeffrey has added another layer to the Macs that seem to be used the most.
App control with Mac App Blocker.
There’s no perfect way to keep a Mac’s files safe, but deterrence does work. Mac App Blocker lets you add a password to each app on your Mac.
Anyone who gets by the login ID still needs a password to use an app. Plus, Mac App Blocker keeps track of when someone tries to use an app without authorization and takes a photo (on iSight equipped Macs).
The app itself doesn’t do anything tricky, like mess with system files. Delete the app from your Mac and everything is back to unlocked status.
It also has a timeout setting for open apps that you’ve set up and entered a password to use, but walked away from your unlocked Mac for awhile.
This isn’t a perfect solution, but as a few extra layers of clothing keep you warmer on a cold day, an extra layer of protection added to the home or office Mac makes you feel a little more secure when family members bring home friends and you don’t know much about their intentions.