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3. In the Name text box, type the name that you want to display for this account. Press Tab to move to the next field. Tiger displays this name on the Login screen, so behave! 4. Tiger automatically generates the user’s short name (for use in iChat, and for naming the user’s Home folder), but you can type a new one if you want. (No spaces, please.) Then press Tab. 5. In the Password text box, type the password for the new account. Press Tab to move to the next field. Run out of password ideas? No problem! Click the key button to display the new Password Assistant, from which Tiger can automatically gener- ate password suggestions of the length you specify. After you generate the password you want, press Ô+C to copy the password, click in the Password text box on the new user sheet, and then press Ô+V to paste it. 6. In the Verify text box, retype the password you chose. Press Tab again to continue your quest. 7. Tiger can provide a password hint after three unsuccessful login attempts. To offer a hint, type a short question in the Password Hint text box. From a security standpoint, password hints are taboo. (I never use ’em. If someone is having a problem logging in to a computer I administer, you better believe I want to know why.) Therefore, I strongly recommend that you skip this field — and if you do offer a hint, keep it vague! Avoid hints like, “Your password is the name of the Wookie in Star Wars.” Geez. Figure 16-2: Fill out those fields, and you have a new user. 253 Chapter 16: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 253 8. Decide the account level status. If you want the standard level account, do not select the Allow User to Administer This Computer check box. If you want the administrator level, select the check box. You should have only one or two admin accounts, and your account is already an admin account. 9. Click the Create Account button. You’ll note that the new account shows up in the list at the left of the Accounts pane. Each user’s Home folder has the same default subfolders, including Movies, Music, Pictures, Sites, and such. A user can create new subfolders within his or her Home folder at any time. Here’s one more neat fact about a user’s Home folder: No matter what the account level, most of the contents of a Home folder can’t be viewed by other users. (Yes, that includes admin-level users. This way, everyone using your laptop gets his or her own little area of privacy.) Within the Home folder, only the Sites and Public folders can be accessed by other users — and only in a limited fashion. More on these folders later in this chapter. Tweaking existing user accounts Next, you consider the basic modifications you can make to a user account, such as changing existing information or selecting a new picture to represent that user’s unique personality. To edit an existing account, log in with your admin account, display the System Preferences window, and click Accounts to display the account list. Then, follow these steps: 1. Click the account that you want to change. Don’t forget to unlock the Accounts pane if necessary. See the earlier section, “Adding a new user account,” to read how. 2. Edit the settings you want to change. For example, you can reset the user’s password or (if absolutely neces- sary) upgrade the account to Admin level. 3. Click the Picture tab, and then click a thumbnail image to represent this user (as shown in Figure 16-3). An easy way to get an image is to use one from your hard drive: a. Click the Edit button and drag a new image from a Finder window into the Images well (the sunken-looking square). 254 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 254 Alternatively, you can click the Snapshot button (which bears a tiny camera) to grab a picture from your iSight video camera. b. Click Set to return to the Accounts pane. Tiger displays this image in the Login list next to the account name. 4. When everything is correct, press Ô+Q to close the System Preferences dialog box. Standard-level users have some control over their accounts — they’re not helpless, y’know. Standard users can log in, open System Preferences, and click Accounts to change the account password or picture, as well as the card marked as theirs in the Address Book. All standard users can also set up login items, which I cover later in this chapter. Note, however, that managed users might not have access to System Preferences, so they can’t make changes. Deleting accounts Not all user accounts last forever. Students graduate, co-workers quit, kids move out of the house (at last!), and Bob might even find a significant other who has a faster cable modem. We can only hope. Figure 16-3: Sometimes it’s a challenge to choose the image that best represents a user. 255 Chapter 16: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 255 Anyway, no matter what the reason, you can delete a user account at any time. Log in with your admin account, display the Accounts pane in System Preferences, and then follow these steps to eradicate an account: 1. Click the account that you want to delete. 2. Click the Delete User button (which bears the Minus Sign of Doom). Tiger displays a confirmation sheet, as shown in Figure 16-4. By default, the contents of the user’s Home folder are saved in a file in the Deleted Users folder when you click OK. (This safety is a good idea if the user might return in the future, allowing you to retrieve his or her old stuff — however, this option is available only if you have enough space on your hard drive to create the Home folder file.) 3. To clean up completely, click the Delete Immediately button. Tiger wipes everything connected with the user account off your hard drive. 4. Press Ô+Q to close the System Preferences dialog box. Time once again for a Mark’s Maxim: Always delete unnecessary user accounts. Otherwise, you’re leaving holes in your Mac’s security. Assigning login items and parental controls Every account on your laptop can be customized. Understandably, some set- tings are accessible only to admin-level accounts, and others can be adjusted by standard-level accounts. In this section, I introduce you to the things that can be enabled (or disabled) within a user account. Figure 16-4: This is your last chance to save the stuff from a deleted user account. 256 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 256 Automating with login items Login items are applications or documents that can be set to launch or load automatically as soon as a specific user logs in — for example, Apple Mail or Address Book. In fact, a user must be logged in to add or remove login items. Even an admin-level account can’t change the login items for another user. A user must have access to the Accounts pane in the System Preferences window to use login items. As you can read in the following section, a user can be locked out of System Preferences, which makes it impossible for login items to be specified for that account. (Go figure.) To set login items for your account, follow these steps: 1. Click the System Preferences icon on the dock, and then click the Accounts icon. 2. Click the Login Items tab to display the settings shown in Figure 16-5. 3. Click the Add button (with the plus sign) to display a file selection sheet. 4. Navigate to the application you want to launch each time you login, click it to select it, and then click Add. If you’re in the mood to drag-and-drop, just drag the applications you want to add from a Finder window and drop them directly into the list. 5. Press Ô+Q to quit System Preferences and save your changes. Figure 16-5: Add apps to your login items list. 257 Chapter 16: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 257 Login items are launched in the order they appear in the list, so feel free to drag the items into any order you like. Managing access settings for an account A standard-level account with restrictions is a managed account. (You can read about these earlier in this chapter.) With these accounts, you can restrict access to many different places in Tiger and your Mac’s applications using parental controls. (Naturally, admin-level accounts don’t need parental controls because an admin account has no restrictions.) In short, parental controls come in handy in preventing users — family mem- bers, students, co-workers, friends, or the public at large — from damaging your computer, your software, or Tiger itself. If an account has been restricted with parental controls, the account description changes from Standard to Managed in the Accounts list. To display the parental controls for a standard account, log in with an admin- level account, open System Preferences, and click Accounts. Click the Standard account in the list and then click the Parental Controls tab to dis- play the categories you see in Figure 16-6: ߜ Mail: From this category, you can specify “good” (read that “trusted” and “nice”) e-mail addresses with which this user can exchange mail. ߜ Finder & System: Choose this category to specify what operating system features the user can access (including the System Preferences window itself). You can also switch an account to use Simple Finder, which I explain in a moment. If you’re adding an account that will be shared among many people, I especially recommend disabling the Change Password check box. Disable this option, and your generic student or public access account keeps the same password no matter who uses it. ߜ iChat: Select this category to specify the admin-approved instant mes- saging accounts with which this user can chat. ߜ Safari: Selecting this check box simply turns on site access controls in Safari. (To actually specify “good” sites that the user can visit, you have to log in as the user and launch Safari.) To restrict one or more features or functions in a category, mark the corre- sponding check box to enable it, and then click the Configure button to select the restrictions. (Mail displays the Configure sheet automatically. There’s always gotta be an exception.) For the ultimate in restrictive Tiger environments — think public access or kiosk mode — you can assign the Simple Finder to an account, as shown in Figure 16-7. Even the dock itself is restricted, sporting only the Finder icon, the trash, Dashboard, and folders that allow the user to access his or her documents and applications. 258 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 258 Figure 16-7: The Simple Finder is pretty doggone simple. Figure 16-6: You don’t have to be a parent to assign Parental Controls! 259 Chapter 16: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 259 Mundane Chores for the Multiuser Laptop After you’re hip on user accounts and the changes you can make to them, turn to a number of topics that affect all users of your laptop — things such as how they’ll log in, how a user can share information with everyone else on the computer, and how each user account can be protected from unscrupu- lous outsiders with state-of-the-art encryption. (Suddenly you’re James Bond! I told you Tiger would open new doors for you.) Logging on and off in Tiger For Dummies Hey, how about the login screen itself? How do your users identify them- selves? Time for another of my “Shortest books in the For Dummies series” special editions. (The title’s practically longer than the entire book.) Tiger offers four methods of logging folks into your multiuser Mac laptop: ߜ The username and password login: This is the most secure type of login screen you’ll see in Tiger because you have to type your account username and your password. (A typical hacker isn’t going to know all the usernames on your Mac.) Press Return or click the Log In button to complete the process. When you enter your username and password, you see bullets instead of your password to ensure security. Otherwise, someone could simply look over your shoulder and see your password. ߜ The list login: This login screen offers a good middle of the road between security and convenience. Click your account username in the list and type your password when the login screen displays the pass- word prompt. Press Return or click the Log In button to continue. ߜ Fast User Switching: This feature allows another user to sit down and log in while the previous user’s applications are still running in the back- ground. This is perfect for a fast e-mail check or a scan of your eBay bids without forcing someone else completely off the laptop. When you turn on Fast User Switching, Tiger displays the currently active user’s name on the right side of the Finder menu bar (see Figure 16-8). To switch to another account: a. Click the current user’s name in the Finder menu. b. Click the name of the user who wants to log in. Tiger displays the login window, just as if the Mac had been rebooted. 260 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 260 The previous user’s stuff is still running, so you definitely shouldn’t reboot or shut down the laptop! To switch back to the previous user: a. Click the user name again in the Finder menu. b. Click the previous user’s name. For security, Tiger prompts you for that account’s login password. ߜ Auto login: This is the most convenient method of logging in but offers no security whatsoever. Tiger automatically logs in to the specified account when you start or reboot your Mac. I strongly recommend that you use auto login only if • Your laptop is in a secure location (complete with a cable lock, as covered in Chapter 1). • You are the only one using your Mac. • You’re setting up a public-access laptop, in which case you want your Mac to immediately log in with the public account. Never set an admin-level account as the auto login account. This is the very definition of ASDI, or A Supremely Dumb Idea. Nothing quite like a stolen laptop with no security, I always say! Figure 16-8: The Fast User Switching menu, unfurled for all to see. 261 Chapter 16: Your Laptop Goes Multiuser 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 261 To set up a username/password or list login, open System Preferences, click the Accounts icon, and then display the Login Options settings (see Figure 16-9). Select the List of Users radio button for a list login screen, or select the Name and Password radio button to require your users to type their full user- name and password. To enable Fast User Switching, select the Enable Fast User Switching check box. To set Auto Login, select the Automatically Log in As check box. Click the account name pop-up menu and choose the account that Tiger should use (as shown by the now-legendary Figure 16-9). Logging out of Tiger all the way (without Fast User Switching) is a cinch. Just click the Apple menu (Ú) and then choose Log Out. (Or from the keyboard, press Ô+Shift+Q.) A confirmation dialog box appears that will automatically log you off in two minutes, but don’t forget that if someone walks up and clicks Cancel, he or she will be using your laptop with your account! Your Mac returns to the login screen, ready for its next victim. Heed this Mark’s Maxim: Figure 16-9: Configure your login settings from the Login Options pane. 262 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_04859X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 262 [...]... cover the wireless Bluetooth connections that you can make with other devices besides computers  288 Part V: Sharing Access and Information Bluetooth: Silly Name for Cool Technology Originally, wireless computer connections were limited to IR (short for infrared) and 80 2.11b (the original Wi-Fi specification for wireless Ethernet networks) This was fine — after all, what were you gonna connect to your... and then click OK to open the default ports for that application ߜ If the application isn’t listed, click Other and type the TCP port and UDP port listed in the application’s documentation Click OK to open the ports you specified 285 286 Part V: Sharing Access and Information Chapter 18 Making Friends with Wireless Devices In This Chapter ᮣ Using Bluetooth for wireless connections ᮣ Adding wireless... standard 80 2.11b/g hardware 275 276 Part V: Sharing Access and Information To read or print the latest version of this procedure, fire up Safari and visit www.apple.com/support/ — search for the number 106250 (the Apple Knowledge Base article number) This article provides the details on how to convert a standard wireless encrypted password to a format that your AirPort card can understand What Do I Need for. .. All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, [Wiley] It’s about 80 0 pages long — hence the comprehensive angle.) If you’re connecting to an existing network, tell the network administrator that you’re taking the easy route and using DHCP One word of warning, however: Adding more than one DHCP server on a single network causes a civil war, and your system will lock up tight Therefore, before adding hardware with... You can use some PC-compatible 80 2.11g cards in your Mac laptop, but not all wireless cards are supported Plus, you’ll have to do a little additional configuration dancing to join an AirPort Extreme network (Unfortunately, the passwords used by the two types of hardware are incompatible.) For the whole story, visit www.apple.com/support/ and search for article number 10 686 4, entitled “AirPort Extreme:... your wireless network The 80 2.11g standard used by the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express base stations delivers a connection that’s several times faster than the old AirPort base station’s 80 2.11b Table 17-2 Apple Wireless Network Base Stations Feature AirPort Extreme AirPort Express AirPort Price $200 $130 $80 (used) Users (maximum) 50 10 50 80 2.11g support Yes Yes No 80 2.11b support Yes Yes Yes... the details you need to know to get your new MacBook or MacBook Pro hooked up to a new (or an existing) network If you have just your Mac and an Internet connection (either through a dialup modem or a high-speed DSL/cable modem) and you have no plans to add another computer or a network printer, a network isn’t necessary 2 68 Part V: Sharing Access and Information What exactly is the network advantage?... agreement with your ISP I’ve never heard of this happening, but if you want to be sure, contact your ISP and ask the good folks there 281 282 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 6 Click OK in the warning dialog box to continue 7 Click Start to enable Internet sharing 8 Click the Close button to exit System Preferences Sharing an Internet connection wirelessly (without an Internet router or a dedicated... in the address with your username: http://127.0.0.1/~username/ 283 284 Part V: Sharing Access and Information To add pages to your Web server, navigate to the Sites folder that resides in your Home folder Because this is the root of your Apache Web server, the files that you add to this folder are accessible from your Web server Don’t forget that folks connecting to your Web site across the Internet... network ports for the other computers in your network They typically come in 4- and 8- port configurations As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, most Internet routers (sometimes called Internet sharing devices) include a built-in hub or switch, so if you’ve already invested in an Internet router, make doggone sure that it doesn’t come equipped with the ports you need before you go shopping for a hub or . doors for you.) Logging on and off in Tiger For Dummies Hey, how about the login screen itself? How do your users identify them- selves? Time for another of my “Shortest books in the For Dummies. user to access his or her documents and applications. 2 58 Part V: Sharing Access and Information 24_0 485 9X ch16.qxp 7/20/06 10:39 PM Page 2 58 Figure 16-7: The Simple Finder is pretty doggone simple. Figure. for this account. Press Tab to move to the next field. Tiger displays this name on the Login screen, so behave! 4. Tiger automatically generates the user’s short name (for use in iChat, and for