Roommate wants access to my computer when I am not around...

[weapon]

How do I allow him access to the internet but not allow him the ability to snoop my personal files, notes, projects?

Also don't want to give him my personal password, then I would have to change it and all that hassle.

Help.

[BigGuynRusty]

OSX?
Give him his own account.
Not an Admin Account!!

BGnR

[Dick Moore]

BGnR says it all, and yet, I wouldn't do it anyway, at all. Tell him to get his own box...

[MacMagus]

Until Leopard's Guest accounts, I would have told you to tell him to F-off.

I've had roommates (and their filthy drunken friends) damage several of my computers over the years.

But Leopard gives me hope for ahole roommates all over the world.

http://www.macobserver.com/tip/2007/11/07.1.shtml

[davester]

No brainer. Do what BGnR said. Everyone at my house has their own user account on my machine. Plus, you get to watch the cool rotating cube effect when you switch users.

[weapon]

I have my mac set with a password that comes up during sleep (10 min of non use).

How does he get into his account if the screen password comes on?

If I leave after working in my admin account and my roommate wants to use his account. What stops him from just using mine instead of his? Is there a neutral position where after I am done I can place the desktop so he can only login to his account and never have access to mine?

[weapon]

I have 4 hard drives. Can I block access to them? When I switched into his account, I was able to open and see all of the files in the drives.

I don't care what he does on the internet, I just don't want prying eyes in my private files.

BTW - How do you turn off fast switching?

[RAMd®d]

weap, you log out of your account.

He chooses his account from the log in screen, enters his password, done.

You got a few options on how to set it up, but unless your roomate has some geek-fu, you can safely let him have a non-admin account, and limit access to apps as you chose.

[weapon]

I don't need to limit the apps, I need to limit his access to files in 3 of the 4 hard drives.

I have priority controlled projects, email, video and early development photos of work projects + all of the personal stuff one keeps on your home computer. It is not like I don't trust him but I don't want anything to possibly happen to a file and me have to wonder.

Keeping access limited will allow for no mistakes.

[N-OS X-tasy!]

[quote weapon]I don't need to limit the apps, I need to limit his access to files in 3 of the 4 hard drives.

I have priority controlled projects, email, video and early development photos of work projects + all of the personal stuff one keeps on your home computer. It is not like I don't trust him but I don't want anything to possibly happen to a file and me have to wonder.

Keeping access limited will allow for no mistakes.
Store the files in encrypted disk images.