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Leopard Guest User Account

TMO Quick Tip - Leopard Guest User Account

by , 7:30 AM EST, November 7th, 2007

Letting a friend or family member use your login account to "check email real quick," or do just about anything else, can lead to heart ache and pain when they accidentally delete the Real Big Projectª you were working on, or all of your email accounts. Mac OS X 10.5 helps avoid those unexpected tragedies with its Guest account.

Leopard's Guest account is a separate user account that you can let trusted people, like friends or family, use instead of giving them access to your user account -- which also gives them access to all of your files. Every time someone logs in with you guest account they get a clean Desktop and see everything as if the user was just created. When they log out, any files they created or settings they changed are wiped out, keeping the account clean and fresh for the next guest user that logs in.

Here's how to set up the Guest Account:

  • Choose Apple Menu > System Preferences to launch System Preferences.
  • Select Accounts.

  • Select the Guest Account to activate it and change settings.
  • Click Guest Account. It's in the Accounts column on the left.
  • Check Allow guests to log into this computer.

Parental controls work with the Guest account, so you can limit which applications the account can use, limit Internet access, and impose time restrictions, too. If you don't want guest users accessing shared folders, be sure to uncheck Allow guests to connect to shared folders.


Allowing guest access lets others use your Mac from a temporary account.

Your friends and family can access the Guest account from the login window just like any regular user account. If your login window shows the list of users, just select the Guest user. If the window shows the name and password fields, enter guest in the Name field. The Guest account doesn't include a password, so don't worry about entering one.

The Guest user account offers an easy and convenient way to let people use your Mac without putting your personal information and important files at risk. It does, however, include a certain element of risk since you are giving someone physical access to your computer, so be sure that you already know and trust everyone you let in front of the keyboard.


Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

if you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Guest
Subject: A nit on a typo

"... Real Big Projectâ„¢ your were working on..."

... Real Big Projectâ„¢ you were working on...

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Guest Accounts?

I've used multiple accounts in OSX since the beginning and used it in 8 or 9 when my kids were in high school. The only thing I see different here is the automation of deleting them.

Close Name:Guest
Subject:

Wow, I didn't know Vista has been out for years.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Same here

Since Mac OS X. I have always created a "guest" account along with each family member. I have also had another admin account so if things go wrong with one I have another admin account to log into to trouble shoot.

It's nice to see that the "guest" account is built in with some additional features.

As far a Vista having it "for years" - good for it. It also has icons and folders and applications that run when clicking on them. Amazing how operating systems overlap like that.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: guest accounts, differences between Win and Mac

Windows Guest Accounts do not automatically delete all info and files in the home directory. This is a crucial difference between Windows and Mac guest accounts.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: security concern

Windows has had a guess account for years and admins disabled it because it was a free user name that hackers could use to get into a machine and hack hack hack.

Is this a security vulnerability for unix too?

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