I share a MacBook with someone. Previously, that person was an admin and I was a regular user. I'm not sure how, but that person was able to access my account and reset the password for it. Or perhaps they accessed it by resetting the password. Now me and this person are both admins. Can this person access my account again without the password?
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Can an admin access another admin account?
- Thread starter TonyC28
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If your account is an admin account, the other user can't access your account without your account password, unless their account is also an admin account.
And, if you both have your accounts set as admin accounts, then each of you can change the password on the other account, and each of you can change the account level for the other account.
You don't need to know the password - all you have to do is change it (reset password in the Users & Groups pref pane)
So, you can change the other account password -- because you have an admin account!
You can also change that other account to a standard account, because you are now an admin, and the system will allow you to modify the other account.
So, if you are both admins, using the same Mac, you two need to decide if you really need to "mess around" with the other user account. That goes both ways.
Whoever is admin on a Mac has the "keys to the city"...
You two will need to agree about who has access, and also agree about not changing the settings on the other account.
If you are both admins, then that would be on the honor system.
And, if you both have your accounts set as admin accounts, then each of you can change the password on the other account, and each of you can change the account level for the other account.
You don't need to know the password - all you have to do is change it (reset password in the Users & Groups pref pane)
So, you can change the other account password -- because you have an admin account!
You can also change that other account to a standard account, because you are now an admin, and the system will allow you to modify the other account.
So, if you are both admins, using the same Mac, you two need to decide if you really need to "mess around" with the other user account. That goes both ways.
Whoever is admin on a Mac has the "keys to the city"...
You two will need to agree about who has access, and also agree about not changing the settings on the other account.
If you are both admins, then that would be on the honor system.
To add to above, and if you have an admin account and know about sudo, you can become the all powerful god of the machine, root (sudo su - root). Admin on steroids permissions (though, yeah, admin accounts have enough juice as is to snoop).
So, yeah, honor system or flip a coin on who is admin.
So, yeah, honor system or flip a coin on who is admin.
