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Help me with an embarrassing (and dirty) question!

I

iknowgungfu

macrumors member
Original poster
Hi all,

Tickle me sheepish. But what is the best course of action to clear your tracks so that your partner won't stumble across well hidden images/movies/files etc?

I currently check the trash and clear the recent items from the apple menu. Also, check on the downloads folder.

I either use private browsing on Safari or just use Firefox and clear private data. Is there anywhere else I need to be checking? For example if viewing a movie in VLC I also have to clear the recent in that also.

There is another worry that if I am viewing photos they will somehow get picked up by iPhoto!! Although, as far as I can tell I have set iPhoto to only include what I tell it to from one particular directory.

There you have it...my dirtry little worries!! I am certain that many on here are in the same boats and I hope you can help me out 🙂
 
create a separate profile for your "partner" and be sure to log out after you use it as well as all the things you are currently doing. if your "partner" is snooping around to see what you've been looking at, you might want to work on the trust issues you have going on. or simply stop looking at porn.😀
 
load up a apple trailer in VLC that will hide previous vids in VLC if there is any..
same quick if you used that.

you could search in spotlight for images you looked names to double check

or use mainmenu to clear all you missed (caches)

but ^ has the right idea use dont look at porn.
 
OP: Clear recent items list, clear recent open lists, Safari history etc.

Or, just create a seperate user for your partner...

Or you know, come clean, see how she takes it, go from there, atleast you would be being truthful to her...
 
Cheers...funny really isn't it. TBH...she knows and we have enjoyed the occasional viewing odf certain entertainment together....Not sure she relaises just how much I may have ported over from the PC (she never saw the true stash).

Anyways....thanks for the info.

And really...Ricknroll.....not going to fall for that again.
 
Make a folder called whatever you want except put a period in front of it. So for instance:

.myporn

this will hide the folder in the finder. To open the folder open Terminal and type open /path/to/folder so if it was on your desktop it would be:

open /Users/yourshortusername/Desktop/.myporn and the folder will open in the finder in the normal way 🙂.
 
What you could do is change the permissions on the folder where you keep your "secret stuff" ^^

Just set the permissions to:
Me - Write only (Drop box)
Staff - Write only (Drop box)
Everyone - No access

And it will be accessible only when you enter the admin password and temporarily change the permissions for 'Me' to read (& write).. Plus, Spotlight won't be able to search in it..
 
Color me a prude, but I can think of a more polite way to have asked this question. Here goes:

"I have some files that I want to completely hide from other users of this computer, what do I do?"

Answer: Problems that share the same general requirements as this one were and are the raison d'etre of the user accounts system. As long as you and your wife use the same account, one day she is going to accidentally find the files. She might see them in Time Machine, a Spotlight search, a Firefox cached history, or you might accidentally forget to use Porn Mode in safari. You might just accidentally leave something open one day. You think you won't, but you will. Something is going to happen and she is going to find them. That's entropy.

Split her off into her own user account. When you make the account, enable screen saver after 5 minutes and require a password to get access back to your account. Make a hotcorner so that you can flick your mouse to the screen saver to lock the system (alternative cmd-ctrl-eject to sleep). I'd still use Porn Mode in Safari. Your FF/Safari caches and history will be secure in your home directory.

By the way, anybody who can sudo will always be able to get into your account. You must become the sudoer and reserve the password to yourself. I.E., you must be the only Administrator of the computer. This is the only secure method.

Edit: Some of these other suggestions are bad. Hidden files can still be accidentally (or intentionally) stumbled upon via various searches in Spotlight. They do nothing about your history and caches. Hidden files are a matter of convenience for the user, not a security feature. Making one of your folders into a write only directory is going to be a giant flashing beacon screaming "I'm hiding something!" And if she knows the administrator password, it's a simple matter for her to get into that.
 
Cromulent said:
Make a folder called whatever you want except put a period in front of it. So for instance:

.myporn

this will hide the folder in the finder. To open the folder open Terminal and type open /path/to/folder so if it was on your desktop it would be:

open /Users/yourshortusername/Desktop/.myporn and the folder will open in the finder in the normal way 🙂.
Click to expand...

Tried that and got this:
 

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If you are spending time at 'those' sites then the least you can do is buy your partner her own Mac for Christmas. May well be cheaper than being kicked to the kerb..
 
Ashka said:
If you are spending time at 'those' sites then the least you can do is buy your partner her own Mac for Christmas. May well be cheaper than being kicked to the kerb..
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you're a normal human who may look at prohibited content sometimes, buy your partner a mac!

..sorry what logic were you using there?

as for the OP, just delete private data/history etc for online, and hide the folder/dir via terminal for downloaded.
 
Everyone assumes the OP is a man hiding his tracks from his wife or girlfriend. Statistics would certainly indicate that, but there is no evidence from his gender-neutral post.

Yes, you can certainly cover your tracks. But everything I can think of leaves the impression that you are covering your tracks.

"You should have your own account, Honey" Reply, "Why? Are you hiding something?"
"Hi Sweetie, what's a sparseimage and why can't I get into it?"
"What keeps happening to my history? I can't find any of the sites I went to yesterday."
Ad infinitum...

Good luck with your internal security, but it all comes down to a matter of trust and communication. How close do you want to be with this person? Or is he/she just for kicks?
 
lopoz said:
What you could do is change the permissions on the folder where you keep your "secret stuff" ^^

Just set the permissions to:
Me - Write only (Drop box)
Staff - Write only (Drop box)
Everyone - No access

And it will be accessible only when you enter the admin password and temporarily change the permissions for 'Me' to read (& write).. Plus, Spotlight won't be able to search in it..
Click to expand...
Too complicated!

Just make an encrypted DMG file.

Mount it when you want to browse and watch the delicates. Unmount when not needed.

If the volume is not mounted, Spotlight will not find anything.

Also, if you shut down or restart your computer, you have automatic protection as long as you do not have the volume auto mount and don't have your keychain remember the password. 🙂
 
sushi said:
Too complicated!

Just make an encrypted DMG file.

Mount it when you want to browse and watch the delicates. Unmount when not needed.

If the volume is not mounted, Spotlight will not find anything.

Also, if you shut down or restart your computer, you have automatic protection as long as you do not have the volume auto mount and don't have your keychain remember the password. 🙂
Click to expand...

Either this or a separate user really seem like the easiest ways.
 
Again, if you create an encrypted dmg (sparseimage) or another user account, either of those should be enough to arouse suspicion that you are hiding something. Of course, that assumes the partner isn't an airhead.
 
And you assumed it was a guy.
Click to expand...
Well duh--said individual was asking about how to conceal a "pr0n" stash, so 'nuff said. I suppose if you really wanted to hide something like a proper amateur secret-agent man, then I you could do the following:

First put on your handy tin-foil hat, it's essential when operating with this level of paranoia. Then get a flash card, put a bunch of random distractor files on it, but have one of those files actually be a truecrypt encrypted 'hidden volume.' Not only can you use 256bit Twofish encryption (as opposed to the government-crackable AES), but you can make an encrypted volume with two passwords, each leading to separate "sub-volumes" for plausible deniability in case you are tortured and forced to surrender the encryption key. Don't forget to take off the tinfoil hat when you are done 😉. Now this is how Jack Bauer would hide his porn.
 
iknowgungfu said:
Cheers...funny really isn't it. TBH...she knows and we have enjoyed the occasional viewing odf certain entertainment together....Not sure she relaises just how much I may have ported over from the PC (she never saw the true stash).

Anyways....thanks for the info.

And really...Ricknroll.....not going to fall for that again.
Click to expand...

if she knows then why do you need to hide it?
 
Really, though. Who downloads porn any more? We have YouTube equivalents for porn! Just put Safari in Private Browsing mode, surf your porn, put it back.
 
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