Password to access Apple Mail

[cbbowling]

Hey guys,

I have setup gmail thru pop to come into my Apple Mail app and its working fine. My question is: Is there a way to require a password in order to open the Mail application. I know I can take out the password for the server requiring it to be entered before retrieving new mail, but all my old mail is still accessable to anyone using my computer (which I dont like).

Surely, there is a way to authenticate the user before opening even the old mail, right?

 

[firestarter]

The best way to manage mail security is to just set up a new guest account on your Mac. That way someone else using your computer can log in as guest, and not have access to your mail or your files.

 

[cbbowling]

understood...but say I leave my computer open accidently and someone decides they want to look at my mail .... any way to prevent that? other than screen savers, ect....

 

[wrldwzrd89]

understood...but say I leave my computer open accidently and someone decides they want to look at my mail .... any way to prevent that? other than screen savers, ect....

There really isn't a good solution for what you're trying to do. I know exactly what you mean, though... and I agree with you, the Mac OS doesn't do as well as it could in this area.

 

[cbbowling]

OK, Thank you guys.

 

[Tallest Skil]

It's not elegant at all, and it's far too prohibitive to allow your account to be useful, but you can make another administrator account, log into that, disallow your account administrator access, put parental controls on your account, disallow your account access to Mail, and then when you try to open Mail in your account, it will ask for your password. There!

Only problem is, you won't be able to do administrativoricalally things from your account.

 

[firestarter]

No there isn't.

Well... the only real way would be to not download your mail in the first place. Just access using the gmail web screens / hotmail / yahoo whatever.

Even if Mail did have a startup password - realise that all your mail is stored as text documents on the hard drive, and is indexed using spotlight (hit cmd-space and search for something, you'll find a load of emails are found).

Use the security system preference to log you out automatically when the screensaver comes on, or the computer sleeps.

 

[cbbowling]

interesting option....i remember bypassing the option to set up a mac.com email address when i went thru registration.....how do i get back to that?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

interesting option....i remember bypassing the option to set up a mac.com email address when i went thru registration.....how do i get back to that?

Trust me, you don't want to do this. Instead, if you want to create (or remove) a Mail account, just go to Mail's Preferences then click Accounts.

 

[firestarter]

interesting option....i remember bypassing the option to set up a mac.com email address when i went thru registration.....how do i get back to that?

If you want to read your email online instead of using the Mail app I'd recommend gmail over mac.com:

• It's free
• It can collect email from other accounts too
• It has decent spam filtering