Questions about multiple users and restricting access in OS9.2.1

[thomasp]

Hi,

I hope this is posted in the correct place, since there is no obvious OS9 forum

I have a G3 iMac (350MHz, 768Mb RAM) running OS 9.2.1 and three people wanting to use it (including myself). However, I don't want everyone to have access to everyone else's applications and files/folders.

What is the easiest way to set up three user accounts (one as an admin, two as a "user") and restrict the standard "user" accounts to certain folders on the hard disc? By this, I mean that "User 1" won't be able to open "User 2"'s or "Admin"'s folders, but User 1 could open a global folder (which everyone has access to) and their own folder (which user 2 doesn't have access to).

Also, is it possible to restrict applications that each user can open, in a similar way to the folders?

Outlook Express 5.02 is installed on the iMac, and each user has an e-mail account. What is the easiest way to prevent users from seeing each other's e-mails, and accessing the other users' e-mail accounts?

Finally, is it possible to have a login window at startup?


Thanks for your help.

If I haven't been clear enough or you are not sure what I want, please ask

 

[Makosuke]

Basically, you can't. OS9 has some multi-user features built in, and you might (it's been a long time) be able to use those to seperate basic account functions, but the Classic MacOS was never designed with a permissions or security system in place, and there's just not much you can do to protect one user's files from another.

That said, you have a whole lot of RAM in that old Mac, so why not just dig up a copy of OSX for it? It won't run fast, but it'll supply the security you need and let you run more modern web browsers (Camino, Firefox, etc, instead of the old Mozilla and Opera versions you're restricted to on OS9).

If you want to stay "legit" or don't have a copy of OSX around, you can buy a legit copy of Jaguar from OWC for $18, or a copy of 10.3 for about $30 from MegaMacs or elsewhere. Why not make use of all that RAM?

 

[thomasp]

Security isn't the highest priority, and the people using the computer aren't all that computer-literate (I'll be the most computer literate person using the computer).

The reason why I've got so much RAM is because RAM was dirt cheap when I got this iMac , and I use Photoshop quite a bit. I'm reluctant to put OSX on the iMac as it only has a 7Gb HD, which is running very low on space as it is - putting OSX on would probably mean I've got almost no HD space left to work with (as I'd also have to install Classic, since I have a lot of Classic apps)