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natatos

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 23, 2008
137
0
Iowa
I'm having problems with the fan so tomorrow or thursday they said the'll get more fans in and then replace it and I was wondering if I put a password on and make you have to log into the accounts at start up will they get on the guest account if they need to.
 
They probably will. Sorry to be a cynic, but any computer repair company isn't exactly trustworthy with your stuff. Depends who services it really, but I wouldn't take the risk. Back up anything you don't want someone to see, as they'll probably want admin access.
 
This may sound stupid. Take your hard drive out and let them boot from an external HD of their own.
 
There is no guarantee either way. I believe that they do warn you against the possibility of your hard drive being cleared regardless of what it is. When one of my Powerbook's screens had to be replaced, I signed a waiver that said that I understood that the hard drive might replaced and that I had backed-up my data.

I recommend backing up no matter what you do. Apple could always drop your computer and end up having to replace the unit in full.

Just back up and erase the files you don't want viewed?
 
If you make it obvious that you are hiding stuff, they likely will look.

This is the method the US Post Office used to catch illegal stuff going through the mail. If you cover a package in tape, likely it is something bad inside.

If you look paranoid, you likely have a reason to be. ;)

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Generally with all the machines in for repair, if they have to time to look, something is wrong.

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As people point out, you have a greater chance of your drive being wiped than them snooping around.
 
yes, i would say anything on your hard disk is fair game, ethics aside. I always try and store personal items on my NAS to avoid such issues.
 
This may sound stupid. Take your hard drive out and let them boot from an external HD of their own.

are they likely to have a external HD that they can boot from its just an apple store I'm not shipping it to them just dropping it off at the store for a night I think.
 
are they likely to have a external HD that they can boot from its just an apple store I'm not shipping it to them just dropping it off at the store for a night I think.
Yep, every Apple Store has a few of them. They're used for diagnostics on systems.
 
I know this from firsthand experience :)eek:), Apple will use whatever sort of magic they have to create a new account with the name apple and with the password apple. How do I know this? We get computers for school, and mine had to be sent in for repairs. (airport wasn't working.) It took them two whole weeks to get it sent back to us because THEY SENT IT TO TENNESSEE. Anyways, I was looking at the user list when I got it back, and what do you know? Apple. So I tried logging in with the password apple, and it worked. So, hopefully they won't snoop around your files. Oh yeah, apple was an admin account.
 
There is some language on the form you sign when dropping off your computer that essentially says that aren't reponsible if your information is lost or stolen while in their care. Now that doesn't mean they will purposefully snoop for things. But it does mean if they want to go through your files they can/will.
 
And if have a porn screensaver, especially if it's kiddie porn, the Apple store will call the police. Same if they see a lot of porn files on the desktop. If you have anything truly illegal, get rid of it first.
 
They're probably not going to snoop around specifically looking for things (no guarantees they won't though, never know what the repair person is up to) but if you have something on your desktop named "kiddie porn" that'll definitely get their attention.
 
i formatted my HD before I brought my iMac in and got its screen replaced. The genie was shocked when he booted it up and the welcome screen came up. He said "I would do the same, you can never be too safe"
 
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