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prutz11 · Oct 29, 2003, 11:02 AM

I think I must just be missing this...

When Steve Jobs gave his keynote introducing 10.3 at WWDC, he displayed fast user switching between a bunch of users. Some of those users required a password and others did not. Best as I can recall he said that was a choice you could make.

I can't figure out how to not have to enter a password when switching between the 2 accounts on my computer. I know I could choose to have a blank password for both of the users, but that seems like a really bad idea. I am not worried about my girlfriend getting into my stuff... I am worried about strangers getting into it.

Is there a "when switching from" setting I can adjust... as in (when switching from girlfriend's account to my account don't ask for password)

have a good one

mikemako · Oct 29, 2003, 04:27 PM

no, not at this time. FastUserSwitching is something you should only enable if you trust those who will use your computer. There may be other options, though.. maybe you could just leave your and her accounts without passwords and set them up as "standard", then create a 3rd user as an "admin".. then you can keep your secret docs & movies or whatever you don't want people to see in there. You could even turn on File Vault for that admin account for extra security.

If I find any other options for ya I will let you know.

Brass · Oct 29, 2003, 04:34 PM

Currently the only way is to have blank user passwords.

One way this could be implemented in future, is to allow the other user's password to be added to the keychain (when switching user). That way you could only switch to other users without entering a password, if they'd previously given you their password (or typed it in for you).

prutz11 · Oct 29, 2003, 04:35 PM

Originally posted by mikemako:
no, not at this time. FastUserSwitching is something you should only enable if you trust those who will use your computer. There may be other options, though.. maybe you could just leave your and her accounts without passwords and set them up as "standard", then create a 3rd user as an "admin".. then you can keep your secret docs & movies or whatever you don't want people to see in there. You could even turn on File Vault for that admin account for extra security.

If I find any other options for ya I will let you know.

Thanks for the answer. Seems kind of silly that Apple did not include a solution to this problem. It's not that I don't trust the people that I allow to use my computer... But it is a laptop and it just seems like a bad idea to have no password.
Doah...
Thanks again

Xeo · Oct 29, 2003, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by prutz11:
Thanks for the answer. Seems kind of silly that Apple did not include a solution to this problem. It's not that I don't trust the people that I allow to use my computer... But it is a laptop and it just seems like a bad idea to have no password.
Doah...
Thanks again

I know what you mean. Having passwordless fast user switching isn't nearly the security risk as having no password at all. I run SSH and various other services so I need to use passwords, but that doesn't mean I can't trust my roommate when switching between apps. Or maybe I want to use fast user switching for a mock virtual desktop system and switch at will. Who knows. But in it's current implementation, that's not convenient.

asdasd · Oct 29, 2003, 08:00 PM

But in reality the only way for Apple to allow an immediate switch is either to have no password at all, or to store a recoverable version of the password so that you can authenticate in the second session.

Security risks all over the place.

prutz11 · Oct 29, 2003, 09:48 PM

Originally posted by asdasd:
But in reality the only way for Apple to allow an immediate switch is either to have no password at all, or to store a recoverable version of the password so that you can authenticate in the second session.

Security risks all over the place.

I can't say I understand all the technical issues at hand, but it does not sound like it would have all these perils to me. Essentially all it would be is Auto login between users. For example I can have the computer set up to auto login to my account on start up instead of going to the log in screen. I don't have to enter my password when this happens. All I have to do it set it up from my account to say "automatically log in X account."

I'd even be happy if I could enter my password just once per session... instead of having to do it every switch.

It sounds like you know way more than I do about the subject... is there something about the underlying BSD system that would not allow an elegant and safe solution to this problem?

Thanks much

asdasd · Oct 29, 2003, 10:19 PM

You see if you have a password then the system needs to authenticate through the normal authorization mechanisms ( and unlock the keychain) on the switch to a new session for the first time. It is like an normal login.

Were that password to be kept around in a way that it can be un-encrypted every session switch, then - even if it is only accessible by root - it would be a security violation.

And yes, autologin is insecure.

that said, Apple should do it - and announce it as insecure - if demand is there.

Brass · Oct 29, 2003, 10:34 PM

Another way Apple could do it, is for each user to have a preference setting for "Users who can switch to my account" (ie, trusted users). This just contains a list of usernames who can switch to your account without having to know your password. There could also be a checkbox for "Must enter their own password", so that if checked, they'd still have to enter their own password (ala, sudo), otherwise, they could switch with no password.

Obviously this in insecure, but they've still got to be able to log in as someone, and you've got to specifically grant that someone access to your account. Although not suitable for business, this would be an excellent option for home users!

prutz11 · Oct 30, 2003, 10:36 AM

Originally posted by asdasd:
You see if you have a password then the system needs to authenticate through the normal authorization mechanisms ( and unlock the keychain) on the switch to a new session for the first time. It is like an normal login.

Were that password to be kept around in a way that it can be un-encrypted every session switch, then - even if it is only accessible by root - it would be a security violation.

And yes, autologin is insecure.

that said, Apple should do it - and announce it as insecure - if demand is there.

Ahh ok I got it... thanks for the answer wise one