[Artanis]

What do I use to create an invisibile password partition on a Macintosh HD (Mac Mini)?

[OreoCookie]

What is a password partition?
Do you just want a partition which is password-protected? If so, there are two ways:

1. Encrypted Disk Image
Create a disk image at a location all the people you want to have access to do have access to.
Make sure you enable encryption and hence password protection.

2. Pseudo-Network Volume
Create an account and enable FileVault for that specific account. Then activate filesharing in the Sharing Prefs (don't forget to enable this account). Mount this account as a network volume.

[Artanis]

Yes I want just a partition with pasword. The Encrypted disk image is great, but it has 2 big shortcomings:
1) the fact that I don't know for what reason my disk utility cannot create anymore an encrypted disk image. It states an "Device busy" or "Resource busy" error.
2)the encrypted disk image is very safe from the password point of view, but it can be deleted with no password required, just "apple+backspace" and is gone.

[OreoCookie]

What about the second solution?

[Artanis]

Your second solution is good. So when the Mac will be accesed from the LAN by another Mac and the volume "Macintosh HD" will be mounted that remote Mac, he will not have access to any of the user files that are protected by file vault? Not libraries not nothing? He will be able only to see the user but with no access to his files? Also, is file vault Terminal proof?

10x

[Artanis]

I just succeeded in creating a disk image. Man, this is so much what I need, but is there anyway to protect it's deletion with a password or something?

[chabig]

Why are you afraid you might accidentally delete it?

Chris

[Artanis]

Originally Posted by chabig

Why are you afraid you might accidentally delete it?

Chris

I am not afraid, but like I said this will be a network resource and quite a few people will use it extensively. The thing is that my superiors say it is good but why it can be deleted? I keep telling them that there is no problem, it can be deleted, but it can also be copied.

Anyway, isn't there some kind of trick to keep it undeletable?

Also I want to ask if on a document file (an spreadsheet for example) from a read/write disk image can work more people at the same time?

[chabig]

You have me confused. If it's a network resource it will require a password to gain access. So what is the problem?

Chris

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Artanis

Your second solution is good. So when the Mac will be accesed from the LAN by another Mac and the volume "Macintosh HD" will be mounted that remote Mac, he will not have access to any of the user files that are protected by file vault? Not libraries not nothing? He will be able only to see the user but with no access to his files? Also, is file vault Terminal proof?

10x

Just to make sure you understand correctly: you can also mount this share on the same Mac again. Also, you don't share the volume, but only the user directory of this special user. You will not mount the whole harddrive (everything in Macintosh HD), so he won't have any access to libraries or anything.

FileVault creates an encrypted disk image whose password is the user password by default. Unless you have the password, there is -- for all intents and purposes -- no way of accessing the data. The only damage you could do in the Terminal as an administrator is to delete the whole disk image.

But then this is no different from regular directories. Any administrator can delete other files on the computer.

So yes, it is Terminal proof, unless your colleagues are administrators on that machine or they know the administrator password.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Artanis

I am not afraid, but like I said this will be a network resource and quite a few people will use it extensively. The thing is that my superiors say it is good but why it can be deleted? I keep telling them that there is no problem, it can be deleted, but it can also be copied.

Anyway, isn't there some kind of trick to keep it undeletable?

Also I want to ask if on a document file (an spreadsheet for example) from a read/write disk image can work more people at the same time?

If somebody has the admin password, he can delete any file on the machine. It's as simple as that. Otherwise, you can easily protect it against deletion by using method #2 I have suggested earlier on.

[Artanis]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Just to make sure you understand correctly: you can also mount this share on the same Mac again. Also, you don't share the volume, but only the user directory of this special user. You will not mount the whole harddrive (everything in Macintosh HD), so he won't have any access to libraries or anything.

FileVault creates an encrypted disk image whose password is the user password by default. Unless you have the password, there is -- for all intents and purposes -- no way of accessing the data. The only damage you could do in the Terminal as an administrator is to delete the whole disk image.

But then this is no different from regular directories. Any administrator can delete other files on the computer.

So yes, it is Terminal proof, unless your colleagues are administrators on that machine or they know the administrator password.

Yes I understand. The thing is that I used "System Preferences" and I marked "Share Files" field (the first one from the sharing fileds) and this is why I think that "Macintosh HD" is shared. Can you please tell me where from can I set only the user files to be shared? and thank you, you've been alot of help

[OreoCookie]

The whole harddrive is not shared by default, only user directories are! As a matter of fact, you have to use additional software (or tinker with configuration files on the command line) to share directories other than user home directories.

So no, your Macintosh HD is not shared. It appears the Finder regardless whether it is shared or not. That doesn't mean other users can access any directory. However don't change access privileges to unix files, that could screw up your whole OS X installation.