08-28-2009, 09:48 AM

This is an easy way to securely hide files from anyone that may have the privilege of logging on to your Mac.

Say you work with sensitive information and rather keep it out of reach from your significant other – and the children. Whether for purposes of confidentiality or just to avoid accidental editing.

Or you are writing the next Moby **** despite Melville’s ardent denunciation of profitable literature and you don’t want your better half to know your a closet dreamer.

You Have Options!

When I first became engaged I suddenly found myself searching for all sorts of creative ways to keep some things to myself while at the same not password protecting my MacBook and creating an air of distrust. What I ended up with was a pseudo-endless loop of labeled “program folders” (mostly nonsense terms) that I knew she wouldn’t touch or have any interest in. But this just cluttered my machine, no matter how well hidden it was. A flash drive was out of the question. What if she needed it when I was not around and discovered I was no Herman Melville, and that I wrote three chapters about what I read in her journal.

So I turned to Disk Utility to save the day once more. This is basically how it works:

- Put all your sensitive files in 1 single folder.

- Open Disk Utility and Select New Image. Navigate to select your folder of secret stuff and decide how large you need the Volume Size to be.

- If you live in a household like I do you might want to give the Volume some very techy name, this will clearly be your own judgement call but the idea here is secrecy, so don’t just name it what it is and avoid obvious code words as chances are your better half knows you better than you know yourself. Remember, even if its hidden it can be discovered in a Spotlight search (except of course what is stored in the volume).

- Create. Now all your sensitive stuff is in the .dmg Disk Image that you can open to work from and save, be it your novel, gambling account or whatever you need to hide. Remember to delete all copies of the before mentioned sensitive information.

- Thats not all. Now that you have this Disk Image (ejected) what do you do with it? Again, this comes down to a regional judgement call. If your partner thinks all computers are netbooks than put it in a folder with a complimentary techy name (as though it is part of the OS infrastructure) and throw that folder in your applications folder depending on what you have there. It’s your call. Still, I highly recommend putting it in a folder.

I hope this helps. I'm sure there are many other ways to hide files on your Mac but I have personally found this way to work for me as it requires no passwords and in a way, really isn't hidden at all. All the same feel free to offer your own suggestions.

08-28-2009, 11:40 AM

Sounds like someone has some files on their Mac that they don't want their family to see. Wonder what those could be?

08-28-2009, 02:49 PM

A very interesting & "deep" topic to be someone's first posting on Mac-Forum's!

- Nick

08-28-2009, 03:03 PM

Or you could just not lie/hide stuff from the SO... I've found this to work very well so far...

As for kids, well, they have their own computer and don't need to be on mine or the wifes..

08-28-2009, 03:16 PM

Or use VMware!

Luckily I dont have to hide anything, I am guilt free [plus I am a rubbish lier]

However, if I were to do such a thing VMware would be my answer. Most people use this in my line of work.

08-29-2009, 06:16 AM

In no way am I advocating indecency or promoting the sustained lack of civility that has become a staple (however unspoken) of our culture.

But really, sometimes somethings are just better put away. That doesn't always mean you have 'something to hide'.

08-30-2009, 08:51 AM

What i do is find an application (Mine is chess) and open package contents. I then hide the "Files" inside there. The files dont show up in spotlight, which is the main thing for me