03-26-2010, 07:42 PM

Is there any way I can make mac mail require a password to load up?

I just want to have a private Mail program.

03-26-2010, 08:02 PM

Are you the only user account on the computer? This will assist in my search for a solution.

03-31-2010, 11:22 AM

Yes I am, I am an admin.

Thanks for your reply, sorry i'm a bit late back.

03-31-2010, 11:42 AM

if you want to actually protect the program itself and not let it open at all in without the password that may be difficult however, if you want it to prompt for a password before checking for new mail once it starts up you can do that. Make sure you clear out your inbox at every use.

to do this open mail, go to preferences, choose accounts. in the user password area delete the password and leave the user name. now close and save mail preferences. When mail starts again it will ask for a password. DO NOT check the "remember password" box.

03-31-2010, 12:21 PM

Doing as Smackintosh suggested should solve your problem particularly since you are the only user. Anyone who opens the Mail program won't be able to check your mail. If they open a different account on the Mac and launch Mail they will be greeted with Mail's wizard for entering email account information.

I thought about using Parental Controls but you can't apply those to an administrator account. You would have to "demote" your current Mac account to a Standard or Guest Account

04-01-2010, 11:00 AM

Thank you all for your replies.

The thing is I can just press cancel when it asks for a password and then I can go straight to going through all of my mail.

04-01-2010, 11:34 AM

First off it seems a bit odd that pressing Cancel leads to your mail. The first think I would do is contact the ISP about v\correcting that password situation. Then the other suggestions would likely work for you.

If changing the password is not an option then the next suggestion would be to make use of Parental Controls by doing the following.

1. While in the current account on your Mac go to the Accounts preference pane and create a new account. Give the account Administrator privileges.
2. Log out of your current account and into the new one.
3. Open Accounts Preference Pane again and change the old account to a Standard account by unchecking "Allow user to administer this computer". I think that is what it says.
4. Run Parental Controls pane and set them so that Mail cannot run.
Now log out and into the "old" account. It should prohibit Mail from running. For most functions log into the "old" account. If you are doing something and it asks for an administrator password either log into the new account or simply enter the new account's information into the dialog box.