Creative ways to hide files

Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Summerville, SC
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Intel 2.4, 10.6.1, XP Partition | 1st Gen Time Capsule | 5th Gen 30GB iPod
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.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
Sounds like someone has some files on their Mac that they don't want their family to see. Wonder what those could be?
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
A very interesting & "deep" topic to be someone's first posting on Mac-Forum's!

- Nick
 
F

fade

Guest
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..
 
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
356
Reaction score
14
Points
18
Location
Staffordshire
Your Mac's Specs
15.4" uMBP: iPhone 4
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.
 
OP
bobross
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Summerville, SC
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Intel 2.4, 10.6.1, XP Partition | 1st Gen Time Capsule | 5th Gen 30GB iPod
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'.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
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 :)
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top