Summary

Here’s what you learned in this Chapter:

• If you use Mac OS X with an administrator account, you can change all system preference settings and install software in the Applications folder and main Library folder. An administrator can also create, edit, and delete other users’ accounts and assign privileges.

• If you use Mac OS X with a normal account, you can still administer locked system settings by authenticating with admin user account’s name and password.

• You create, administer, and delete user accounts in the Accounts preferences pane.

• People take turns using Mac OS X by logging in and out. Login can be automatic for one user account, but other user accounts will require manual logging in. Fast user switching allows the simultaneous login of more than one account.

• Although some system preferences are global in effect, Mac OS X allows user accounts to be individually customized.

• Each user can set up a list of documents and applications to be opened during login, which is configured in the Startup panel of the Accounts preferences pane.

• After logging in, users can change their own passwords without the assistance of an admin account.

• You can change the privilege settings of your folders and files by using the Finder’s Show Info window. You can also set an option to have Mac OS X ignore privilege settings on volumes other than the boot volume.

• You should avoid using your Mac with the root account because that account bypasses the safety mechanisms that help maintain Mac OS X’s reliability.