Section 53. Password-Protect Your Public Folder

53. Password-Protect Your Public Folder

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

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52 Share Your iDisk Public Folder with Others

Anybody, anywhere , can access whatever is in the Public folder on your iDiskand that includes not just the people whom you want to allow access, but also a lot of people you might not want to see your files. As a rule of thumb, don't put anything in your Public folder that you wouldn't want to show up in the newspaper.

Sometimes it's necessary (or just too convenient ) to use your Public folder to exchange files of a sensitive nature that ought to be password-protected, or you might want to provide your Public folder with a measure of privacy out of principle. Fortunately, iDisk provides that capability.

1.	Open the .Mac Preferences Open the System Preferences using the Apple menu. Click the .Mac icon to open the .Mac Preferences pane and click the iDisk tab. 53. Password-Protect Your Public Folder
2.	Choose the Access Level for Others in Your Public Folder You can choose what kind of capabilities other users can have within your iDisk's Public folder. You can make it so that other users can put files into your Public folder ( Read & Write access), but this level of access also enables users to delete or change files that are already in the folder. On the other hand, you can give your Public folder Read only access, which allows others to access existing files but not to alter them or add any of their own; this forgoes the convenience of allowing others to put files into your iDisk's Public folder, but it's much safer. NOTE It's important to stress the difference between your iDisk Public folder and the Public folder inside your Home folder on your local Mac. Your local Public folder is accessible from other Macs only; it has a Drop Box subfolder, which other users can use to send files to you while maintaining your privacy. The Public folder in your iDisk, however, doesn't have a Drop Box subfolder; you can only choose between Read only and Read & Write privileges for the iDisk Public folder.
3.	Require a Password for Your Public Folder Select the Password protect your Public Folder check box to set a password on your iDisk Public folder. A sheet appears that prompts you to enter a password (twice); click OK when you've done so. If you need help coming up with a good password to use, click the "key" button to open the Password Assistant panel. This is a tool that suggests appropriate passwords for you to use according to several different schemes, including Memorable (for passwords composed of English words cleverly strung together), Letters and Numbers , and Manual . Use the Length slider to select how long you want the suggested password to be; longer passwords are better and more secure, as indicated by the Quality meter below the slider. In Manual mode, type a password of your choice into the Suggestion box, and the Quality meter shows how good the password is; the Tips box offers pointers on how to improve your entered password, such as pointing out whether it's derived from dictionary words, too short, or otherwise too easy to guess. NOTE The Password Assistant utility automatically fills in its suggested password into the Password field of the sheet in the .Mac Preferences pane; however, it doesn't fill it into the Confirm field. You have to type that yourself, to make sure you've memorized the password. TIP As with many panes of the System Preferences application, you might have to close the System Preferences window (or click the .Mac tab and then click the iDisk tab again) to force the changes to take effect. To remove the password protection, just deselect the Password Protect your Public Folder check box.
4.	Change the Public Folder Password If you want to change the password on your iDisk Public folder, click the Set Password button on the iDisk tab of the .Mac Preferences pane. Enter the new password (twice, as prompted) in the sheet that appears. When you click OK and close the System Preferences application, the password for your iDisk Public folder will be changed.