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General discussion

Aw jeez, I need you help, folks.

by FinerWine Feb 15, 2010 3:45AM PST

I lent my MacBook Pro to my friend two days ago and just got it back. After browsing through the web history to find a page I was on the week before, I noticed that he had been frequenting several porn sites and possibly using the computers webcam. He downloaded a couple files which he didn't take the time to delete from my Downloads folder, and as a result, I'm quite annoyed.

I'm a fairly new Mac user, so I'm not sure what to do to protect my computer.
I downloaded MacScan and ran a full scan (which revealed 2 tracking cookies, nothing really extreme) and that's all I've done so far.

Should I look into changing my IP address if he potentially used pay sites? Is that even possible?
I need this computer to last me a good while, help me Mac OSX Forum, you're my only hope!

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Seems simple.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Feb 15, 2010 6:46AM PST

Don't loan it out. It's yours so keep it.

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I agree
by naturist Feb 15, 2010 6:58AM PST

with R. Profitt. Don't loan it out.

You don't loan out your underwear, do you? Why in the world would you loan out your computer?

If your bud insists on using it, and you insist on letting him do so, create a standard user account just for him, and put parental controls on it. Make sure your account password is strong, however.

Finally, what makes you think that your IP address doesn't change every time you log onto the internet? Nearly every one's does, you know. Generally, you have to make special arrangements for it to not change every time.

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protection control
by GNJ Feb 16, 2010 7:47AM PST

I agree with the idea of establishing a separate account for any guest/casual user. Set up your log-on preferences so log-on is required.

If you are concerned about your IP address and other issues that go with it --- take a look at www.opendns.com. If you register (there is a free account), you can have them filter for you. You will need to download there updater to keep the filtering "live" as your ISP changes your network address.

They provide 4 general levels of service:
1. Use them for DNS resolution only (quicker/more reliable than many ISP's DNS servers)
2. Free registration --- filtering, short term statistics, limited personal support
3. Paid individual registration --- personalized white/blacklist filtering, long term data collection, additional customer service support.
4. Large commercial get lots of personalized support

I understand there are other similar services available.

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