Good reasons for a computer password.

ThreeDee · 12-11-2005, 11:31 AM

Ok, this one guy has absolutely no passwords for his computer, nor does he want any. The only thing he uses them for is for online accounts and stuff. He says "Why do we need passwords for? Who else is going to use my account? We have a firewall, don't we? So, who cares? The firewall will block everyone out, and we won't need passwords."

Can someone think of a good reason for having a password? He already knows about hackers, and identity theft and whatnot, but says the firewall will protect him.

hayne · 12-11-2005, 11:59 AM

1) If there is only the one account that is regularly used on that Mac, then he could have a password but set it to auto-login (in Accounts prefs) and then he wouldn't be asked for the password upon login.

2) If there are other people with accounts on the computer then passwords are important to limit the effects of malicious software - e.g. a "trojan" downloaded unknowingly by a guest or one of his kids. Such software will have full rein over the files in that user's home folder and the behaviour of the Mac while that user is logged in.
If there is no password required to login to a different account, then the malicious software can easily access that other account and affect it the same way.

3) If there is no password required for an account with administrator privilege, then malicious software will have full control over the machine.
Even if he isn't worried for the data on that machine, or for his privacy, or financial info, he should realize that this means that the machine can be completely taken over by outside parties - all without him noticing anything wrong.

4) The firewall will protect against random intrusions, but of course any externally visible services running on the Mac will require "holes" in the firewall that allow possible attacks. And note that the firewall does not protect against malicious software (that was somehow downloaded) accessing the Internet from the inside - firewalls usually only prevent access from the outside. Also note that many Internet applications (e.g. chat and P2P) bypass the firewall restrictions while they are running since they channel communications from the local client.

12-11-2005, 11:31 AM	#1
ThreeDee Hall of Famer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: USA Posts: 3,418	Good reasons for a computer password. Ok, this one guy has absolutely no passwords for his computer, nor does he want any. The only thing he uses them for is for online accounts and stuff. He says "Why do we need passwords for? Who else is going to use my account? We have a firewall, don't we? So, who cares? The firewall will block everyone out, and we won't need passwords." Can someone think of a good reason for having a password? He already knows about hackers, and identity theft and whatnot, but says the firewall will protect him. Last edited by ThreeDee; 12-11-2005 at 11:35 AM.

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12-11-2005, 11:59 AM	#2
hayne Site Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 31,941	1) If there is only the one account that is regularly used on that Mac, then he could have a password but set it to auto-login (in Accounts prefs) and then he wouldn't be asked for the password upon login. 2) If there are other people with accounts on the computer then passwords are important to limit the effects of malicious software - e.g. a "trojan" downloaded unknowingly by a guest or one of his kids. Such software will have full rein over the files in that user's home folder and the behaviour of the Mac while that user is logged in. If there is no password required to login to a different account, then the malicious software can easily access that other account and affect it the same way. 3) If there is no password required for an account with administrator privilege, then malicious software will have full control over the machine. Even if he isn't worried for the data on that machine, or for his privacy, or financial info, he should realize that this means that the machine can be completely taken over by outside parties - all without him noticing anything wrong. 4) The firewall will protect against random intrusions, but of course any externally visible services running on the Mac will require "holes" in the firewall that allow possible attacks. And note that the firewall does not protect against malicious software (that was somehow downloaded) accessing the Internet from the inside - firewalls usually only prevent access from the outside. Also note that many Internet applications (e.g. chat and P2P) bypass the firewall restrictions while they are running since they channel communications from the local client.