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question on icloud and creating users

I have noticed that my Macbook Pro will create its own user. I immediately deleted this user since I didn't create it and thought it was taken care of. Well, I turned on my computer again today and the user was created again, without my consent. My initial reaction is to think that this is a virus but I started using iCloud recently to share photos with my family and thought maybe using iCloud will create a user for some reason. This hasn't happened before in the 4 years I have owned the Macbook Pro. I updated to Mavericks so maybe something finally came through in the update. I really have no idea what is going on. All I am used to seeing when I turn on my computer is the administrator (me) and another user I created. Now there is a third user that has been created all by itself. Has anyone encountered this before? Any help would be appreciated!! Basically, I am stressed out because now I think I have a virus.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

Posted on Dec 27, 2014 11:36 AM

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12 replies

Dec 27, 2014 12:53 PM in response to 413ert

The Guest account is built-in. It has probably been activated again by a recent system update. Updates will sometimes reset the preference settings to default values. But I would keep the Guest Account active. This account cannot be used by remote users. And it is a nice honey pot, if you ever lose your Mac. If the thief will log in using the guest account, you can detect this with Find My Mac.

  • guest user: Guest users can use your computer temporarily without you having to add them as individual users. You can set restrictions guests can access only the items you want to share. Files created by a guest are stored in a temporary folder, but this folder and its contents are deleted when the guest logs out. The guest account works with the Find My Mac feature of iCloud, which can help you find your Mac if you lose it. You can locate your Mac if someone finds it, logs in as a guest, then uses Safari to access the Internet. Guests:
    • Don’t need a password to log in
    • Can’t change user or computer settings
    • Can’t log in remotely when remote login is turned on in Sharing preferences

Dec 28, 2014 5:49 AM in response to 413ert

413ert wrote:


Also, I disabled it before or at least I thought I did the first time I saw the guest user. But it popped up again on its own. How do I stop it from creating itself?


If you have turned on Find My Mac in the iCloud preferences, having the Guest user is mandatory. You will not be able to remove it. After all, if someone steals your Mac, they'd better have some way of logging in and connecting to a network, without needing to know a password, in order for that feature to have any chance of working.

Dec 29, 2014 5:17 PM in response to thomas_r.

ok so the macbook pro created the guest user again and also a new user called "other." this is a new one. other has never popped up before. you need a password to log into it. one that i did not create. when i go to system preferences>user groups it doesn't show up. so i don't know what the **** that is about. that can't be right. User uploaded file User uploaded file

question on icloud and creating users

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