Norwestie

Q: Can guest user be denied internet?

I have a 27" iMac a couple years old running 10.11.5. Can I set up a guest user that would have no access to the internet, even though the admin would? I would have to be assured that no programs on the guest user account would see the rest of the world.

Alternatively, could I create a new partition and install El Capitan on that without internet access?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Jul 19, 2016 2:38 PM

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Q: Can guest user be denied internet?

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  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jul 19, 2016 3:21 PM in response to Norwestie
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    Jul 19, 2016 3:21 PM in response to Norwestie

    This is a somewhat of a guess: if you were to set up a guest user and restrict access to apps - in particular any browser you have installed - then that person would not be able to use a browser which means they couldn't access the internet. I set up a guest user on another Mac some time ago and was presented with a list of all apps from which I could choose to allow or not. Haven't tried that lately though.

  • by nabbott,

    nabbott nabbott Jul 21, 2016 4:20 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 1 (54 points)
    Jul 21, 2016 4:20 AM in response to Norwestie

    Try going through parental controls. As babowa said, you can restrict access to apps or just whitelist certain "okay" sites to visit. Here's a link from Apple that explains it.

     

    Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6: About the Parental Controls Internet content filter - Apple Support

     

    If you're wanting to restrict access during a specific time of day, you can go through your router and limit Internet access that way, too. I haven't done it before so you may need to do some Google searching about it.

  • by appreciate,

    appreciate appreciate Jul 22, 2016 2:24 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 4 (1,276 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 22, 2016 2:24 AM in response to Norwestie

    You can create a guest user to let others use your Mac without setting up a full user account. You can use parental controls to limit guests activities, and specify which folders they can view.

    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

    Files created by a guest are stored in a temporary folder, but that 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.

    An apple article is there for reference : OS X El Capitan: Set up users on your Mac

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Jul 22, 2016 4:19 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 9 (50,188 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 22, 2016 4:19 AM in response to Norwestie

    There are a couple of different "Guest" users.

    The normal Guest user is described in appreciate's link, above.

    There are also Guest users enabled by FileVault and Find My Mac. Both of those Guest users are there so the lost Mac can be "Found." Disabling internet access for them would make it impossible to recover them if lost or stolen.

     

    I don't know if they use the same Guest account as the normal Guest account, but if they do (which appreciate's link seems to imply), disabling internet access would be counterproductive to those features.

     

    Seems like a managed user would be more what you want to create; however, I don't have much experience with configuring them.

  • by Norwestie,

    Norwestie Norwestie Jul 22, 2016 8:38 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 22, 2016 8:38 AM in response to Barney-15E

    I am searching for a solution that would keep any application from accessing the internet, as well as users.

  • by Roger Wilmut1,Solvedanswer

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Jul 22, 2016 8:47 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 9 (78,228 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 22, 2016 8:47 AM in response to Norwestie

    In Parental Controls>Web you could select 'Allow access to only these websites' and then delete everything in the list. Then in the Apps pane you could block any social media or other apps which depend on internet access.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jul 22, 2016 9:00 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    Jul 22, 2016 9:00 AM in response to Roger Wilmut1

    Wouldn't that be pretty much what I suggested - disable any browsers?

  • by Roger Wilmut1,

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Jul 22, 2016 9:05 AM in response to babowa
    Level 9 (78,228 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 22, 2016 9:05 AM in response to babowa

    I imagine it would come to the same thing.

  • by Norwestie,

    Norwestie Norwestie Jul 22, 2016 9:54 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 1 (19 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 22, 2016 9:54 AM in response to Norwestie

    Thank you all.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jul 22, 2016 10:38 AM in response to Norwestie
    Level 7 (32,056 points)
    iPad
    Jul 22, 2016 10:38 AM in response to Norwestie

    You're welcome and good luck!