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My 14 year-old cat has beaten iBook security. Please help.

I have this old cat that likes to sleep on my iBook while I'm not using it. I have set the screensaver to require a password in order to prevent her from entering random keystrokes into the documents I leave open while I'm away.

However, I've noticed that while the computer is still in the screensaver when I return, she has somehow managed to circumvent the password and, among other things, rename my hard drive, execute complex keystroke combinations changing my system settings and save over documents which I have minimized.

I mean, I'm not even smart enough to see what she's done without the password. How is this happening?

Any way to lock up my iBook so that the cat can't.. uh.. do this? Can't close the iBook, due to a cracked screen.. which I am dealing with. We all have our crosses to bear, right? I'm not complaining, I just want to stop the cat from trying to rewrite my novel.

Cheers.

iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Mar 23, 2007 9:28 AM

Reply
85 replies

Mar 23, 2007 9:40 AM in response to Matt Clifton

I activate the screenaver, wait for it to kick in and then jiggle the mouse to make sure that it has locked up.

As for the cat, the creative writing isn't even an interesting read. That whole thing about monkeys and typewriters and Shakespeare, not so much true. She does have a certain fondness for the Caps Lock, though. Probably th shiny light.

Any other way I can lock the thing up? I'd just shut my iBook down, but these things happen while I'm making grilled cheese sandwiches or doing my dirty business in the bathroom.

Mar 23, 2007 12:20 PM in response to Doug Eldred

The problem with logging out is that I might as well shut down the machine every time I leave the room for 15 minutes. Sleep, same problem with the screensaver.

I just don't get how the cat is screwing with the stuff I have open, without unlocking the screensaver. I wait, make sure that it's on screensaver, jiggle the mouse to bring up the window asking for my password. I'm sure that it's locked.

I'll come back, the Caps Lock light is on.. and I know that the cat has been sleeping on the keyboard. I jiggle the mouse, then I put in the password. And there's all kinds of stuff open and messed with: System Prefs changed, random text typed into my open documents, screen inverted. It's random stuff.

But, the iBook has never been unlocked. I still have to put in the password to check it out. I went to screensaver myself. Tried to invert the screen colors without putting in the password.. couldn't do it. I'm just baffled.

I lock my computer at school sometimes, while I run to the jacks or go get a Coke.. Can people mess with my stuff even while it's locked. I mean, the cat can do it somehow.

Mar 23, 2007 2:22 PM in response to nilscrasher

I have noticed that sometimes the Mac will allow a wake from the screen saver without the password, even when the password option has been selected. Try going to homefolder/Library/Preferences/ByHost and deleting all of the com.apple.screensaver plist files. Then go back to System Preferences and reset it how you want.

You can also enable fast user switching, and switch to the login window before leaving the Mac unattended.

Mar 23, 2007 2:31 PM in response to nilscrasher

Hi

Just occurs to me that you can do everything you want by just putting the ibook into a drawer and closing the drawer. If you have to go to the washroom or kitchen and you have to leave it for 15-20 minutes then putting it in a drawer takes as much or as little time as waiting for the screensaver lock to kick in. Surely you must have a drawer (and face it an iBook is not that big) that is in the main room that you generally are in that you can put it in.

Its not surprising that your cat is drawn to your iBook it must see it as a nice warm toasty spot for it to laze its day away!

I wish I was a cat sometimes!

My 14 year-old cat has beaten iBook security. Please help.

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