Locking down Mac OS

[DELTAprime]

I'm trying to move my Mum away from full blown computers to something much less malware susceptible but she insist on using them. I really don't want to have to format and reinstall Mac OS again anytime in the next decade for her, so is there a way to lock down a fresh install of Mac OS Sierra much like Chrome OS so I don't have to deal with problems either created by not understanding settings or downloading something that should not be downloaded? All she needs aside from Chrome is access to photos management including posting to Facebook and saving to hard drive (which I'd love a way for her to do that completely with file system interaction because I am finding pictures in folders all over the hard drive), a genealogy app from the App Store, and possibly Quicken or a similar business management app (don't ask ).

[SCHISCHKA]

dont give her admin rights. put adblock on the browser. dont install flash or java. Cant think of anything else atm

[MimigaKing]

5 minutes ago, DELTAprime said:

I'm trying to move my Mum away from full blown computers to something much less malware susceptible but she insist on using them. I really don't want to have to format and reinstall Mac OS again anytime in the next decade for her, so is there a way to lock down a fresh install of Mac OS Sierra much like Chrome OS so I don't have to deal with problems either created by not understanding settings or downloading something that should not be downloaded? All she needs aside from Chrome is access to photos management including posting to Facebook and saving to hard drive (which I'd love a way for her to do that completely with file system interaction because I am finding pictures in folders all over the hard drive), a genealogy app from the App Store, and possibly Quicken or a similar business management app (don't ask ).

http://www.faronics.com/products/deep-freeze/mac/

 

Configure the computer as you need it to be, enable Deep Freeze and everytime the mac reboots, it goes back to what you set it to. Whatever files she need can be on a usb drive. 

 

My uni has that software on all their macs

[BubblyCharizard]

deep-freeze....I remember that from back in the day

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, SCHISCHKA said:

dont give her admin rights. put adblock on the browser. dont install flash or java. Cant think of anything else atm

Java is built into the operating system, but is kept updated with system updates. 

 

Workgroup Manager on OSX is your friend

[Droidbot]

This could help as well, includes SSH remote management and Parental Controls information for OSX. 

Parental Controls allows you to do stuff like make the finder simpler for inexperienced users, disable printer and password modification, and even limit the websites that she can visit in Safari.. 

[themctipers]

set up an ipad pro

 

its a computer!

 

safari, adblock, parental controls

[BrinkGG]

47 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

Workgroup Manager on OSX is your friend

Doesn't exist anymore. Discontinued on El capitan. 

58 minutes ago, DELTAprime said:

-snip-

Admin user, don't give her the admin account password, use some kind of system restore software (Like deep freeze mentioned) and set it to restore to your default settings. 

*sidenote*

If you ever work in I.T. This will be commonplace because of all the people who think they know how to fix computers, break it more then we have to fix it. (Serverside system images that each system boots from every morning is the best thing ever.) 

[Droidbot]

5 minutes ago, Brink2Three said:

Doesn't exist anymore. Discontinued on El capitan. 

Admin user, don't give her the admin account password, use some kind of system restore software (Like deep freeze mentioned) and set it to restore to your default settings. 

*sidenote*

If you ever work in I.T. This will be commonplace because of all the people who think they know how to fix computers, break it more then we have to fix it. (Serverside system images that each system boots from every morning is the best thing ever.) 

Yeah, found that out. I'd still say remote management via SSH and parental controls is best, especially with 'Simple Finder' - good for older people. 

[SCHISCHKA]

1 hour ago, Droidbot said:

Java is built into the operating system, but is kept updated with system updates. 

 

Workgroup Manager on OSX is your friend

really? I thought I installed it on my mac

[SCHISCHKA]

14 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

parental controls

hahaha parental controls for your parents

[Droidbot]

Just now, SCHISCHKA said:

hahaha parental controls for your parents

it's horribly ironic, but it literally does what it says on the tin

 

simple finder disables access to hdd and makes folder access limited to documents, apps and shared folder. 

password and other printer changes are disallowed, and you can limit the usable apps on the device. 

 

it's one of several very good tools to moderate a mac

[DELTAprime]

Wow thanks guys for the info. Hopefully this will be the last format and reinstall for a long time.

[Linus_torvalds]

On 3/16/2017 at 11:26 AM, DELTAprime said:

I'm trying to move my Mum away from full blown computers to something much less malware susceptible but she insist on using them. I really don't want to have to format and reinstall Mac OS again anytime in the next decade for her, so is there a way to lock down a fresh install of Mac OS Sierra much like Chrome OS so I don't have to deal with problems either created by not understanding settings or downloading something that should not be downloaded? All she needs aside from Chrome is access to photos management including posting to Facebook and saving to hard drive (which I'd love a way for her to do that completely with file system interaction because I am finding pictures in folders all over the hard drive), a genealogy app from the App Store, and possibly Quicken or a similar business management app (don't ask ).

just install linux on it....