digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

How to hide your porn in Mac OS X

macgeekery.com — Afraid that co-workers might fight the embarrassing picture you've made of yourself, or that your mother might find your porn stash in ~/Movies/? Search no further. Discover every way to keep your files secure from others.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • twid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5cute article, and useful! :)
    • corygump, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There is a better way to hide a file in OS X, turn on the invisible bit for the file by using the "SetFile" command. For Example "/Developer/Tools/SetFile -a v /Users/homedirectoryname/Desktop/MyDoc" would make "MyDoc" invisible. To reverse the process just change the lowercase 'v' to upper case "V"

      For a more thorough walk through check out
      http://halfzware.com/?s=hidden+files
    • V1ncent, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2OMG... now everyone's parents won't find little Jimmy's Mac p0rn! No more groundings! No more "sensitivity" training or *gasp* THE TALK! Thank you, Mr. Article Writer :-)
    • nato64, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6@corygump

      you know, not everyone wants to whip out the developer tools every time you want to hide a file
    • super_spyder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I hide my stuff inside of programs, if you right click (ctrl+click) a program you can show package contents and put your stuff inside of there. so far it doesn't affect the performance of the program, but a 10gb copy of internet explorer looks a little odd ,Internet explorer is perfect for this actually, because it is never going to be updated ever again.
    • Ilyanep, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Then again...why are you running IE on Mac?

      "Running Internet Explorer on a Mac is like ***** on a Ferrari"
    • geezusfreeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The "v" in that SetFile command actually needs to be uppercase. Lowercase makes an invisible file visible again.
    • super_spyder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I dont run IE on the mac, i just keep it there for all of my stashing needs
  • Laurent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Classic advices, but when you haven't thought about one of these...
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The porn folder on my PC is called "New Folder".

      'cause who doesn't have a "New Folder" on their desktop?
    • Mujklob, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I don't, honestly. =)
      Interesting article, if the link was working for me that is.
    • Ainast, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@merreborn:

      my porn folders are called as follows: sysintegrity, crapola, and for my most hardcore of ***** I use truecrypt a spare 300 gig HD. lol
  • Bonobo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21You have no idea how much you have helped me out with my family mac!
    • zforrester, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5hhaha
      gross


      jk
    • alexcount, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5anyone remeber the trick in os 9 and earlier where u could make a folder with no name or icon, and just hide it on the desktop.
    • vertigoblue, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4make sure you wipe the keyboard...
      or don't...
  • Moeface, on 10/27/2007, -42/+9I hate scientologists.
    • AlexTheDeich, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0Uhhh, what does that have to do with ANYTHING??!?!?
  • L0lz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Important knowledge for all of us Mac users!
  • aer0sense, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14dugg for using "embarrassing picture you've made of yourself" in the title
  • vdubski, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Site is down,

    http://www.duggmirror.com/apple/How_to_hide_your_porn_in_Mac_OS_X/
    • ahknight, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Site is up and down. Mostly just slow now. But the mirror works :)
  • SP33DFR34K, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Don't forget to use Secure Empty Trash too, this prevents any l33t h4x0rz (or snoopy people) from finding out your deleted "goods." (Apple > Secure Empty Trash)
  • vyoming, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I use TrueCrypt on windows, though specifically not for pr0n.
    Is there a mac version of truecrypt ?
    • ocram, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3No, it's Windows/Linux only.
    • twid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11OS X has encrypted disk images built-in, or you can use filevault and encrypt your whole home directory.
    • lolwtfhaha, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2specfically...not for porn...
      sure buddy...
    • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5There are two things in OSX that replace what TrueCrypt does:

      1) As noted, you can make an encrypted disk image in OSX that requires a password to be entered to mount it. Using AES I believe, there's really no practical way that anyone is going to get in there. Including you, if you forget your password.

      2) OS X comes with an easy way to enable encryption of your home directory (look in the System Preferences for Filevault under the "Security" entry). Great for laptops as all app preferences and stored data generally are in your home directory. For anything you do not want to have the cost of encryption to access (say photos) keep them in directories outside your home directory (like a /Photos directory). When on the road or anywhere a laptop might be taken also make sure to disable automatic login and tell the computer to ask for a password on waking from sleep (also option in the Security panel) so someone doesn't get the laptop with you already logged in...

      One last hint when creating encrypted disk images - make them very large (say the size of the drive they are held on) and a sparse image. That way they take up no more space than the files within but you can keep adding data to it.
  • trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+41(I secretly digg this)
  • micklerlop, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34why should i hide my porn on my home computer? I just let mine run 24/7. i like the sound effects.
  • tabledesk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Changing the filename AND extension is a good idea. Change it to .dat and any normal user would not be curious
    • alej744, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I once set a porny picture JPEG into a .WAV and you wouldn't be able to open it. :)
  • dmron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I can't read the article (site down), but if you have something to hide, use encrypted disc images, by far the best thing you could do to hide anything in OSX. To people unfamiliar, it's the Mac equivalent of TrueCrypt or BestCrypt, except it's built into the OS and free.
    • WiseWeasel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Agreed; another vote for encrypted disk images. Just use Disk Utility in your Utilities folder to create one, and enable AES encryption.
  • colinmhayes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3FileVault is another great way to keep it secure.
  • Kryptonitfusion, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3funny how the article doesn't really mention porn...nonetheless great tutorial and i could sure use an encrypter of about any kind for mac os x instead
    • aten, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Um...

      "

      How To Hide Your Porn
      By Adam Knight ยป Posted on June 28, 2006 - 12:05am

      "

      It's in the title ;)
    • crashflow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Its on the first paragraph, too.
    • aten, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1yeah i did not see that ;)
  • thatsiebguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4just a joe encrypted disk image is all you need. Dot files and name changing, HA, thats about as useful as using ASCII characters for directory names in DOS.. old..
  • cybin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Some one needs to make an automator script to clear the quicktime history, Recent files and Go Menu also.

    -Cybin
  • dressedindecay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21I usually leave a folder on my desktop named "PORN."

    People MUST think it's a trick, and thus, never look.
    • DarkSorrow, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5maybe they did look but never tell you
  • racerg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Reminds me of hiding games in the "macproof 27" folder on the English departments Mac Classic network in high school.
  • johnnykelley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I find it curious that the site is down when there is an article about hiding porn. On a geek website too. I just don't see the correlation.
  • bradbeattie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Just create a new user specifically for porn. Works well. Oh, and make sure you're the only admin.
  • crashflow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"You also avoid that really awkward moment when the wife discovers your photos of Bea Arthur on a Harley wearing nothing but a little whipped cream and some cherries."
    LOL! Bea Arthur?!? Your wife would need some serious psychotherapy if this ever happened.
  • balzin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The OSX platform is THE best way to view porn when worried about privacy. Not only does Safari have the "Private Browsing" mode, but the security is fantastic. There are also tons of different ways to hide your current screen, that way, wives, co-workers, and whatever else don't know about your mchews addiction.
    • aquax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's great until you hit the "Show All Windows" Expose button and 47 pictures of your wife's best friend shows up as thumbnails, instead of the "Show Desktop" Expose which was supposed to hide everything quickly.
    • alej744, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you could press F11, create a new tab, new window, switch apps with command tab, minimize to the (hopefully hidden) dock...
  • oslointhesummer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3only on digg....
  • sl123000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0useful..... very useful
  • celebi23, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Dugg. Made me laugh a bit
  • pudquick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Don't forget about encrypted disk images, FileVault encrypted home directories, and Safari private browsing! After all, it was Apple that was responsible for the fall from Eden :D
  • Jabby81, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4i dugg this and i dont even have a mac. (Awesome)
  • zwilliams, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I just entitle the folder "Not Porn", all interlopers immediately lose interest and look elsewhere.
  • cope, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3truecrypt does it..
    and truecrypt is for linux and windows as well.. so you can transfer between then...
    • darkinferno9908, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1there isn't a truecrypt for mac though. That's the problem with your suggestion.
    • superkendall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Well since all of the features of Truecrypt are built into OS X already it's not really a problem so much as an aide for those not running OS X.
    • nogami, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Sorry, but Truecrypt is far more extensive than the built-in OS-X encryption. Please check your sources before posting, thanks.

      N.
  • hardran3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I keep all my porn in a folder called "What would Jesus do"
  • jinexile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Just the fact that I have porn on my mac rather than my pc ensures noone will know where it is and even if they did, no clue how to get there. No need to go to any great lengths to hide it, the people I know that could even figure out finder are ones I could care less if they found my porn stash to begin with.
    • hardran3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Where is the big Blue E? Where is the start button. Macs suck." LoL
  • stanleyfresh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Now raise your hand if you looked at this article hoping to see a screenshot of porn....
  • zzz@tkz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I store my porn in C:/Program Files/Adobe/Photoshop CS2/Plugins/Special/CS2.

    Woza. Nothing like Special Photoshop CS2 plugins!
  • popfrogs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Fascinating. I just used this stunt to protect a user's valuable email store on his new MacBook. Strange that you have to hack the system a little just to create password-protected folders, but this did the trick. Basically I created an encrypted disk image then dragged his Mail folder into it. Once he's done he drags the mounted Mail image to the trash and it's unmounted. Next time he hits the Mail icon, it prompts for a password, mounts the encrypted image, and he's back in business.
  • biiscit, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Does osx include built in ways to encrypt a disk image?
  • DjinnX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Step 1. Make virtual OS on Vmware
    Step 2. Download porn.
    Step 3. Encrypt Virtual OS with truecrypt hidden volume using keyfiles, then remove host HDD and burry in 6ft mud. :P
  • johnjohnson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Thank you! I was looking for a solution to this little problem ;-)
  • yongfook, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1correct me if I'm wrong, but all of this can be bypassed by simply starting a mac up in target disk mode, then using it as a firewire disk and freely pull files off it.

    I've done this a number of times and I never seem to get asked for a password, even when rooting around in a user's movies / pictures folder. Still, doesn't stop me from stockpiling porn like it's going out of style.
  • tfaz1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Weak.
  • elroy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1keep everything on an encrypted sparseimage that you mount when you are horny.
  • uberwaffle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A way to be sneaky with your files in windows:

    put it all in an archive (7z,rar,zip,etc)
    put any random unsuspicious image (jpg) file in the same directory as the archive
    open up the good ol' command line
    navigate to the directory
    use this command: copy /b img.jpg +archive.rar output.jpg


    You now have an unsuspicious jpg file with a hidden surprise that opens in winrar/7z/etc.
    Well, it might be suspicious if your jpg is Gigabytes large.
  • cruxed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@yongfook

    will anyone actually go through all that trouble to check whether you have porn on your system??
  • yahoofrom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My son placed a secret file in an hidden folder which is in a folder named 'New Folder' which is inside a TrueCrypt volume.
    Then he changed the TrueCrypt filename and uploaded it on his gmail account.
    But he didn't know that I've already installed a hidden keylogger on his pc.
  • thund3rstruck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1As if my mom would have any clue what so ever what ~/Movies is...
  • diggmaster06, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0hmm. this only works for noncomputer geeks, it seems to me that mac is no longer for people who doesn't know how to use computers, it is more for geeks who ran out of things to do on PC. on the other note, sex toys are not porn! http://www.discreet-romance.com proves just that
  • DonnaDD, on 02/01/2008, -0/+0well if you want to be discreet, why not get sex toys and use them instead of looking at porn? or buy magazines and sex toys and keep them under your bed, the old fashioned way! That way you can trick your mom/who ever, into looking for your porn on the computer when actually its under the bed! Once you get your dirty magazines, check out http://www.theadulttoyshoppe.com for your discreet sex toys!
  • canadiantoys, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0I've done this a number of times and I never seem to get asked for a password, even when rooting around in a user's movies / pictures folder. Still, doesn't stop me from stockpiling porn like it's going out of style. check out http://www.canadianpleasure.com/
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.