-*-*-*-*-*-> S l i x t e r p r o u d l y p r e s e n t s <-*-*-*-*-*- ___ ___ //__ //__ The latest in our fine line of quality, ___// LIX ___// ECURITY... high-performance Apple IIgs software. -*-P-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-A-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Y-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-M-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-E-*- So, you've got a problem. Your problem is that you love your Apple IIgs and you love your four-year-old kid. But you don't love how your kid tries to launch his "Math Munchers" game by selecting your hard drive and choosing "Format". Or how he cleans up your desktop by filing the "Unbelievably.Important.Documents" folder under "Trash". Oh, how often you thought about filing your entire IIgs under "Trash" and buying a Mac, along with some cheesy "At Ease"-ish security software to prevent the unwanted intrusions by your progeny. But you held on, in the hope that Slixter, after already ripping off every other software idea in the known universe and porting it to the IIgs, would eventually get around to this one. Well, he did. And here it is -- SlixSecurity. So, what is SlixSecurity? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SlixSecurity is a desk accessory/Finder extension that password protects your computer. If the correct password is not entered, the user gets only limited access to your files. That means, little Johnny can only touch files that are in his own special folder, and he can't trash, format, open, or otherwise manipulate anything you don't want him to. The best part is that SlixSecurity works directly from within the Finder, so you don't have to learn how to set things up. If you know how to use the Finder, then you can use SlixSecurity already! So, how do I do it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, create a folder in the root directory of your hard drive (or boot disk), and name it "SlixSecurity" (one word). Note that this folder must be in the root directory, i.e. not inside any other folders. Next, copy the SlixSecurity desk accessory (the file that came with this text) into the System/Desk.Accs folder of your boot disk, and restart the computer. Then, when you are back in the Finder, select "SlixSecurity" from the Apple menu, and click on the "Change Password" button. Enter the password you want to use, and you'll be all set! So, how's it work? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next time you restart your computer, there will be a neato-looking "logon" window which will let you either go into the Finder with security enabled (for little Johnny), or enter the "administrator password" and get full access (for you). If you enter your password and click on the "Accept" button, everything behaves exactly as it always did before. However, if the password wasn't entered, then things are a little different. The window of the SlixSecurity folder you created will open up, and you will only be able to select items that are inside it, or inside folders that are inside it. This is where you should put little Johnny's Math Munchers game, as well as anything else that is okay for him to use. You will notice that if you click on anything not inside the SlixSecurity folder, it will unselect itself. In addition, there is no trash can, so nothing can be deleted. Many menu options, such as "New Folder" or "Preferences", can be selected but don't actually do anything. You can drag files around, but you can't move them or copy them anywhere. Disk copies are disabled as well. If you like, you can disable desk accessories and Finder extras. In short, it's safe. What are my options? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Go to the Apple menu and choose "SlixSecurity", and type in your password. You are now at the Administrator Settings window, where you can change, well, the administrator settings. The first option lets you turn security on or off. If little Johnny is done with the computer and you want to use it, you don't have to reboot to get full access back -- simply use this option to turn security off. The next option lets you determine what happens at startup time. You can have the logon window appear, prompting you for your password, as is the default, or you can choose to have security automatically turn on or off at startup time. Note that regardless of what happens at startup time, you can always change the current security setting simply by using the first option. The next option says "Allow copy, rename, etc. in SlixSecurity folder". This option basically lets you determine what kind of function the SlixSecurity folder will have. For example, if you want an "At Ease"-like environment, consisting of a simple program launcher, then you will want to turn this option off. The SlixSecurity window will then be like a program launcher window, with little Johnny only being able to run his programs from it. On the other hand, if you want the SlixSecurity folder to be like Johnny's little "workspace", where he can create folders, move stuff around, and organize it as he likes, then you will want to turn this option on. Note that if you go with this "workspace" idea, Johnny still won't be able to delete anything because the trash can is hidden. What you should do is create a folder (inside the SlixSecurity folder) and name it "Trash" or something like that. He can drag anything he wants to delete into this folder, and then you can take out the trash for him (delete the contents of the folder) whenever you feel like it. The next option is "Allow desk accessories". If desk accessories are not allowed, then all the NDAs (other than SlixSecurity itself) will be dimmed and unselectable, and the apple-control-escape sequence to get to the CDA menu won't work (nor will the apple-shift-escape sequence for the Control Panels NDA). Note that if a program is launched from the Finder and security is on, then desk accessories will still be disabled, even inside that program. Desk accessory access will come back to you as soon as you turn security off. The next option, which is similar, is "Allow Finder extras". If extras are not allowed and security is on, then the Extras menu in the Finder will be hidden. Note that Finder extensions can still perform their actions; they just can't be selected in the Extras menu. For example, if you have a Finder extension that lets you see or hear a graphics or music file when it is double-clicked on, little Johnny will still be able to double-click on any graphics or music files in his SlixSecurity folder and see or hear them to his heart's content. The extras menu reappears when you turn security off. The last option is a button that says "Open Trash Window". The trash can is hidden when you start the Finder with security enabled, so this option gives you a means of deleting things (whether security is on or not). Simply click this option, and the Trash window will open up. You can now drag things into this window as you would drag things to the trash can, and choose Empty Trash to delete them. This option is disabled when you are not in the Finder. Are there any other random things I should know? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ But of course. First of all, the SlixSecurity folder does not necessarily have to be on the boot disk. The one on the boot disk is opened up automatically at startup time, but you can have a SlixSecurity folder on any disk (including any hard drive partition) that you like. When you click on the disk icon, the SlixSecurity folder on that disk (if there is one) will open up. If you have a SlixSecurity folder on a floppy disk, it will open up automatically when you insert the disk. Anything inside any SlixSecurity folder can be accessed when security is on. Another tip -- aliases (created via the EasyMount finder extension that comes with System 6.0.1) are quite useful with SlixSecurity. Instead of putting entire programs inside the SlixSecurity folder, you can simply create aliases to them, giving a real "Program Launcher" feel to the SlixSecurity window. The disadvantage is that EasyMount aliases all have one, bland icon. This is especially bad if little Johnny is too young to read, and has to rely on the pictures to tell which program is Math Munchers. If you are intent on using aliases, the only real solution to this is to use an icon editor (such as IconEd or ICE) to draw your own icons or copy the icons from the real program. If you do decide to do this, it may be helpful to know that EasyMount aliases have a filetype of $E2, auxtype $FFFF. (Actually, another trick is to use the icon editor to simply change the filetype of the original icons to $0000, so that all files of that name are matched, which will include the aliases if they have the same name, as well as the folders. This might only work with "old style" icon files and not rBundle icons though.) If you are a programmer and are writing a program that might provide a possible security breach and you want to make your program compatible with SlixSecurity, SlixSecurity can tell you its status and settings via IPC. Contact me for the specs on the IPC request. So what if I forget my password? Am I locked out of my computer forever? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No... Simply "shift-boot" (hold down the shift key while starting GS/OS) so SlixSecurity is not loaded. Then go into the System/System.Setup folder and find a file called "SlixSecur.DATA". Drag it to the trash and delete it. Then, restart your computer and set up the password again as you did the first time. Yes, SlixSecurity is susceptable to "shift-booting". On the other hand, so is "At Ease" and they've still sold a gazillion of those, which leads me (and you, hopefully) to believe that is probably isn't such a big problem. If it still worries you, you can use Eric Shepherd's program "Shifty List", to take care of this problem. If you do use the Shifty List solution, then if you forget your password, you will have to launch some other disk (such as the System Disk) to get access to your System/System.Setup folder and delete the "SlixSecur.DATA" file. Will SlixSecurity solve all my security problems, bring about world peace, and act as an powerful aphrodisiac while preventing Lyme's disease? ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yep. All that and more. But there's a catch -- you have to pay for it. Fortunately, all I'm asking is the low, low shareware fee of $10. Until you pay, a box will pop up on your screen every minute or so asking you to please do so. Sort of like a PBS pledge drive. (The button on the box that lets you continue will be invalid for five seconds, during which you can ponder the great mysteries of life, or write me a check.) You see, I've written two shareware programs before. They weren't crap either -- I used MagicMouse myself almost every day, and I received a number of e-mails from people who like using SpamMaster. Strangely enough though, I've made a whopping grand total of FIVE DOLLARS from the two programs combined. Something was amiss. A more pessimistic personality might conclude that people are scum and then proceed to wipe out a 7-11 with an AK-47, but I'm not like that. I conclude, instead, that people simply forget to pay their shareware fees. So SlixSecurity comes with a built-in reminder. Think of it as a feature! And when you send me the check, I'll send you (either through e-mail or U.S. Mail if you don't have e-mail) a password which you can type in to "unlock" your version of SlixSecurity and make the shareware reminder box go away forever. Please make your $10 check payable to Bret Victor, and mail it to: Bret Victor 19253 Parkview Rd. Castro Valley, CA 94546 Be sure to include your e-mail or mailing address so I can send you the unlocking password. Bret, you're so awesome, I want to know everything about you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, above all else, I'm exceptionally modest and humble. I'm also 19 years old, and I just finished my sophomore year at Caltech. For me, IIgs programming is like heroin -- once it gets in your blood, you can't kick the habit. My publicly released programming credits include: TextFighter, CoolEd (co-author), Opening Line, ShadyBar, Bender, Boinger, GravityMouse, Horoscope, SlixLaunch, MagicMouse, AutoInfo, PuyoPuyo, BarNone II, DisChord, Periodic Table, Operation Lambda, MightyScroll, World Time Zones, SlixTop, Jam Break, WhatchaPress, MightyQuotes, PickQuick, SurfBurgers, MightyPrefix, AAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!, MightyUnits, Tell Me, CrossHatch, Bunnies & Carrots, SpamMaster, SlixSecurity The first two are 8-bit programs, and the rest are IIgs programs. If you are interested in any of those programs, or interested in anything at all, feel free to e-mail me, or check out my web page: e-mail: bret@cco.caltech.edu webpage: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~bret (You can also send mail to my Genie address, B.VICTOR1, but that account seems to be a dumping ground for people advertising money-making schemes and pornographic web sites. So the school account is better, unless you actually are advertising a money-making scheme or pornographic web site.) ... For what it's worth, I was originally going to call this program "Safe Slix". Perhaps I should have... it would be amusing to see what kind of icon I would come up with for that name. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (c) 1997 Bret Victor. One is silver and the other is gold. And we'll all live happily ever after.