Best program for AIM on public MAC

C

callie

Registered
I have just helped install two brand new Mac OS X 10.4 computers into a sort-of public space at a university, for mostly AIM, email, and word processing purposes. The problem is that iChat (as well as most free substitutes for AIM like Trillian, Gaim, etc) asks you to make a profile and stores a password when you log in. That really won't work on a semi-public computer.

AIM, for all its faults, was really the best choice-- If people clicked "save password" when they logged in, they were just being foolish. We tried to install AIM itself, but there doesn't seem to be a version for the new Intel Macs.

What would be y'all's educated opinion on the best public instant messaging software for Macs OS X 10.4 that does not store passwords or profiles?
 
Maybe if you lock the keychain down it would solve your problem. Also remember is with the computers admin account make it so that Safari does not remember any input into it (in Safari's preferences) for the User only account(s) you will be setting up.
 
Thank you, but we've already installed Firefox instead of Safari, disabled all the password remembering, and set it to clear all personal data when the program closes. I may not be familiar with Macs, but I'm not stupid. This is not a problem with the passwords in the OS, it is an issue with accounts within a program, so from the little I know of the "keychain", it has nothing to do with our problem.

What I am wondering is if there is a free alternative that does *not* store passwords inherently, or if there exists an old version of AIM that works with Intel Macs....
 
When you are setting up OS X in System Preferences->Accounts pane you can specify how you want a new/current user can have reference to permissions for applications. Also the OS X KeyChain (/Applications/Utilties/KeyChain Access) is a system wide password storing application. If you lock it and make it only available to the Administrator account then the limited User account your are setting will not use the system wide keychain remembering application. This is part of simple system lock down you need to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top