Hide the Admin account from users
I think the hardest lock to pick is the one you can’t find. The same is true of the admin account on a Mac. No one can break into the admin account if they can’t find the admin account. Thanks to a couple of Mac features, there is a way to do.
Warning: This requires the use of Terminal and a sudo command. If you are not comfortable using these tools, don’t do it!
A typical log in window at school has a list of users. You click on a user, then type in the password. Once you enter the sudo command, all accounts that have admin privileges will disappear from the menu.
Here’s the tricky part: hiding the admin users. It is only one line but make absolutely sure that there are no typos in the line.
Login as admin and start Terminal.
Type in the command below, all on one line, and press enter.
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow HideAdminUsers yes
You will be prompted for your admin password.
It will not look like anything happened but you just removed the admin accounts from the login window.
Type in “exit”, quit Terminal. Log out and check your login window. The admin accounts should be gone.
To log in as admin, press the down arrow to select any user name, then press option/return. The name and password boxes appear.
For more tips and ideas about the log in window, check out
http://www.peachpit.com/guides/content.aspx?g=mac&seqNum=186
