How Mac OS X Mail Parental Controls Work
If your child is still too small to fully trust its decisions (and you know that others can be trusted even less), it may be best to restrict the circle of people they can communicate with. Using the Mac OS X Parental Controls, you can specify the email addresses safe for a user to exchange mail with in Mac OS X Mail.
When somebody not on the save list tries to mail the user, you will see the message first and can choose to allow the sender or continue to restrict them. When the controlled user tries to mail somebody new, you first have to give your approval as well.
Control Email Use with Mac OS X Mail Parental Controls
To control email use with Parental Controls in Mac OS X Mail:
- Select System Preferences... from the Apple menu.
- Go to Parental Controls.
- Highlight the desired account.
- If necessary, click the lock icon and type an administrator's name and password.
- Go to the Mail & iChat tab.
- Make sure Limit Mail is checked.
- Use the + button to add email addresses and existing contacts to the list of trusted correspondents.
- Make sure Send permission requests to: is checked.
- Type your email address in the field following it.
- You need to be able to receive these emails in Mac OS X Mail yourself to approve senders directly.
- Optionally, disallow email programs other than Mac OS X Mail:
- Go to the System tab.
- Make sure Only allow selected applications is checked.
- Now make sure Mail but no other email program (beneath Internet or Other) is checked under Check the applications to allow.
- Further, see to neither Terminal nor X11 (under Utilities) being checked to prevent command line email programs from being used.
- Close system preferences.
Control Email Use with Parental Controls in Mac OS X Mail 2
To control email use with Mac OS X Mail 2 Parental Controls:
- Select System Preferences... from the Apple menu.
- Go to the Accounts category.
- Highlight the desired account.
- If the accounts are dimmed, click the lock icon and type an administrator's name and password.
- Go to the Parental Controls tab.
- Make sure Mail is checked.
- Use the + button to add email addresses to the list of trusted correspondents.
- Make sure Send permission emails to: is checked.
- Type your email address.
- You need to be able to receive these emails in Mac OS X Mail yourself to approve senders directly.
Mac OS X Mail Parental Controls Can be Circumvented
Be aware that a thus parentally controlled user can use a different program to send and receive emails without any restrictions.
