Product Reviews

Security package which allows system managers to keep a tight control over networked Macs.

If you are already familiar with MacPrefect, it's unlikely that you will have anything but praise for the product. If, on the other hand, you haven't come across it yet, then you're in for a treat.

MacPrefect is Mac protection software. Unlike DiskLock or FolderBolt, it is designed for people who need to keep several Macs running and in shape with standard settings and software on each. A typical user would be the system administrator for a lab of Macs in a school or college. In this type of setting the Macs must perform in a standard way and users shouldn't be able to put new software on them. Users also shouldn't be able to copy software, fonts and so on from the machines, to avoid software piracy. MacPrefect helps the system administrator maintain this environment.

The software comes on floppy disk, and installation is simple. Run the configuration utility, select the protection settings you want to have installed, and restart the Mac. That's it - the machine is now protected. With version 4.0 the protection settings are stored in a separate file, and so can be distributed to several machines via the network, rather than having to choose the settings repeatedly for each machine you want to protect.

The actual protection available comes in several different areas and covers pretty much everything you can think of. For instance, the Launch Control settings determine which applications can be run on the Mac and then splits this down into what can be run on the local hard disk, and what can be run from remote servers, floppies, CD-ROMs, and so on. In this way you create a list of acceptable applications and can allow all to run or deny all. You can choose which Control Panels the user has access to - again, very useful in a lab setting where the last thing you want is users to change things like the TCP/IP address, AppleTalk port, desktop pattern, date and time, and so

ADVERTISEMENT

on.

Version 4.0 includes a new CD-ROM protection section, where you can decide whether to allow all or just pre-defined CD-ROMs to be mounted. There is also better protection against the Extensions Manager being used to change the settings on a Mac (holding down the spacebar at boot-up now doesn't automatically launch the Manager) and IDE drives can now be protected.

Due to the way the Mac actually works, hard drive protection is performed in a fairly subtle way. Since it's impossible to prevent users booting the machine from a floppy disk (or a CD-ROM), MacPrefect can be set to write-protect the hard drive. During a normal boot from the main disk, this write-protection is turned off. However, if the user boots from another disk, the main disk remains write-protected so the user can't put any extra software on the disk or remove anything. This means that software can be copied, but at least the configuration of the machine's own disk isn't changed. And, of course, the program disables the 'turn off Extensions with the shift key held down' trick.

Other features in the software include the ability to specify: a maximum number of printed copies (you can also disable printing); which Chooser devices can be selected; which folders are write-protected; what can be copied to floppy disks or other drives; which windows appear automatically when the Mac is restarted; and which folders to automatically empty, deleting their contents, when the Mac starts up - useful in a lab situation where users are likely to fill up the hard disk fairly rapidly. This 'folder sweep' can be set to delete files over a certain age, all files, or just enough files to make sure that a preset amount of the hard disk is always free.

The update's ability to protect IDE drives (which are installed in most Performas as well as the new Motorola StarMax and Apple Power Mac 4400 models) and the new file-based protection settings all make a reasonable case for upgrading to the new version purely because system managers will find their job that much easier. However, if you find that version 3.0 is working fine for you and fulfils most of your needs, it's debatable whether or not you should bother upgrading - although the upgrade prices do tend to be fairly reasonable.

MacPrefect is a super piece of software - and although it's targeted at the education market, it also has plenty of applications in the commercial world. There are plenty of system managers out there who would find that it will make their life a lot less painful - and for that alone it can only be praised.