Lesson 7—Manage User Accounts

Question 1

What are the types of local user accounts in macOS Big Sur? How are they different?

Answer 1

The local user accounts in macOS include the following:
• Administrator—Administrator user accounts are part of the admin group and are allowed full access
to all apps, preferences, and shared resource locations.
• Standard—Standard users are allowed to take advantage of nearly all the resources and features of a
Mac, but they generally can’t change preferences that might affect other users.
• Guest—The default guest account is similar to a standard user, but it doesn’t require a password.
When a guest user logs out, the home folder is deleted, including any home folder items that would
normally be saved, such as preference files or web browser history.
• Sharing only—“Sharing only” accounts share files with someone on a different computer, but that
user can’t log in to your Mac.
• System Administrator (root user account)—The System Administrator account has more access to
files than administrator user accounts, such as files in user home folders. You can use it to perform
tasks that require more privileges than administrator user accounts have. It is turned off by default on
macOS.
• Group—A group account is a list of user accounts that gives you greater control over file and folder
access.

Question 2

What other types of user accounts can macOS use in addition to local user accounts?

Answer 2

macOS uses two other user accounts in addition to the local user accounts:
• Network user accounts—Available to multiple Mac computers and stored on a shared directory server
such as Active Directory that centralizes identification, authentication, and authorization information.
The home folder for a Network user account is usually stored on a network file server.
• Mobile user account—A network user account that has been synced with the local user database so
that you can use a mobile user account even when your Mac can’t contact the shared directory
server. The home folder for a mobile user account is usually stored on the startup disk.

Question 3

Can a standard account user install apps and app updates from the App Store?

Answer 3

Yes, standard account users can install apps and app updates from the App Store.

Question 4

If FileVault is turned on and you turn on the option “Allow guests to log in to this computer,” what
happens when you log in with the guest account?

Answer 4

When FileVault is turned on and you log in with the guest account, your Mac restarts, and Safari is the
only app available. When the user with the guest account quits Safari, the guest account home folder is
deleted and the Mac restarts.

Question 5

What are user account attributes? How do you view account attributes?

Answer 5

User account attributes are the individual pieces of information that define a user account. Examples
include user ID, group, account name, full name, login shell, home directory, universally unique ID
(UUID), Apple ID, and aliases. To view user account attributes, open the Users & Groups preferences in
System Preferences, Control-click a user account, then choose Advanced Options.

Question 6

How can you limit the amount of time that a user account can access apps?

Answer 6

You can use Screen Time to manage downtime, app limits, and content and privacy restrictions.

Question 7

What does fast user switching allow you to do?

Answer 7

Fast user switching lets a Mac switch between user accounts without users logging out or quitting
apps.