How to hide a file on Mac OS X

Often in an Apple MAC can be used by more people and do not always want to show others what our folders contain. Then we must do so to hide from ” prying eyes ” the files to be kept secret using the terminal application included with OS X.

This solution is still soft and easy to circumvent by an experienced user, but for the most can be considered a sufficiently effective protection. Just follow this guide to the letter and, by doing as described, we can achieve the goal.

• First, we have to open the terminal application by clicking on ” Spotlight ” present in the upper right and entering the exact name of the ” terminal ” or by following the path Macintosh HD – Applications – Utilities – Terminal and click ” Enter. ” The application will start with the ready prompt to receive the command. So we will see a screen like the one in this figure opposite.
• At this point, we have to type the exact path of the folder containing the file that we want to hide or (preferable option for speed and simplicity) we open a new window with the ” Finder ” and once you have found the folder containing the file to hide, drag it with the mouse inside the terminal window and click ” Enter “.
• Now there are two possible commands to type. The first is: chflags hidden filename and then type the Send command. Of course, instead of ” filename ” should put the real name of the file to be hidden completely. To make it visible again file should type the following command: chflags nohidden filename and then type the Send command; the file will again be visible in the same source folder. When a file is hidden you can check the directory by typing the command ls -a.
• As we can see the process is very simple, and you do not risk causing any damage to your PC, or rather keep safe from the files on which, we are working, and we do not want anyone touching or peek without our personal permission. It is an action to do in the very important files, but remember that this work can be useless if the PC is also used by people quite knowledgeable about the technology, in this case it is better to save the file in the external memory unit that will keep always with us and will not be used by others without our knowledge.