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Wiping a Deceased Loved One's Computer...
Zephonate
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello all.
My father took his own life a week ago today. Condolences/sympathy, while appreciated, are not why I'm making this topic though.
Being an adult, as well as the sole person in his will, it has fallen on me to settle his affairs. It's been rough, but I'm managing. Today, my mother, stepfather, girlfriend and I went through the room he was renting, sorting trash from donations and things that I wanted to keep. Among the possessions he left to me was a good condition, fairly new (I think) iMac computer. We found a list of passwords he had for different accounts and devices, though none of them will log me into his computer. My question is a two-parter:
1. Is there any way for me to bypass the login sequence on an iMac, change the password, or simply wipe the computer without logging in? He didn't keep a lot of important items digitally (he was an older guy), so even if I can get in I'm not expecting to find anything elucidating, so I've made peace with the likelihood of having to reformat it anyway. I'm just unable to at the present moment.
2. Slightly troubling is a message I noticed underneath the available users on his login screen. My Google-Fu returned nothing of use, save for the possibility of a Mac virus creating this message. However, I will post it to gather a public consensus on how I should proceed...imgur.com/cjVEJCw
I was a Mac user for about eight years and never once saw a message that looked anything like that. Understandably, I'm slightly spooked, and would like to know what the dealio is there.
Thank you in advance for your help.
My father took his own life a week ago today. Condolences/sympathy, while appreciated, are not why I'm making this topic though.
Being an adult, as well as the sole person in his will, it has fallen on me to settle his affairs. It's been rough, but I'm managing. Today, my mother, stepfather, girlfriend and I went through the room he was renting, sorting trash from donations and things that I wanted to keep. Among the possessions he left to me was a good condition, fairly new (I think) iMac computer. We found a list of passwords he had for different accounts and devices, though none of them will log me into his computer. My question is a two-parter:
1. Is there any way for me to bypass the login sequence on an iMac, change the password, or simply wipe the computer without logging in? He didn't keep a lot of important items digitally (he was an older guy), so even if I can get in I'm not expecting to find anything elucidating, so I've made peace with the likelihood of having to reformat it anyway. I'm just unable to at the present moment.
2. Slightly troubling is a message I noticed underneath the available users on his login screen. My Google-Fu returned nothing of use, save for the possibility of a Mac virus creating this message. However, I will post it to gather a public consensus on how I should proceed...imgur.com/cjVEJCw
I was a Mac user for about eight years and never once saw a message that looked anything like that. Understandably, I'm slightly spooked, and would like to know what the dealio is there.
Thank you in advance for your help.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
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Posts
As for the questions - Well, you could take the hdd out and either just physically break it or get a seperate hdd enclosure and format it. Neither one are 100% proof against data recovery but its unlikely someone is going to
But
After googling that number in the message, that is an actual FBI hotline, so you might actually want to call it before tampering with it. The other option would be talking to a lawyer about it.
I don't know much about macs, but it is possible to get around the password. It just depends on what you have. this should be enough ways to deal with the problem.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
"For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
--John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).