Security on shared workstation

Here is some additional info from our FAQ pages.

How do I know my wiki is secure? I never have to type in a password.

I need our wiki to be private. When there was an option to choose whether I wanted a private or public wiki, I asked for it to be private but I don’t see where I can confirm that it is private.

To be sure your wiki is private:

1. Go to your "Settings" page, which is a link at the top of your wiki, to the right side.
2. Click on "Public/Private". This setting will let you know if your status is Public or Private.

A private wiki can only be viewed by a person with a pbwiki account, an invite key, a sharing link, or someone who has already logged in and received a browser cookie from PBwiki.

If some random person comes to my wiki won’t they also be able to access the wiki?

We assure you that nobody but you, or someone you have invited, can edit your private wiki, except in one case which we'll discuss next.

I don’t understand why we need an invite key. When I access the wiki, I can change or make pages and do whatever I want without ever typing in a password. Will this be different for other people I invite? Do you somehow know that it’s me (the wiki creator) using the wiki?

Every time you access a website which requires a login (as is the case with PBwiki), the site sends you a browser cookie (a small text file) which is then stored in your computer. This cookie is used by PBwiki to identify you. This is why you do not need to log in. Your co-workers do not have this cookie - neither they nor anyone else can login to your wiki unless you share the invite key or invite them in another fashion.

Caution: If you leave your computer unattended, anyone can use your PC and access your wiki. We recommend that you lock your PC when you are away from it. Most businesses also recommend this for anyone using their computers. If you are using your wiki while at a public or classroom computer, you should always click the "log out" link before you leave the computer.

Advice: Do not lose your invite key even though you don't use it often. Cookies can be deleted by accident or on purpose and it's more than likely you will have to login the normal way at some point.

Can you please explain how I stop people from stumbling across our wiki?

If your wiki is private, anyone "stumbling across" your wiki will see a login page. They will see nothing else to help them break into your wiki unless you were to put the wiki invite key in the wiki title or wiki description.

To share this wiki do I just give my co-workers (friends, students) the URL?

To access a private wiki, they will need the URL of your wiki and the invite key. There are two other methods to share access to a wiki and they are accessible by going to the Settings page and clicking on either Users or Sharing.