Selective file sharing in a public coffee shop

Two friends and I are sitting at a coffee shop. I would like them to browse the family pictures that I keep in ~/Family-Pictures. We don't have any cables or cords and for unimportant reasons, both friends need simultaneous access that one folder without my giving them my password. I also dont want anyone else in the shop getting at my mac or its contents.

How can I set up my mac to share with two other computers?

Solution 1:

You can share a folder by selecting it in the Finder, press CommandI (Or select Get Info), and check the box that says "Shared Folder". You will need to enable file sharing in System Preferences if you have not already done that.

Your second and third questions have a single solution that could solve both problems. Unless the users have accounts on your machine, you are correct that you would be making the files available to anyone on the network. However, you could create a peer-to-peer network that only your friends have the password to join. Go to the WiFi menu and select "Create Network." Assign your network a name and password, and give that information to your friends.

Be sure to disable sharing when you are done, or else members of other, more public networks will be able to read your files.