the process of converting information using an algorithm (or cipher) to render the information unreadable to anyone who doesn't have the algorithm (also known as a key)
13
votes
2answers
3k views
What user behavior is necessary to make Filevault 2 maximally secure?
Situation: Filevault 2 passwords can be stolen
Passware has released the Passware Kit Forensic 11.3 which is able to steal the FileVault 2 password from the RAM by performing a DMA Attack via the ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
How is the System Keychain secured in OS X?
I'm looking for something either like this security white paper for iOS except for OS X or even better, some kind of security audit report from an independent expert. After reading through ...
10
votes
4answers
893 views
Tools to compress and encrypt files
I want to compress several files and encrypt them with a password if possible.
Are there any build-in tools in Mac OS that provide such functionality?
If not, can you recommend me a (freeware) ...
9
votes
2answers
7k views
Is File Vault 2 whole disk encryption or whole partition encryption?
Can I use File Vault to encrypt only some of the partitions on my disk (so that I can still have unencrypted and Windows partitions on the same disk), or does File Vault encrypt the whole disk so that ...
9
votes
2answers
3k views
What are the implications in speed and battery life while using Filevault 2?
One of the neat new (though understated) features of Lion is Whole Disk Encryption. Before I flick the switch, I'd love to know what the performance impacts (speed and battery impacts) of switching ...
8
votes
2answers
6k views
With File Vault ON are time machine backups encrypted?
I have been using time machine to back up to a wireless external drive since I got my mac. Today I used filevault to encrypt my hard drive.
Will this affect how Time Machine backs up my files?
Will ...
7
votes
6answers
563 views
Simple encryption software for the Mac
I am looking for an application which would allow me to encrypt either a file or a folder. Something like right click on a file/folder, select Encrypt, give it a password and ready.
Of course, it ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
How to view progress when encrypting a disk?
Mountain Lion allows one to encrypt any disk by right-clicking on the disk in the Finder and selecting Encrypt from the contextual menu.
Is there anyway to check on the progress of this encryption ...
6
votes
5answers
3k views
Can I use FileVault only for specific folders?
Can I set up FileVault to encrypt only specific folders inside of my Home folder but not the whole Home folder?
I want to do this because it's not very convenient for me to encrypt the entire Home ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
How to make an expanding compressed encrypted disk image?
I'd like the following setup:
A DMG file sits on my HD, taking up only the space of the contents, or perhaps only the space of the contents compressed.
If I double-click on it, I need to give a ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Does FileVault encrypt my BootCamp partition?
If I enable the new FileVault feature in Mac OS X Lion, will it also encrypt my existing Windows bootcamp partitions? (And/or any new bootcamp partition I create?)
Update: If not, where can I get ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
Speed of old Filevault vs. new Lion full disk encryption
How do the old Filevault and the new Lion full disk encryption compare speed wise?
ATM I am using Snow Leppard with FileVault to encrypt my whole home directory, which makes opening IPhoto, Chrome or ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
What are my options for full system (or at least home directory) encryption?
I own a MacBook Pro, which is obviously a Laptop, so I want to protect myself in case it ever gets stolen.
On Windows I can use TrueCrypt to do a full system encryption, but would that also be a ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
How can ZFS be used with encryption on OS X?
Ideals:
protection of home directories should be better than in Lion (for multiple administrators: FileVault 2 alone is less secure than FileVault 1)
resizing a file system should be simple and ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Why is FAT16 limited to read-only with TrueCrypt on Snow Leopard?
I'm experiencing a problem with TrueCrypt. The problem is described elsewhere but not resolved for me.
When attempting to mount encrypted containers, the following error is generated:
hdiutil: ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I get Time Machine to back up the contents of a File Vault while logged in?
Disclaimer: this question and answer are targeted to the Snow Leopard implementation of FileVault where the user home folder is only encrypted in a bundle. Lion's implementation of FileVault doesn't ...
5
votes
3answers
416 views
Is AFP (specifically Time Machine) encrypted on the wire?
I've been hunting for the answer to this, but I have not found it. When I back up my laptop using Time Machine to a remote Time Machine server (Time Capsule, or Mac Mini with an external drive), is ...
5
votes
2answers
340 views
Zip Utility with encryption option
Is there any good zip application for Mac OS X similar to 7-Zip (Windows only) which is free, compatible with many formats, and offers encryption options?
5
votes
1answer
89 views
Securing Lion user account directories from admin access
FileVault allowed me to create encrypted user directories, so that if I handed my computer over to the Apple store for repairs I could give them a clean admin account to do the necessary repairs ...
5
votes
1answer
448 views
Is a hardware-based full disk encryption possible on a Mac?
Is it possible to use hardware-based full disk encryption (perhaps on a Samsung 840 Pro SSD) on a Mac, specifically a Macbook Pro 8,2? If so, how?
My understanding is that this will be handled in the ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How do I encypt Time Machine with Mac OS X Lion?
I am thinking about upgrading to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, because it offers full disk encryption.
However, if I use Time Machine with on an external hard drive, will the Time Machine backups be encrypted ...
4
votes
2answers
379 views
With FileVault enabled, do I need to overwrite my hard drive with 0's before getting rid of it?
When I give up my laptop I like to securely delete the hard drive. I would assume that since it's full disk encrypted using file vault that I should be able to just delete the real key for boot ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Encrypting sensitive data on Mac + Windows
I've been a long-time Windows user, using a utility called AxCrypt to encrypt sensitive documents which holded sensitive info (bank passwords, credit card numbers, etc).
I had an encrypted Excel ...
3
votes
3answers
251 views
Convenient way to store sensitive information on Mac/iPad?
Currently I keep an obscurely-named text file on my hard drive which contains things like bank account and credit card details, various passwords, PINs, and other bits of sensitive/confidential ...
3
votes
1answer
59 views
How do I generate cryptographically random numbers on OSX?
I need to generate several cryptographically random numbers in OSX and save it to a text file.
How should I go about doing this?
3
votes
2answers
354 views
Are there any public audits of the disk level encryption in Mac OS X Lion?
As a rule, one should never trust closed source cryptography software, but encrypting external drives and Time Machine backups has become quite convenient in Mac OS X Lion. Is that specific code ...
3
votes
2answers
644 views
iPhone 4 email encryption
I have a nice new iPhone 4. I can use it for my work calendar, but not my work email. The reason why is because I work for a medical company and email is very protected.
I have heard that the ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I mount an encrypted disk from the command line?
When I type diskutil mount disk3 in the terminal, it says Volume(s) mounted successfully. However, the disk is not mounted and I can confirm this by opening the GUI of Disk Utility.app and also the ...
3
votes
2answers
246 views
How to create an encrypted volume on an external drive or flash drive
How do you encrypt an external hard/flash drive connected to my Mac in Lion 10.7? Preferable something with a strong encryption as FileVault.
3
votes
1answer
693 views
Is FileVault distinct from Finder's “Encrypt …” command?
I'm confused by the variety of methods for encrypting drives in Mountain Lion. There are at least four methods,
FileVault in System Preferences;
Finder's "Encrypt..." command;
Disk Utility's "Erase" ...
3
votes
1answer
511 views
Apple Push Notifications SSL Error
The APNS worked fine for various month until few weeks. Every time we send Push Notifications the connection aborts with the following error:
PHP Warning: fwrite(): SSL operation failed with code ...
3
votes
1answer
784 views
Should I have turned off Legacy FileVault before using FileVault 2 on Lion?
I've been happily using Legacy FileVault on my Macbook since I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Lion. Today, I decided to switch to FileVault 2 and went ahead and clicked the "Turn On FileVault" button. ...
3
votes
3answers
578 views
iPad DropBox client side encryption
I have just gotten the New IPad - my first foray into the world of Apple. I'm eager to make the most of it that I can, for both personally and for work.
In order for me to be able to use it for ...
2
votes
1answer
465 views
Does iCloud use client-side encryption?
I would like to know if iCloud uses client-side encryption i.e. all data is encrypted on client side and even Apple can't decrypt the data and read it.
Is this true for iCloud?
2
votes
2answers
825 views
Warning: “CSUserAgent wants to access data stored in your keychain.”
For my backups I use an encrypted external hard disk. This hard disk has two partitions (names are: Backup, Private).
Today, when connecting the backup I was prompted with the following message:
...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
If I encrypt a Time Machine backup disk, is the entire disk encrypted or just the Backups.backupdb directory?
If I check the "Encrypt backup disk" checkbox in Time Machine (in OS X Lion), I get this warning:
Will just the Time Machine "Backups.backupdb" directory be encrypted, or the entire disk? In other ...
2
votes
1answer
47 views
How can I recover the key of an encrypted hard-drive?
I still have access to the disc, but I lost the piece of paper with the key. Can I somehow recover it? I already had a look into Keychain Access Utility, but I couldn’t find it.
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Should time machine backups be encrypted
I am new to the Mac and was setting up my Time Machine. However, it seems Time Machine also backs up information in the keychain.
I was wondering if that means I should use an encrypted disk to store ...
2
votes
1answer
231 views
How can I use FileVault encryption and still track my laptop if stolen
I've spent quite some time over the last few days trying to work out how I can combine the clear data security advantages of encrypting my machine with FileVault 2 under Lion, and the theft-recovery ...
2
votes
2answers
516 views
How do I get rid of my encrypted iPhone backups to start from scratch?
Is there a way I can delete all my encrypted iPhone backups for which I forgot the password, so that I can start backing up from fresh?
At the moment I'm stuck in this loop (below) which I can't ...
2
votes
2answers
203 views
Why can't I paste into the password dialog when mounting an encrypted disk image?
I've got an encrypted disk sparse bundle disk image and I've used fstab with the right UUID to mount it someplace other than /Volumes. What I would like is to just dbl-click on it, enter the password ...
2
votes
2answers
774 views
Time Machine drive encryption going for 22 hours. Is it stalled?
I set up Time Machine in Mountain Lion by plugging in a newly formatted 500GB USB drive, selecting that from the Time Machine dialog, and checking the box to encrypt my backups. A window appeared that ...
2
votes
1answer
206 views
FileVault sparsefile uses double of actual allocated disk space
I just noticed that for some reason disk usage (du) reports that FileVault in my home directory would use its allocated disk space twice:
[/Users]% sudo du -h -d 1 .
184G ./.moo
170G ./moo
204K ...
2
votes
1answer
854 views
Can I encrypt an external harddisk which is in HFS+?
(journaled, encrypted) is a new option which I am able to find in Lion.
Can I convert an existing harddrive (external) to encrypt the whole drive instead of using other tools ?
2
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I better understand iCloud security for 1Password data?
My understanding is iCloud uses server-side encryption of customer data.
I am no expert but what about the data e.g. of an app like 1Password which can syncs very sensitive user data to many devices ...
2
votes
2answers
378 views
Can I use an HFS+ usb disk with encryption enabled with a Time Capsule (2TB is mine)
I have a 2TB Time Capsule (version 7.6.1) and I want to connect a USB disk formatted as HFS+ with encryption enabled (on MAC OS X Mountain Lion). When I connect it directly to my iMac, it asks for a ...
2
votes
2answers
126 views
How do you encrypt a file or a single folder worth of data?
Looking for a way to easily encrypt a file or a folder with a password without having to make up an encrypted read write image in Disk Utility?
2
votes
1answer
502 views
FileVault (CoreStorage) + Linux partition
Quick question here. I'm not really familiar with the requirements of CoreStorage so I'd like to confirm with you guys before I start working.
I'm currently running OSX Lion on my MacBook Air, with ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
What is the Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) volume encryption standard?
I have found countless blogs and tutorials how to encrypt an external drive using Mac's extended journaled encrypted format, but I couldn't find anybody stating the standard behind it. I know that ...
2
votes
1answer
558 views
Revert encryption error
I'm trying to revert the encryption on my disk, but Disk Utility gives me an unknown error, and from the command line, using
sudo diskutil corestorage rever UUID
It gives me this error:
Error: ...
