Apple's trademark for features of the Mac OS X operating system involving encrypting computer data for security purposes
23
votes
11answers
9k views
How can I figure out what's slowly eating my HD space?
Every few days I get notices on my MacBook that it's running or run out of hard drive space. Curiously, restarting the computer will enable me to recover gigabytes of space (this past time, it was ...
13
votes
16answers
2k views
Apart from being able to encypt an entire volume, what are the other differences of FileVault 2 over FileVault?
Does FileVault 2 in Lion have any other differences compared to the old version, FileVault in previous releases of the system? Are there any additional benefits to using the new version?
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 ...
10
votes
1answer
341 views
For maximum FileVault2 security, why is hibernation recommended?
Many discussions of FileVault 2 security suggest using:
sudo pmset -a destroyfvkeyonstandby 1 hibernatemode 25
Some of those discussion state that FileVault keys are stored in RAM during normal ...
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
4k views
Can Time Machine volumes be easily encrypted with FileVault 2?
Now that File Vault 2 can encrypt the entire disk and encrypt external drives, can I have a fully encrypted Time Machine volume?
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 ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Will FileVault 2 wear out my SSD faster?
I'm considering using FileVault 2 when I upgrade to Lion. Though my understanding of it is weak, it seems as though it shouldn't really increase the number of reads or writes per disk operation ...
8
votes
3answers
4k views
Disable a user's ability to unlock a FileVault 2 volume at startup/login time
I recently performed a clean install of Lion on one of my Macs. The installation process created one administrative user account. After installation, I enabled FileVault for the entire disk. Then, I ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
How to create a pseudo-guest account in Lion with FileVault 2?
The guest account always had very limited permissions, unfortunately since activating FileVault on Lion it's deactivated by default. (More about it here: Unable to create Guest Account after enabling ...
7
votes
1answer
942 views
How can I configure the keyboard layout for the FileVault 2 unlock screen?
I installed Mac OS X Lion and enabled FileVault to have a full disk encryption of my system disk. I bought my Mac with a French keyboard (since I'm French and used to this layout) but my Mac is ...
7
votes
2answers
244 views
How does Apple's Power Nap interact with File Vault?
If a machine is periodically waking up to check for updates with Power Nap, does this also mean the disk encryption keys are always in RAM? If so, this makes a DMA attack against a "sleeping" Mac ...
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
1answer
2k views
Unable to create Guest Account after enabling FileVault
After upgrading to Lion, I tried creating a guest account and it worked.
I enabled FileVault on Lion and went through the process of encryption. After that, when I am trying to create a Guest ...
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
4answers
2k views
For a FileVault user of Mountain Lion: can I avoid the automated login, which normally follows unlock of the encrypted startup volume?
I have FileVault enabled with two users:
AdminGuy
OtherGuy.
I want AdminGuy to:
have the ability to unlock the HD, and therefore only he can enter a u/n + p/w at boot to start boot up
have the ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
After disabling Filevault 1, is it possible to enable it again in Lion?
It seems that after disabling Filevault 1 in OS X Lion, there no longer is an option to choose between Filevault 1 and Filevault 2 functionality.
I actually prefer Filevault 1 over Filevault 2, since ...
6
votes
1answer
3k views
Can FileVault show the login window as 'name and password', not 'list of users'?
Normally, Mac OS X lets you choose to show the login screen as a list of users (you click to enter the password), or two text fields (you enter the username and password):
But, I use FileVault 2. ...
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Can you reinstall OS X on a FileVault 2-encrypted drive?
I've been researching FileVault 2 to make sure that I understand it before I enable it on my Mac. While reading Macworld's Complete guide to FileVault 2 in Lion, I encountered an unexpected caveat ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
What issues might (legacy) FileVault cause?
Edit: The below was written before Lion came out, so this post is referring to what is now called "Legacy FileVault", which encrypts only your home directory.
I've enabled FileVault on my computer ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
How would enabling FileVault alter my system and TM performance?
What are the pros and cons, performance-wise, of enabling and using FileVault? Is there any at all, or does it slow a computer down significantly or on the contrary speed it up? Also, what effect will ...
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
1answer
429 views
10.7 FileVault & TimeMachine
I would like to know if turning on FileVault affects TimeMachine Backups; if yes how?
(E.G. Do the backups become encrypted? etc.)
5
votes
3answers
616 views
Is there a way of “re-locking” an internal FileVault 2 encrypted partition?
As an alternative to using encrypted disk images, I created a FileVault 2 encrypted partition in Lion for some important data on the SSD in my MacBook Air. The password is not stored in a keychain. ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Dual boot Linux and Lion on FileVault 2 disk
I have Mac OS X Lion installed on FileVault partition. On the same disk I've installed GNU/Linux. When I boot my MacBook I can only boot Lion.
How to boot Linux?
In case you need here is more ...
5
votes
4answers
629 views
Cannot wake Mountain Lion from safe sleep
I have a late-2010 MacBook Air on which I am running OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2 with FileVault 2 enabled.
When I try to wake it from safe sleep:
the panel is backlit but nothing is displayed;
the ...
4
votes
1answer
228 views
Is the Guest account a security risk with full disk encryption on Mountain Lion?
I have File Vault 2 full-disk encryption enabled on my 2012 MacBook Air running Mountain Lion. By default it also has a "Guest" Safari-only account available. I just tried it the other day and found ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Grey login screen after enabling encryption
After turning on encryption with FileVault on my MacBook Air with Mountain Lion my login screen went gray. Is there a way to go back to the default one?
The grey one
The default one
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Mount home sparsebundle when SSH
I'm using FileVault to encrypt my homedir. But when I'm not logged (locally) into my remote machine and I'm connecting to it trough SSH my home contains only the sparsebundle file.
How can I mount it ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Is it possible to access a FileVault 2 encrypted volume from Boot Camp?
If I switch on FileVault 2 in Lion, can I still access my OS X volume from Boot Camp (Windows 7)? Are both volumes encrypted and decrypted together, or does it only affect the OS X volume?
4
votes
1answer
89 views
How do I copy a TimeMachine backup to an encrypted disk?
I want to replace my current TimeMachine backup disk with a new disk, but I also want to copy the existing contents to the new disk after encrypting the new disk.
How can I best do that? Are there ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views
How do I set up a Mac to use both FileVault and Boot Camp?
I understand FileVault will encrypt the volume Mac OS X is installed on. I guess this means that Windows won't be able to read it.
How can I set up a MacBook to use FileVault for the Mac OS X ...
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 ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Guest login got enabled even though FileVault 2 is enabled and Guest login is disabled
I rebooted my Mac yesterday after installing the Apple update TS4088. Even though I disabled Guest Logins in my Users Preferences and have enabled FileVault 2 since the start, I am able to see Guest ...
3
votes
3answers
858 views
Does using the new FileVault use up less disk space than Legacy FileVault?
I was using (Legacy) FileVault on Snow Leopard and when I upgraded to Lion, it kept me on Legacy FileVault. I notice that FileVault uses a lot of disk space which is then recovered once I log out. ...
3
votes
2answers
675 views
Not enough space to migrate from Legacy FileVault to FileVault 2
When I try to change from using Legacy FileVault to the new FileVault in Lion, it says that I don't have enough disk space.
What are my options besides having to delete bunch of files? (20 GB in my ...
3
votes
1answer
284 views
Can I switch off disk while disk encryption is going on
I am trying to encrypt a disk which is taking approximately 20-30 minutes per every 1% .
Can I restart/switch off my Mac while the encryption is going on ?
Would the Mac automagically resume ...
3
votes
2answers
757 views
FileVault Performance Compromise?
I'm thinking of using FileVault to secure my computer - it looks like an ideal solution for everything. However, I'm wondering - will it effect the performance / battery life of my computer ...
3
votes
3answers
2k views
Can't turn on FileVault after restore from Time Machine
I have bought myself a SSD and replaced the internal disk with it.
I was running Lion before (latest patch level).
I'm using Time Machine to back my laptop up.
When I was done replacing my HDD I ...
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
3answers
10k views
How to recreate Lion Recovery HD partition?
I have a Macbook Air Mid 2011 which came pre-installed with Lion.
After a trackpad hardware problem I wanted to be sure that none of my programs was responsible for the problem. I booted into the ...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
Switch from sleep to hibernate after set time
Is there a way to set a MacBook Pro (10.8.2) to go into normal sleep when I close the case but then switch to hibernation after, say, 15 minutes? It's clearly capable of going from sleep to hibernate ...
3
votes
1answer
439 views
Presence of a Linux partition causes FileVault2 setup to fail
I'm currently dual booting Mountain Lion and Ubuntu 12.04 on a rMBP. Everything works fine, but enabling FileVault fails with the error message: "Some information was unavailable during an internal ...
3
votes
2answers
183 views
FileVault unlock startup screen
I don't want anybody turning on my Mac seeing my name and user account picture (all user account configured on the computer, actually!) just because it defaults to choosing a user to unlock the drive.
...
3
votes
1answer
782 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. ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Is it worthy to turn on File Vault?
I'm the only user of my MacBook Pro 5,3 (mid 2009, Core2Duo 2.66 GHz, 4 GB RAM).
Is it worthy to turn on File Vault 2? Any performance penalties considering my hardware specification?
I'm ...
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
4answers
1k views
FileVault2 Asking for Password Twice?
I recently enabled FileVault on OSX Lion. All seems to have gone well - it asks for my password before booting as expected, however it asks for it twice. Basically, it asks for my password, boots for ...
