Secure/Encrypt files on HD and CD?
This is probably easy to do, but I'm not familiar with how...
I'm using Tiger on my Powerbook, which is my work machine. I also use it for home finances etc. My concern is that I have 2 folders of confidential information (1 personnel file, including salaries etc.; and one personal finances file with passwords, account numbers, amounts etc.) and I'd like to protect them from intrusion.
I lock my laptop automatically when I step away, but I'd feel better knowing that even if anyone stole and/or got onto my system that they couldn't get into these files without an additional password etc.
How do I do this in Tiger?
What if I want to archive the personal finance data on CD, can I lock it there? The idea being that with all of the natural disasters lately I'd probably like to keep a backup disc in a location outside my home, but know that no one could open the contents besides me...
Any assistance is appreciated.
I'm using Tiger on my Powerbook, which is my work machine. I also use it for home finances etc. My concern is that I have 2 folders of confidential information (1 personnel file, including salaries etc.; and one personal finances file with passwords, account numbers, amounts etc.) and I'd like to protect them from intrusion.
I lock my laptop automatically when I step away, but I'd feel better knowing that even if anyone stole and/or got onto my system that they couldn't get into these files without an additional password etc.
How do I do this in Tiger?
What if I want to archive the personal finance data on CD, can I lock it there? The idea being that with all of the natural disasters lately I'd probably like to keep a backup disc in a location outside my home, but know that no one could open the contents besides me...
Any assistance is appreciated.
Comments
you can either create an encrypted Disk Image (in applications -> utilities -> disk utility) and then mount and unmount the encrypted image whenever you want to get at the files... note that you'll need to pre-estimate a maximum size for the image (though the actual data need not fill it initially, you cannot resize an image later, so budget for growth).
extra benefit of this method is that the image can be burned onto CD in encrypted form, and the image can be set to be invisible until mounted, so any potential 'finders' might not even know it's there until it was mounted.
alternatively, you can encrypt your entire home folder with FileVault (in System Preferences). FV encrypts and decrypts on the fly, so can be a small performance hit on slower systems, may be overkill in encrypting itunes libraries, etc if all you need is two folders, but is designed as a "what if my laptop got stolen" peace-of-mind security system.
of course, if you forget your passphrase, you'll NEVER get past the encryption to get your data back.
do a quick search for either technique to see which suits better or read feedback here.
one should do the trick for you... I'd think the former rather than the latter, but YMMV.
Originally posted by curiousuburb
note that you'll need to pre-estimate a maximum size for the image (though the actual data need not fill it initially, you cannot resize an image later, so budget for growth).
I'd go with the encrypted disc image. It works very well for me. If you use a "sparseimage" format, the image will grow only when you write new data to it. You still have to choose a partition size, but even if you chose a 200 MB partition size (way more than you'd ever need just for text files), the actual sparseimage file will only be a few MB large.
Make sure that you use a long, alpha-numeric password to protect the disc image, and MAKE SURE you DON'T save it to your keychain (dialogue boxes pop up during creation and first mounting of the image asking for the password, with checkboxes pre-checked to save the password to your login keychain). Until Quantum Computers arrive, the password is the weakest link of AES-128 encryption.