File Vault, Time Capsule and Encryption.

Hi,

I have just got Time Capsule and a new 13" macbook pro today.

I have a few questions I am hoping someone can answer.

1 - If I turn on File Vault am I right in thinking this encrypts my macbook. Handy if it gets nicked as ill be taking it out and about with me. Can someone confirm if stolen my data is safe or not with Filevault?

2 - How do I encrypt my Time Capsule?

3 - How do I set up 2 accounts so on Time Capsule so my data and my wifes data from her G4 copies to the same Time Capsule but dosent get mixed up with my back ups?

Many thanks for any advice.

1st and foremostly i need to say ...' Be careful with filevault '

Have a read of a thread i started, as i had MAJOR problems with it
Peoples take on filevault

My problem was in short, was once i turned it on and backed up data it got to a stage where i couldnt turn it off at all, because it wouldnt let me due to a lack of space on my HD and other issues.

I wood seriously think about using it, unless you have some serious secret squirrel stff you dont want people to get to.

Back to your questions

Kola said:

1 - If I turn on File Vault am I right in thinking this encrypts my macbook. Handy if it gets nicked as ill be taking it out and about with me. Can someone confirm if stolen my data is safe or not with Filevault?

Click to expand...

Yes it will but only when you log out or switch your machine off ... It doesnt do it on the fly.

Kola said:

2 - How do I encrypt my Time Capsule?

Click to expand...

Time Capsule will be encrypted only when in is plugged in as your BackUp and you run the backup through TimeMachine. And if it is hooked up all the time it will BAckUp and encrypt your data before your machine is shut down..

Kola said:

3 - How do I set up 2 accounts so on Time Capsule so my data and my wifes data from her G4 copies to the same Time Capsule but dosent get mixed up with my back ups?

Many thanks for any advice.

Click to expand...

Dont have a time capsule but if it like a 3rd party Ext HD then you should be able to partition it through Disk Utility, and make 2 of them, one for you and another for your wife...


On that i dont want to scare you off FileVault but ill never use it again. Was more of a headache than anything in the end. ....

Complete reinstall then having to drag all my backed up data over with out anything, that had to do with the system, because it filevault would have still been on

ARRGGGHHH lol

Hope this helps a little

Cheers

@ Tattooed Mac

Hi, thanks for your reply.

If I turn on File Vault and encrypt everything I doubt Id ever want to unencrypt things as its so easy for some one to have all your info. Admittedly there is nothing secret squirrel but then neither is there in my home yet I still have a burglar alarm. If someone pinched my macbook they would have my life on a hard drive for the last however long. Id feel violated.

I honestly don’t think not been able to turn encryption off would ever be a prob for me. Can I ask why you wanted to turn it off?

Yes, Time Capsule is operating backing my Mac up and is ran by time machine. Can you just confirm this back up is encrypted so I can breath easy here.

Thnaks a lot for your detailed reply mate. Appreciated.


Mickey

A quick quiz to see if you should be using File Vault:

1. Do you work for the CIA?
2. Are you a (religious public figure) who has a potentially criminal secret stored on your computer?
3. Do you enjoy deliberately slowing down your machine and risking losing everything simply because you're paranoid?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, turn on Filevault.
Otherwise, leave it off. That goes for the software firewall as well.

Better way to protect your laptop against theft: never leave it unattended in public.
Better way to encrypt a few important and/or embarrassing files: encrypted disk image.

For sensitive files you could do a Password Protected Disk Image using Disk Utility, which is already on the MBP. Then u have the protection without the slow down. If u are both on a LAN then you can both select the same TC and it will make each Mac a Sparse Bundle in the same area.

Thanks Colin. Ill try Disk Image. Im please I posted here. I never knew File Vault was hated so much. I have learned to blindly trust Apple for there items to "just work"

So both me and the wife's Mac's will be backed up to separate files or areas or whatever on one Time Capsule? And at least all of Time Capsule is encrypted? Can you confirm.

Kola said:

And at least all of Time Capsule is encrypted? Can you confirm.

Click to expand...

Yep if you still have FV still turned on when you backed up.
If you did read the other thread link ^^ Remember ATM, if you do get 1 corrupt file, you might not be able to restore items.... Just something to think about ..

Cheers

Collin Bl said:

For sensitive files you could do a Password Protected Disk Image using Disk Utility, which is already on the MBP. Then u have the protection without the slow down. If u are both on a LAN then you can both select the same TC and it will make each Mac a Sparse Bundle in the same area.

Click to expand...

I've had my MBP for 6 months now and have always used File Vault. From an experience user with and without FV, how does it slow down your system? Is it only during startup and shutdown? Does it slow down your computer during normal usage as well?

The only system I have to compare my Mac with is Windows. Which is really unfair for MS. ;D

investinchad said:

From an experience user with and without FV, how does it slow down your system?

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Each and every time you call for something that must be gotten from the home folder (every song, every photo, every document, every PREFERENCE FILE that needs to be updated, every second of using a web browser or email, etc), those files must individually be decrypted then re-encrypted.

How can that NOT slow down the machine compared to not doing that?

Is it only during startup and shutdown? Does it slow down your computer during normal usage as well?

Click to expand...

No and yes, respectively.

I'm particularly down on Filevault not because of what it does -- it does what it does -- but because of a) the near-inevitability that users will forget their FV password, meaning they lose EVERYTHING, and b) the possibility of the vault and preferences of the vault becoming corrupted, meaning you lose EVERYTHING. In short, you have a fairly substantive risk of losing ALL your personal data in one fell swoop.

In short, Filevault is "more trouble than its worth" for people who don't fit the categories outlined in my little quiz. There are other, and better/safer, ways of protecting some of your data from prying eyes.