What does file vault actually do?

I've been reading about FileVault from various resources, forums and websites, but (silly me) still don't comprehend what actually happens AFTER you've enabled it.

Do you have to enter a password before you enter your Home directory or something similiar to that?

StevenH said:

I've been reading about FileVault from various resources, forums and websites, but (silly me) still don't comprehend what actually happens AFTER you've enabled it.

Do you have to enter a password before you enter your Home directory or something similiar to that?

Click to expand...

All that I know is that it's something that you shouldn't play with. I went down a similiar path to you once and as a result of research decided I would leave it well alone.

Basically it takes your entire home folder and puts it in an encrypted DMG file. So your files and folders aren't only password protected, they're encrypted as well.

So without your password, no one will be able to access your data.

But unless you're carrying around social security data for millions of people, or nuclear secrets - you probably don't need it and it has a fair impact on performance and can cause some issues.

Warnings heeded. Thanks.