Password Protect time Machine: Is It Reliable?

[PGB1]

Hello Everyone!
On my Mac, I have an Encrypted Sparsebundle folder with personal things, like tax returns & medical stuff on it.
The reason for encrypting was so that I could walk away from the running computer at work and keep that private stuff folder away from prying eyes.

Walking away from the running computer is no longer required, so encrypted sparsebundle isn't needed.

However, i also backup to Time Machine ( and a clone).
My question is if password protecting a Time Machine drive is reliable, or do they cause problems?

REASON:
The reason to get rid of the bundles is because no matter what off-site backup program I have used, none can successfully restore the sparsebundles. Latest is iDrive. It restores the all of folders & files inside, but they can't be viewed due to the "You don't have permission to view this file" pop-up.

Get - Info shows I do have permission. Removing & restoring permission does not help. So, I'd like to get rid of sparsebundles & simply password protect the computer and Time Machine drive.

THE PLAN:
Computer = Strong Log In Password & never walk away while it's running.
Private Files = None to be encrypted
External Time Machine Drive = Password Protected
In case the Time Machine drive walks away, the bad guy won't be able to see the tax & medical files.
External Clone Drive = Ideally password protect that, too. I haven't looked into that yet.

Does my plan sound OK to you all?
Is there a better way to accomplish this protection?

Thanks For Your Advice. It's appreciated.
Paul

 

[Rod]

THE PLAN:
Computer = Strong Log In Password & never walk away while it's running.

Always good to have a strong login password. I use a sentence which can be quite complex but memorable. Eg. MyDogIs75%Obedient. It has upper and lower case letters, a number and a symbol.

Private Files = None to be encrypted

You can create an encrypted Partition on a Mac for securing private information using Disk Utility but be aware if you do so you must not forget the password or that piece of storage will be lost forever short of erasing your hard drive (not to mention the contents). The advantage is once "unlocked" with the password the contents will be openable with the parent app eg. MS Word, Photos, Music etc.

External Time Machine Drive = Password Protected

Good idea, mine is.

External Clone Drive = Ideally password protect that, too. I haven't looked into that yet.

Me neither. Not in a position to do that at the moment.

 

[PGB1]

Thank You Rod for your advice.
I never thought about the encrypted partition. That is a good thing to keep in mind.

Your password sentence idea is a good one, too. Thanks, too, for confirming password protecting Time Machine drive is working. To me, that will be important when I get rid of encrypted sparse bundles.

Thanks Again,
Paul

 

[Rod]

You are very welcome. A friend of mine told me an admin password he used to use was “TenPlus10=20”. I like that. It’s memorable, pronounceable and has upper an lower case letters, numbers and a symbol.