12. Encryption Misunderstandings

Don’t take chances with your sensitive data. Use this handy, high-tech device to encrypt it.
Don’t take chances with your sensitive data. Use this handy, high-tech device to encrypt it.

In the Introduction, I mentioned a common misunderstanding about FileVault, OS X’s built-in full-disk encryption feature. I’ll get to that specific issue—and other misconceptions—in a moment, but in this chapter I cover a broader range of questions about encryption (most of which are applicable to any platform).

Why and under what circumstances is encryption necessary? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How do I go about encrypting data I want to protect? Why isn’t everything encrypted, all the time? Should encryption ...

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