Tip 126Secure All Your Files Against Hackers

Encrypting data is a good idea if you use a portable Mac because it’ll mean that even if a thief or hacker gets ahold of the data, they won’t be able to do anything with it. The type of encryption offered by OS X as described next is theoretically unbreakable, although you might also read Tip 209, Create Encrypted Archives for All Computers.

Using FileVault

Perhaps the most comprehensive solution is to enable FileVault full-disk encryption in the FileVault & Privacy pane of System Preferences (Apple menuSystem Preferences), which ensures that all data on your hard disk is encrypted. However, this can result in marginally slower disk access compared to an unencrypted disk—it’s not enough to notice ...

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