Encrypting Your Home Folder
Turning on the FileVault program encrypts the information in your home folder using the password you use for your account. For safety, you can also set a master password. That way, if you forget your account password, you can still read your files using the master password. If you forget both your account password and master password, you can never read your data again.
Note
FileVault uses an encryption algorithm called Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which even government agencies can't crack (theoretically).
Setting a Master Password
Before turning on encryption, you should create a master password that will allow you to read all encrypted data stored on your Macintosh. Here's how to create a master password:
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