Filevault Stability

C

calibear

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Hi, I was wondering about File Vault stability in Leopard? I do not have it enabled but I remember in Tiger it would lose my settings and bookmarks every couple of weeks, I would have to regularly export them which is annoying. I do have backups, but since my bookmark folder is modified and added daily, I do not want to lose the information since I do not do entire system backups daily.

Is Filevault safe to enable and use without much worry?
 
I don't trust the stability of FileVault - i have read way too many stories about data loss or corruption resulting from FileVault use.
 
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The main issue is that, if something goes wrong, all the data in your home folder. Additionally, encrypting media files such as video, photos and music is usually not necessary and can slow down things. However, it is possible to encrypt important data by creating a secure disk image in Disk Utility.
 
Generally: Don't use FileVault. If you have files that truly need to be encrypted, create an encrypted disk image on your desktop (or somewhere else) for those. FileVault has its problems that lead to the "all my files have gone!" type of thread on macosx.com's forums.
 
I once had a look on the web regarding general mac OS X security and one of the recommendations was to turn on FileVault.

While I took heed of most of the recommendations, I googled around about FileVault and the horror stories put me right off .... so I honestly think there are other means at hand and the Encrypted Disc Image is a good one. :)
 
Just use an encrypted Disk image explained by Apple here. Then use a program of your choice to make that file invisible.

Just remember to exclude that file (before you make it invisible) from Spotlight so it doesn't get backed up, unencrypted.

The best policy is is to be insane and abnormally paranoid when it comes to laptops.:eek:
 
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calibear said:
So it's crap, thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

It's not crap -- I use it sporadically on a few of my machines for testing purposes, and have never run into a problem using it.

With that said, though, what super-sensitive data are you trying to protect with FileVault? Unless you're storing credit card information, work for the government, or are required by your place of employment to encrypt your data, then there's really no reason to use FileVault -- I can guarantee that hackers and thieves are not interested in your family photos and recipe Word documents. They're after the hardware itself, and FileVault doesn't protect against that.

Different people have different ideas about what "sensitive" data is, though... but if you feel the need to use FileVault to protect whatever data is on your laptop, then you may also want to install industrial-strength steel doors on your home and replace all the windows in your car with bulletproof glass.

What I'm getting at is that the average home user doesn't have data sensitive enough to provoke theft of the data -- the thieves are after the hardware, not the software. A simple, strong, user account password would provide ample enough protection.
 
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