FWIW, this discussion page on Apple's website has comments from a number of people who've had bad experiences with FileVault:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5054282
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A simple solution is to save any important documents to the cloud. I use Google Drive, Google Docs and spreadsheets and save next to nothing of importance on my computer.
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Whenever my wife and I leave the house for more than a day, the laptop, back up hard drives, etc. all go into the gun safe (where there is always another terabyte drive that backs up everything). The safe also helps protect against fire which many forget is also a threat. Being old-fashioned, I have never been comfortable storing everything I have on the "cloud".
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I suggest that people read Orwell's 1984. Privacy is now history. It will not be long before all human beings are transparent.
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To create a strong password that easy to remember, take a phrase you won't forget and use the first letter of every word. Suppose you choose the phrase "to be or not to be, that is the question." The password would then be "tbontbtitq." You can then change letter O to number 0, or letter i to exclamation point, or whatever additional complexity you wish to add.
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If you happen to own an Apple device, you have an additional option: You can use the the "Find my iPhone" service on iCloud to erase a stolen device the next time that it connects to the internet.
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I like the Chromebook approach to keeping my computer software up to date and my data secure. Many advantages. Google 'Chromebook'.
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People still leave their house and car doors unlocked because it's more convenient. It's especially more convenient for thieves. Locking your doors will discourage most thieves, but if they think you have something they want, they'll get in if they're determined enough. The same with hackers: Don't leave your doors unlocked because you don't want to bother with them, and don't give them any reason to think you have good stuff inside. If you do have something worth the trouble of getting, make sure you have equally worthwhile security, not cheap locks.
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If I use Time Machine with my MacBook Pro, are my data backed up? If not, what should I use?
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I use that, too, but it just backs up your files, which is great if, for some reason, you lose them. For what this article recommends, use System Preferences - Privacy and Security - Filevault - "click the lock to make changes" - turn on Filevault - WRITE DOWN THE RECOVERY KEY NUMBERS - then start it. It will take a day or so to do, but doesn't keep you from being able to use your computer, as usual.
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Thanks - useful article.
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Does encryption slow down the computer?
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A few years ago the speed difference would be noticeable, but these days computers are fast enough not to matter.
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Encryption does not slow down the computer. The comment from Akemwave, while well intentioned, is inarticulate and nearly incomprehensible. Generally speaking, there are two approaches to this: encrypt the entire operating system or encrypt specific files and folders. The former is usually the better option. The hard drive in your computer has at least two partitions: the boot partition and the operating system partition. When you turn the computer on, the BIOS performs hardware checks and then boots whatever boot devices are specified in the BIOS settings (i.e. USB, DVD drive, hard drive, etc.) in the order specified in the BIOS. When it boots the hard drive it boots the boot partition first. On modern systems UEFI this will be the first 512MB of the hard drive. That partition of the hard drive has references that point to the partition containing the operating system (Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc.). When you encrypt the operating system partition a password is required to boot that partition. If someone steals your computer they need that password to read any of the data contained therein. Even if they take the hard drive out and attempt to read it using another computer they need that password to mount the filesystem and read its contents. Bitlocker, FileVault and LUKS/DmCrypt are the encryption solutions for this used by Windows, MacOS and Linux, respectively.
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I'm on a Mac, there's very little slow down. Perhaps on startup and when doing the initial encryption, there's a bit of a wait, but during day - to - day use, very little difference.
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I use Vericrypt. I use a nearly impossible password, which took nearly a year to learn without using the cheat sheet that was in my wallet. I created a Vericrypt "file" having an ordinary name. Within that is the less common operating system, then within that the encrypted list of over 200 passwords no ordinary human can remember. I must remember the password for that list. When some years ago my laptop was stolen, no one seems to have breached my bank accounts or anything else. To be sure I can recover from failure or theft, I keep three backup encrypted hard drives, all stored in different places. Finally, to be secure, we must now have a log in to give to those nasty folk who try to extract your passwords under threat, as happened to my friends who were tied up and threatened with death unless they divulged their passwords. Not to speak of US ICE who have been said to require your passwords before you are allowed to enter the United States. All this takes much effort, and too much time. I doubt most folks need to do this much. It is like needing to tripple lock your house as you run out after energizing the electric fence and alarm. But. Right now, I think this is what is required. I hope these comments help someone.
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A long, but not obvious, memorable expression is actually harder to crack than an impossible to remember mixture of letters and symbols. For example Green Spaghetti Monster Atop Empire State is safer than sf%nw!%L. Unfortunately, many programs demand that passwords contain mixed cases and non alphabeticals.
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This is a great write up on the subject. A bit more attention could be warranted for the proper selection of passwords, upon which the strength of encryption rests. Randall Munroe (of xkcd) has an excellent and brief summary of how to select passwords that are more 'human friendly'. All too often, archaic and backward password policies drive users to subvert security by using easily remembered passwords or writing them down and affixing them to their monitor.
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I thought you were going to say get a lousy Microsoft powered laptop that takes so long to boot that thieves give up. It makes me not want to use my laptop. My Windows 10 laptop is almost unusable. Thieves would be doing me a favor.
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My Win 10 uses up about 95to 98% of my bandwidth with its constant updating (I mean this literally). Some days I cannot even surf the web. What's the point if you cannot use the thing?
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Also look into a good password manager! 1Password and LastPass are both fine options. They will help you remember all your passwords in a secure fashion.
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Stephen. I did look. Trusting nothing, I more trust open source software for the reason it can be audited for security by anyone willing to take the time. I absolutely do not trust central servers. A quick look at the Wiki discloses a very serious security breach on servers owned by one company you recommend. All of which is not to say readers should not follow your advice. It all depends upon your needs and expectations. By the way, I do not trust my smart phone (closed source), so it gets no banking apps and no password list. Nor do I trust Windows. Last time a friend lost a login password it took me only a few minutes to reset their password. And I'm no expert. Maybe Microsoft has since fixed the exploit I used.. but be aware. And always update your OS with the most recent patch.
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