The security of your personal data is an important matter for any computer owner. For Mac users on the move, this is especially important, as a laptop is more vulnerable to being stolen. If you use your computer for work-related matters, it’s not just your personal data that’s at risk – someone gaining access to your Mac could be a threat to your entire company.
Fortunately, OS X has always had a fine reputation for security, but since OS X 10.5 Leopard this has been increased with the FileVault feature. Protecting your Mac with FileVault involves an industrial strength encryption layer being added to the Home folder of your user account.
Your files can then only be accessed by using your log in password. Obviously, this means that it is absolutely vital that you do not lose your password – if you do, and you are unable to remember the master password for your Mac, the data in your encrypted Home folder is locked away for good.
In this tutorial, we’ll take you through the required steps to set up FileVault on your Mac.
1.) Click on the System Preferences icon in your Dock, and then select Security from the Personal pane (the top row):
2.) Select the FileVault tab:
3.) If you have not already set a master password for your Mac, do so by clicking on Set Master Password… - this will allow you to unlock any account on your Mac in the event of forgetting a log in password:
4.) To proceed with encryption, click on Turn On FileVault… – you will be asked to enter the log in password for that user account:
5.) A warning message will appear before you proceed:
Ensure that you read and fully understand the content of this message, as having FileVault on will affect your ability to log in remotely to that account or use file and printer sharing. If you are happy to proceed, click on Turn On FileVault.
OS X will now log you out of your account while it begins to encrypt your Home folder. If you have a lot of data on your drive, the encryption process can take some time. However, the result will be a ultra-high level of security on your Mac’s personal data. When encryption is finished you will be brought back to the Login screen. Log back into your account, and from now on all new data and files created will be encrypted on the fly.
