{"id":59296,"date":"2016-12-01T09:22:11","date_gmt":"2016-12-01T17:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?p=59296"},"modified":"2017-05-26T09:29:09","modified_gmt":"2017-05-26T16:29:09","slug":"is-using-filevault-encryption-in-macos-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/is-using-filevault-encryption-in-macos-good-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Using FileVault Encryption in macOS Good Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Is<\/p>\n

There are many ways to use encryption on your Mac<\/a>. Before\u00a0you\u00a0encrypt your Mac, it is vital to\u00a0know which encryption type\u00a0is best for you and to be aware of its strengths and weaknesses. This will you decide whether you should use FileVault or some other third-party encryption software to protect your Mac.<\/p>\n

For the most part, using encryption is a matter of flipping a switch or checking a box, but what happens behind the scenes when a checkbox is clicked? What kind of encryption is used in macOS and is it any good? And what if the options offered by Apple are not good enough for your needs?\u00a0In this article, we’ll cover\u00a0some of the encryption types and strengths that are used in macOS, and why you would choose one option\u00a0over another.<\/p>\n

What encryption is used in macOS?<\/h3>\n

One of the most common encryption ciphers used in the world\u00a0and the one macOS relies on the most\u2014whether it’s FileVault, creating an encrypted disk image, or password protecting an iWork document\u2014is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES is a solid cipher and can be used with 128-bit or 256-bit keys. They are both very good, and if a strong password is used the likelihood of it being cracked are very slim.<\/p>\n

For the most part, however, macOS does not offer much of a\u00a0choice when it comes to encryption. When you password protect a PDF in Preview, macOS uses 128-bit RC4, which is much less secure than the 128 or 256-bit AES that Adobe Acrobat uses. You don’t have a choice as all you get is a checkbox to enable it. Password protecting a Pages or Numbers file defaults to 128-bit AES, also without giving you a choice. FileVault uses 128-bit AES as well.<\/p>\n

The only place where Apple offers an option is in Disk Utility, when creating an encrypted disk image.
\n\"disk-utility-encryption\"<\/p>\n

As Apple mentions, 256-bit AES is more secure but slower. The performance\u00a0impact when using a 256-bit encrypted disk image is very noticeable. On everything macOS uses AES encryption, it defaults to 128-bit.\u00a0So you may be asking,\u00a0why\u00a0is 256-bit an option in Disk Utility? Most likely it’s there because government requires 256-bit AES encryption for “TOP SECRET” files, and if the government requires it, others may as well, so Apple gives them the option to\u00a0avoid complaints. For everyone else, 128-bit is more than enough to secure data.<\/p>\n

What’s the\u00a0weakest link in encryption?<\/h3>\n

The ability for encryption to protect your sensitive data hinges on the password you set. Creating a 256-bit AES disk image with “password123” won’t do you any good if someone gets their hands on it or\u00a0is motivated to get in. Using that same disk image with “qs2]mHEH#?hY3q^3oZeiNksrk” as the password, now that’s a different story. The best lock available will be virtually useless if you leave a spare key under the mat, so make sure the passwords used to encrypt a file, disk or disk image is very strong. Password managers can remember passwords like “qs2]mHEH#?hY3q^3oZeiNksrk,” so you won’t have to. (I highly recommend the use of a password manager.)<\/p>\n

Encryption software options\u00a0for Mac<\/h3>\n

TrueCrypt has long been cited as the best 3rd party encryption utility, but development of the utility stopped<\/a> in May, 2014. TrueCrypt’s own website is still online<\/a> with the latest version available for download, but it mentions, “WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues.”<\/p>\n

VeraCrypt is based on TrueCrypt, but\u00a0it\u00a0is still under active development; however, it has\u00a0enhanced security over the original TrueCrypt and fixed issues and weaknesses found in TrueCrypt. While not as easy to use as the built-in encryption features in macOS<\/a>, it offers many more encryption algorithms, so if AES is not your preferred encryption algorithm, you can choose from nine\u00a0others.<\/p>\n

You can find VeraCrypt here<\/a>. However, before experimenting with VeraCrypt, make sure to\u00a0backup all your data and read their documentation carefully.<\/p>\n

FileVault\u00a0encryption + strong password = secure data<\/h3>\n

With the exception of perhaps password protecting PDF’s, the default encryption macOS offers is strong enough to secure your data. That is, if you use strong passwords.<\/p>\n

Using encryption requires processing power, so it’s important to know if your Mac is able to use it without impacting performance. That said, the only encryption that requires continuous power is FileVault, all other encryption\/decryption is done as a file or when a disk image is created or opened. The only way to see if FileVault is usable on your Mac is to (backup data first) and try it.<\/p>\n

Any Mac since 2010 should be able to handle FileVault just fine without impacting performance.\u00a0It’s built-in, it’s free and an excellent way to protect your data\u2014using FileVault encryption is strongly recommended!<\/p>\n

Have you enabled FileVault full-disk encryption on\u00a0your Mac? Do you use\u00a0third-party encryption software, and if so, why do you prefer it\u00a0over the Mac’s built-in features to encrypt files and folders? Drop us a comment below!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should you use FileVault to encrypt your Mac? Here you’ll learn about encryption types and strengths used in macOS, and why you would choose one over another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":59776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7,151,13],"tags":[273,573,3175],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n