Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

Sherwin · Sep 1, 2003, 12:28 AM

from http://www.apple.com/uk/macosx/panther/file_vault.html:

"FileVault secures your home directory by encrypting its entire contents"

Does anyone know if it's going to be restricted to the user home directory or if we're going to be able to encrypt any directory we want to (i.e. directory on an external HD)?

Thanks.

Adam Betts · Sep 1, 2003, 12:55 AM

I think you can only FileVault-ize any home directory that is readable by OS X.

I may be wrong though.

cowerd · Sep 1, 2003, 01:04 AM

Open Disk Copy. Create new read/write image with AES encryption. Copy files to disk image.

Same as File Vault without the fancy name.

Chris Grande · Sep 1, 2003, 01:08 AM

The ability to select a file a folder and just go File > Encrypt would be nice.

Thinine · Sep 1, 2003, 02:22 AM

And also create some major export restrictions to some markets Apple wants to expand into.

Peter · Sep 1, 2003, 05:10 AM

at the minute if you activate file vault it will encrypt all your ~/ (home directoy) You can't choose what is or isn't encrypted.

sandsl · Sep 1, 2003, 06:16 AM

Originally posted by Thinine:
And also create some major export restrictions to some markets Apple wants to expand into.

Apple already provides encryption technologies in Disk Utility - it would make no difference to export restrictions if they put a FIle > Encrypt menu in the finder.

- - e r i k - - · Sep 1, 2003, 07:07 AM

Originally posted by cowerd:
Open Disk Copy. Create new read/write image with AES encryption. Copy files to disk image.

Same as File Vault without the fancy name.

Indeed. I've had FileVaults for a long time

Sherwin · Sep 1, 2003, 08:25 AM

Originally posted by cowerd:
Open Disk Copy. Create new read/write image with AES encryption. Copy files to disk image.

Same as File Vault without the fancy name.

I thought about employing encrypted disk images, but for some reason (which I can't remember right now) it didn't fit into the way I work - there was an unacceptable niggle in my work flow, if I remember correctly.

Originally posted by PerterClark2002:
at the minute if you activate file vault it will encrypt all your ~/ (home directoy) You can't choose what is or isn't encrypted.

That's what I'm looking for with the home directory - just the ticket. But I want more! I was hoping that the ~/ and any other chosen directory(s) could be encrypted on the fly.

I hope that, sometime soon, Apple get their heads around the fact that people buy external firewire HDs and may want the contents of those encrypting too (you'd have thought they'd have done that, what with external HDs being kinda portable).

Anyhow, thanks for the replies - I'll just have to figure a workaround with NetInfo Manager (or something).

nforcer · Sep 1, 2003, 11:47 AM

Here's another question concerning FileVault. How long does it take to encrypt an entire home directory (and about what size is the directory someone is timing this with)? I think Apple claims it encrypts "on the fly" or something like that, but I just can't see my 3 GB home directory encrypting quickly.

Sherwin · Sep 1, 2003, 12:16 PM

Originally posted by nforcer:
Here's another question concerning FileVault. How long does it take to encrypt an entire home directory (and about what size is the directory someone is timing this with)? I think Apple claims it encrypts "on the fly" or something like that, but I just can't see my 3 GB home directory encrypting quickly.

I have no experience with Panther (hence my original question), but I'd assume that the phrase "on the fly" would mean that if it takes 10 minutes to copy that 3 Gb of data into your ~/ now then it'll take the same time (or only slightly longer) to encrypt that data.

I could be wrong but I'm thinking that we shouldn't be looking at it as encrypting existing data, but rather encrypting data as it's created and/or copied into ~/

?

Art Vandelay · Sep 1, 2003, 12:30 PM

The first time you set up File Vault it has to create a disk image and transfer your home directory into it. It can take a while if you have a large home directory. However, the encryption itself adds a negligible amount of overhead.

Apple demonstrated encrypted disk images (I believe at one of the Power of X sessions) and it did not have any noticeable effect. I think they demonstrated editing HD quality video in real time with Final Cut. The data was in an encrypted disk image.

cowerd · Sep 1, 2003, 12:38 PM

I thought about employing encrypted disk images, but for some reason (which I can't remember right now) it didn't fit into the way I work - there was an unacceptable niggle in my work flow, if I remember correctly.

It really screws up incremental backups. Nothing like backing up the entire 5GB disk image every time it changes.

Sherwin · Sep 1, 2003, 01:06 PM

Originally posted by Art Vandelay:
The first time you set up File Vault it has to create a disk image and transfer your home directory into it.

?

So FileVault is essentially an encrypted disk image like we have on Jag but with the ~/ pointing to the disk image instead of to the physical HD?

I was assuming that it'd be at file level (i.e. every file still visible to someone who's stolen your HD but every file encrypted so they can't get into them, rather than just one file with everything else in it).

If it's just a reworked dmg then that sucks. Don't know about anyone else but I really don't trust keeping all of my stuff in one file (yeah, yeah, regular backups are wise, etc., but you know what I mean).

?