Filevault For Mac



These advanced steps are for system administrators and others who are familiar with the command line.

Create a FileVault master keychain

  1. Open the Terminal app on your Mac, then enter this command:
  2. When prompted, enter the master password for the new keychain, then enter it again when prompted to retype. Terminal doesn't show the password as you type.
  3. A key pair is generated, and a file named FileVaultMaster.keychain is saved to your desktop. Copy this file to a secure location, such an encrypted disk image on an external drive. This secure copy is the private recovery key that can unlock the startup disk of any Mac set up to use the FileVault master keychain. It is not for distribution.

In the next section, you will update the FileVaultMaster.keychain file that is still on your desktop. You can then deploy that keychain to Mac computers in your organization.

Jun 09, 2016 FileVault and the rest of your Mac. Once FileVault has encrypted your Mac’s hard disk, you’ll notice that each time you start up your Mac you have to enter the FileVault password to continue. If you had set up your Mac to automatically log in to a specific user or administrator account, it won’t do that anymore. The original version of FileVault was added in Mac OS X Panther to encrypt a user's home directory. Master passwords and recovery keys. When FileVault is enabled the system invites the user to create a master password for the computer. If a user password is forgotten, the master password or recovery key may be used to decrypt the files instead. Jul 24, 2020 This secure copy is the private recovery key that can unlock the startup disk of any Mac set up to use the FileVault master keychain. It is not for distribution. In the next section, you will update the FileVaultMaster.keychain file that is still on your desktop. You can then deploy that keychain to Mac computers in your organization.

Remove the private key from the master keychain

After creating the FileVault master keychain, follow these steps to prepare a copy of it for deployment:

But do you really want to enable FileVault encryption on your Mac? The Pros and Cons of FileVault Encryption. Apple’s newest OS, Yosemite, enables FileVault by default. Before OS X 10.10 Yosemite, FileVault was turned off by default. And I think there was a good reason for this since there are pros and cons to FileVault and for me the cons.

  1. Double-click the FileVaultMaster.keychain file on your desktop. The Keychain Access app opens.
  2. In the Keychain Access sidebar, select FileVaultMaster. If you see more than two items listed on the right, select another keychain in the sidebar, then select FileVaultMaster again to refresh the list.
  3. If the FileVaultMaster keychain is locked, click in the upper-left corner of Keychain Access, then enter the master password you created.
  4. From the two items shown on the right, select the one identified as ”private key” in the Kind column:
  5. Delete the private key: Choose Edit > Delete from the menu bar, enter the keychain master password, then click Delete when asked to confirm.
  6. Quit Keychain Access.

Now that the master keychain on your desktop no longer contains the private key, it's ready for deployment.

Deploy the updated master keychain on each Mac

After removing the private key from the keychain, follow these steps on each Mac that you want to be able to unlock with your private key.

  1. Put a copy of the updated FileVaultMaster.keychain file in the /Library/Keychains/ folder.
  2. Open the Terminal app and enter both of the following commands. These commands make sure that the file's permissions are set to -rw-r--r-- and the file is owned by root and assigned to the group named wheel.
  3. If FileVault is already turned on, enter this command in Terminal:
  4. If FileVault is turned off, open Security & Privacy preferences and turn on FileVault. You should see a message that a recovery key has been set by your company, school, or organization. Click Continue.

This completes the process. If a user forgets their macOS user account password and can't log in to their Mac, you can use the private key to unlock their disk.

Use the private key to unlock a user's startup disk

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If a user forgot their account password and can't log in to their Mac, you can use the private recovery key to unlock their startup disk and access its FileVault-encrypted data.

  1. On the client Mac, start up from macOS Recovery by holding Command-R during startup.
  2. If you don't know the name (such as Macintosh HD) and format of the startup disk, open Disk Utility from the macOS Utilities window, then check the information Disk Utility shows for that volume on the right. If you see ”CoreStorage Logical Volume Group” instead of ”APFS Volume” or ”Mac OS Extended,” the format is Mac OS Extended. You will need this information in a later step. Quit Disk Utility when done.
  3. Connect the external drive that contains the private recovery key.
  4. From the menu bar in macOS Recovery, choose Utilities > Terminal.
  5. If you stored the private recovery key in an encrypted disk image, use the following command in Terminal to mount that image. Replace /path with the path to the disk image, including the .dmg filename extension:
    Example for a disk image named PrivateKey.dmg on a volume named ThumbDrive:
    hdiutil attach /Volumes/ThumbDrive/PrivateKey.dmg
  6. Use the following command to unlock the FileVault master keychain. Replace /path with the path to FileVaultMaster.keychain on the external drive. In this step and all remaining steps, if the keychain is stored in an encrypted disk image, remember to include the name of that image in the path.
    Example for a volume named ThumbDrive:
    security unlock-keychain /Volumes/ThumbDrive/FileVaultMaster.keychain

  7. Enter the master password to unlock the startup disk. If the password is accepted, the command prompt returns.

Continue as described below, based on how the user's startup disk is formatted.

APFS

If the startup disk is formatted for APFS, complete these additional steps:

  1. Enter the following command to unlock the encrypted startup disk. Replace 'name' with the name of the startup volume, and replace /path with the path to FileVaultMaster.keychain on the external drive or disk image:
    Example for a startup volume named Macintosh HD and a recovery-key volume named ThumbDrive:
    diskutil ap unlockVolume 'Macintosh HD' -recoveryKeychain /Volumes/ThumbDrive/FileVaultMaster.keychain
  2. Enter the master password to unlock the keychain and mount the startup disk.
  3. Use command-line tools such as ditto to back up the data on the disk, or quit Terminal and use Disk Utility.

Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus)

If the startup disk is formatted for Mac OS Extended, complete these additional steps:

  1. Enter this command to get a list of drives and CoreStorage volumes:
  2. Select the UUID that appears after “Logical Volume,” then copy it for use in a later step.
    Example: +-> Logical Volume 2F227AED-1398-42F8-804D-882199ABA66B
  3. Use the following command to unlock the encrypted startup disk. Replace UUID with the UUID you copied in the previous step, and replace /path with the path to FileVaultMaster.keychain on the external drive or disk image:
    Example for a recovery-key volume named ThumbDrive:
    diskutil cs unlockVolume 2F227AED-1398-42F8-804D-882199ABA66B -recoveryKeychain /Volumes/ThumbDrive/FileVaultMaster.keychain
  4. Enter the master password to unlock the keychain and mount the startup disk.
  5. Use command-line tools such as ditto to back up the data on the disk. Or quit Terminal and use Disk Utility. Or use the following command to decrypt the unlocked disk and start up from it.
    Example for a recovery-key volume named ThumbDrive:
    diskutil cs decryptVolume 2F227AED-1398-42F8-804D-882199ABA66B -recoveryKeychain /Volumes/ThumbDrive/FileVaultMaster.keychain

We design Mac hardware and software with advanced technologies that work together to run apps more securely, protect your data, and help keep you safe on the web. And with macOS Catalina available as a free upgrade, it’s easy to get the most secure version of macOS for your Mac.*

Apple T2 chip.
The next generation of security.

Filevault Mac Os

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The Apple T2 Security Chip — included with many newer Mac models — keeps your Mac safer than ever. The Secure Enclave coprocessor in the Apple T2 chip provides the foundation for Touch ID, secure boot, and encrypted storage capabilities. Touch ID gives you a seamless way to use your fingerprint to unlock your Mac, fill passwords in Safari, and make purchases with Apple Pay. Secure boot helps ensure that you are running trusted operating system software from Apple, while the Apple T2 chip automatically encrypts the data on your Mac. So you can be confident knowing that security has been designed right into the architecture of your Mac, from the ground up.

Apple helps you keep your Mac secure with software updates.

The best way to keep your Mac secure is to run the latest software. When new updates are available, macOS sends you a notification — or you can opt in to have updates installed automatically when your Mac is not in use. macOS checks for new updates every day, so it’s easy to always have the latest and safest version.

Protection starts at the core.

The technically sophisticated runtime protections in macOS work at the very core of your Mac to keep your system safe from malware. This starts with state-of-the-art antivirus software built in to block and remove malware. Technologies like XD (execute disable), ASLR (address space layout randomization), and SIP (system integrity protection) make it difficult for malware to do harm, and they ensure that processes with root permission cannot change critical system files.

Filevault Mac Password Reset

Download apps safely from the Mac App Store. And the internet.

Now apps from both the App Store and the internet can be installed worry-free. App Review makes sure each app in the App Store is reviewed before it’s accepted. Gatekeeper on your Mac ensures that all apps from the internet have already been checked by Apple for known malicious code — before you run them the first time. If there’s ever a problem with an app, Apple can quickly stop new installations and even block the app from launching again.

Stay in control of what data apps can access.

Apps need your permission to access files in your Documents, Downloads, and Desktop folders as well as in iCloud Drive and external volumes. And you’ll be prompted before any app can access the camera or mic, capture keyboard activity, or take a photo or video of your screen.

FileVault 2 encrypts your data.

With FileVault 2, your data is safe and secure — even if your Mac falls into the wrong hands. FileVault 2 encrypts the entire drive on your Mac, protecting your data with XTS-AES 128 encryption. And on Mac systems with an Apple T2 Security Chip, FileVault 2 keys are created and protected by the Secure Enclave for even more security.

Encryption

Designed to protect your privacy.

The most secure browser for your Mac is the one that comes with your Mac. Built-in privacy features in Safari, like Intelligent Tracking Prevention, help keep your browsing your business. Automatic strong passwords make it easy to create and use unique passwords for all the sites you visit. And iCloud Keychain syncs those passwords securely across all your devices, so you don’t have to remember them. You can also easily find and upgrade any weak passwords you’ve previously used (and reused and reused and reused).

Automatic protections from harmful sites.

Safari also helps safeguard you against fraudulent websites and those that harbor malware — before you visit them. If a website seems suspicious, Safari prevents it from loading and notifies you. And when connecting to unencrypted sites, Safari will warn you. Virtual во 8 pro for mac. So everything you need to browse without worry is right at your fingertips.

Find your missing Mac with Find My.

The Find My app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single, easy-to-use app on Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Find My can help you locate a missing Mac — even if it’s offline or sleeping — by sending out Bluetooth signals that can be detected by nearby Apple devices. These devices then relay the detected location of your Mac to iCloud so you can locate it in the Find My app. It’s all anonymous and encrypted end-to-end so no one — including Apple — knows the identity of any reporting device or the location of your Mac. And it all happens silently using tiny bits of data that piggyback on existing network traffic. So there’s no need to worry about your battery life, your data usage, or your privacy being compromised.

Keep your Mac safe.
Even if it’s in the wrong hands.

All Mac models with the Apple T2 Security Chip support Activation Lock — just like your iPhone or iPad. So if your Mac is ever misplaced or lost, the only person who can erase and reactivate it is you.

Filevault Mac Review

macOS Security