Lee, thanks for the reply.
On Oct 24, 2005, at 9:32 PM, Lee Larson wrote: > On Oct 24, 2005, at 5:35 PM, R. D. Preston wrote: > > >> I'm searching for strong full disk encryption software for osX >> (10.4.2), and am leaning >> toward SubRosaSoft's CipherDisk, but would like knowledgeable >> opinions of this and/ >> or other s/w packages that do the job. Anybody?... >> > > I've not used Cipherdisk. I was going to have a look at it last > summer, but it still didn't support anything beyond Mac OS X > 10.3.8, and a quick peek at their site doesn't cure me of that idea > [1]. I suspect this might be a continuing problem with any driver- > level encryption program because they will have to figure out new > patches every time Apple updates the native disk driver. > > I've been using Apple's FileVault on my laptop for quite a while > and haven't had any problems. In fact, I don't even notice it. > There shouldn't be any driver problems on operating system updates > because it's built into Mac OS X. It uses 128 bit AES encryption, > which is probably safe from anyone who doesn't use a supercomputer > to crack my home directory. (There are something like 3.4 x 10^38 > keys available. [2]) > Not knowing much about encryption, I used the internet to search for info on this, and got many links to the subject, including a few devoted to the Mac and it's OS, including discussions about FileVault in ver. 9, and also in ver. 10. Interesting, but it didn't seem like enough, so I'm still leaning toward the driver-level method, although I am still searching ? I hadn't considered the disk driver update problem you mention. > Of course, I do a few things differently because of FileVault. I > have two accounts on my machine and only one is encrypted. That's > the one that contains the bank account records and my plans for > world domination. The other account contains incidental work and > some of the really big files that I think may slow down the > machine, if they were encrypted--video, for example. > < G > > I'm also fanatical about backups because, if one bit of the > FileVault stuff gets corrupted, it may turn out that none of it can > be read. That's also why I'd never use it on a desktop machine > without a UPS. > ? and the cause likely being s/w or disk errors? ? a desktop machine without a UPS? Sorry, but what's that? > >> Also, what's the best storage for the Blowfish (448-bit) >> encryption password. I have >> USB & Firewire ports. >> > > I store my passwords in a Keychain file. All Keychain files are > strongly encrypted. I've also set a master password for the laptop > which is stored in a safe place on paper so I can get into the > machine, if something goes wrong with the account password. > Some of what was also talked about on the Mac discussion links, primarily the web site < http://maczealots.com/ >, and searched for "encryption" which yeilded a three part tutorial on Mac Security (FileVault). > [1] Look at the System Requirements section on <http:// > www.subrosasoft.com/MacSoftware/ > index.phpmain_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=17> > Yes, and am still watching for the 10.4 / Tiger-ready notice. > > [2] According to Mathematica, there are > 340282366920938463463374607431768211456 possible keys. > Not enough for **Galactic** dominance! Regards, Russ | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be October 25 at Pitt Academy, 6010 Preston Highway. | The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
