Ask HN: Applications or best practices to ensure data security on a Macintosh

4 points·jason_tko··4 comments

I'm a relatively new Mac user, and I'm taking my Mac traveling for the first time.

I'm very interested in how other people keep data secure, backed up, and protected in case of theft.

Do you use Filevault? Some kind of security application? Mac OS native tools? Rsync backups?

Looking forward to hearing about how everyone is handling this.

There is a great utility called "LittleSnitch" that is a must have for the mac. It alerts you of all outgoing TCP connections. It lets you know what programs are calling home.

Use the Keychain Access utility (/Applications/Utilities) to store things that are really important, and use applications that are aware of the Keychain. This encrypts only a small amount of data, yet the system prompts you when an application tries to access it without permission.

I haven't really given FileVault a fair shot, but after I heard years ago that (the first version of) it had a bug that could make user data unrecoverable, I wasn't eager to try it.

Filevault is okay for protecting your data from being stolen when your laptop is. It only encrypts your home directory, so you have no assurance about the integrity of the rest of your system. If you're only worried about getting your laptop stolen, not a big deal. On the other hand, if you're super paranoid that someone came in and tainted your system when you were away from your computer for 10 minutes, maybe you want a different solution.

Of course, usual advice applies (strong passwords, including the master password if you set it)

Knox for encrypted volumes. That, and don't put anything on it you wouldn't be okay with losing...

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