“There are many ways to use encryption on your Mac,” Jay Vrijenhoek writes for Intego. “Before you encrypt your Mac, it is vital to know which encryption type is 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.”
“One of the most common encryption ciphers used in the world and the one macOS relies on the most — whether it’s FileVault, creating an encrypted disk image, or password protecting an iWork document — is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES),” Vrijenhoek writes. “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.”
“On everything macOS uses AES encryption, it defaults to 128-bit,” Vrijenhoek writes. “So you may be asking, why is 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 avoid complaints. For everyone else, 128-bit is more than enough to secure data… Any Mac since 2010 should be able to handle FileVault just fine without impacting performance. It’s built-in, it’s free and an excellent way to protect your data—using FileVault encryption is strongly recommended!”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 128-bit ought to be enough for anybody. 😉
SEE ALSO:
Securing your Mac’s SSD before handing it off for repair – June 28, 2016
Why a strong password doesn’t help as much as a unique one – July 22, 2015