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Hello,
What is the smartest way to go about ensuring that even if someone could steal my MacBook or iPhone, and also could have my login password, would not be able to use the files I have uploaded on iCloud?
Thanks for any suggestion on how to best educate myself on this topic and also suggesting software that is trusted and offers customer service I can rely on (in case, say I forget that password).
Thanks!
Hello, I believe I know what you're looking for.
1) Gather your files that you want to encrypt and put them in a folder.
2) Your Mac includes a program called "Disk Utility". I always locate it quickly by simply doing a Spotlight search for "Disk Utility".
3) Launch Disk Utility and in the upper left menu, select File > New Image > Image from Folder...
4) You'll then select the folder you created in step #1.
5) You'll end up with a .DMG file that is an encrypted folder containing your files, and requires a password to open.
6) You can then sync that new DMG to iCloud. Should someone gain access to your iCloud they'd also need the password to the DMG in order to see your protected files.
Tip #1: Choose a very, very strong password and when you use it for the first time it'll give you the option to save the password in your Keychain. Once the password is saved in your Keychain it'll open automatically on your personal computer without the need to enter the password each and every time.
Here is Apple's documentation about Disk Utility. You probably want to read the section called "Create a secure disk image"
https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/create-a-disk-image-dskutl11888/mac
Hope this helps
Hello, I believe I know what you're looking for.
1) Gather your files that you want to encrypt and put them in a folder.
2) Your Mac includes a program called "Disk Utility". I always locate it quickly by simply doing a Spotlight search for "Disk Utility".
3) Launch Disk Utility and in the upper left menu, select File > New Image > Image from Folder...
4) You'll then select the folder you created in step #1.
5) You'll end up with a .DMG file that is an encrypted folder containing your files, and requires a password to open.
6) You can then sync that new DMG to iCloud. Should someone gain access to your iCloud they'd also need the password to the DMG in order to see your protected files.
Tip #1: Choose a very, very strong password and when you use it for the first time it'll give you the option to save the password in your Keychain. Once the password is saved in your Keychain it'll open automatically on your personal computer without the need to enter the password each and every time.
Here is Apple's documentation about Disk Utility. You probably want to read the section called "Create a secure disk image"
https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/create-a-disk-image-dskutl11888/mac
Hope this helps
If other person who have found your Mac / iPhone and he knows you admin name and password ( the activation lock should not be enabled in an iPhone ) can enter Mac , click on finder > icloud drive and can view files if you have turned on iCloud Drive https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204025 and desktops and documents box is checked https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/mac-help/mchle5a61431/10.14/mac/10.14
Even they don't knew your Apple ID and password , so to secure your Mac must see this article https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201472
https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT201365
I was thinking
if someone has my Apple ID and password they have access to those files but without the encryption password they would not be able to see those files.
Thoughts? Thanks
Thank you. Would that address the situation in which someone gains access to iCloud.com (not from my Mac)? In that case is the data on iCloud.com encrypted and they would not be able to do anything with it?
Thanks
Nio.
Filevault encrypts a local hard drive. If removed from a Mac, the hard drive is not accessible without the encryption key/password.
iCloud is encrypted by your Apple ID and password. If someone has those, they have access to the data there. Apple's 2FA offers another extra layer of protection for your iCloud data.
Hello and thank you, I think this answers my question. Thanks!
A couple of clarifications:
+if I need to add new files to the encrypted folder created as you describe, how do I do that? I would of course do it on my Mac then re-upload the encrypted folder to iCloud, but how do I add files to that encrypted folder?
+if I save the password in the Keychain, if someone supposedly can accesses my iCloud (using my Apple ID and password), can't they access the Keychain as well and unencrypt that folder on icloud?
Thanks!
I'm not sure FileVault does that. Maybe the program below would do what you want.
That should work.
Encrypt files uploaded to iCloud
