In macOS BigSur, after a shutdown, I am able to start up in Recovery Mode (Command-R) and then can open a terminal window in which I have root privileges without entering user id or a password. This does not seem to be safe.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
Not if you enable FileVault:
Use FileVault to encrypt the startup disk on your Mac - Apple Support
You need FileVault to encrypt your disk, if not the files are unencrypted
Not if you enable FileVault:
Use FileVault to encrypt the startup disk on your Mac - Apple Support
You need FileVault to encrypt your disk, if not the files are unencrypted
Thanks Androish!
I had thought I had FileVault enabled, but it was one of those "I'll do that later" when I got my iMac and then forgot to do it. It took about 3 hours to do the encryption, which is reasonable.
No problem!
Happy to be of help :)
Recovery mode gives administrator privilege without password
