What you’ll do is plug in the drive and open the Disk Utility program (it’s within Applications Utilities). Select the correct drive’s partition (it’s the named, indented icon) from the left-hand. I'm trying to encrypt an external drive of mine using Apple's built in drive encryption tool into OS X through Finder. The drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended(Journaled) and I'm plugging the drive through USB 2.0. Also I'm running Mavericks with all the latest updates. To encrypt your Mac hard drive by using Finder, perform the following steps. Step 1) Use the internal Mac volume or connect the external storage drive that you wish to encrypt. Step 2) Launch Finder, and from the left pane, secondary click a drive or volume and select the Encrypt ‘DriveName’ option. Enable FileVault on External Disks in OS X 10.8 and Up. Use the following steps in OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) and up to encrypt (and decrypt) external disks, including flash drives, from the Finder. Open a new Finder window and select the external drive you would like to encrypt from the panel on the left, under Devices.
In general terms, code or encrypt information consists of hiding the content of a message in plain sight, with the aim that a specific interaction is required to discover the content in question. Whether data, files, messages or any type of information that is handled in the digital environment.
In this way, there is the possibility of encrypting the information contained in folders, individual files and even disks. Which will prevent unauthorized access by third parties and thus, provides benefits based on the security and privacy of each user which chooses to encrypt an internal and external hard drive.
Fortunately, on macOS, there is a functionality that is responsible for supporting the encryption of an internal and external hard drive so that users of said operating system can always have their data protected. So it is valuable to know what are the steps to follow for it and also know What external tools and programs are useful to encrypt a hard drive on MacOS computers.
Steps to encrypt an internal or external hard drive in MacOS fast and easy
While it is true, when an internal or external storage device is formatted, there is the possibility of encrypting and protecting it by means of a password. In consecuense, via Disk Utility in Mac, users have the power to encrypt a hard drive, by default, so that it can be accessed with a certain password, solely and exclusively.
Thus, it is necessary to limit that, if you decide to encrypt an internal hard drive, you will have to enter the corresponding password in order to access the device and, of course, the information stored on it. Also, if you choose to encrypt an external disk, it will be necessary to enter the password once said device is connected to Mac machine.
Now, having clarified the above, we proceed to mention each and every one of the steps indicated to achieve encryption of an internal or external hard drive in MacOS, correctly, quickly and easily:
Make a backup
In view of the process to encrypt any hard drive on Mac requires formatting the same, It is important that backup all data on the hard drive before starting. Especially if this storage device contains files that you prefer to keep over time.
Basically, this you can do via another storage device or volume. Thus, once you have specified the procedure in question, you will be able to use said storage device to copy the information saved on its original disk.
Open Disk Utility on your Mac
Before entering the app Disk Utility from your Mac, it’s necessary that, connect the external hard drive, if you want to perform this procedure for that device. But, if it is an internal hard drive, of course you should not do this. Once this is done, proceed to open the aforementioned application and select the option “Display”, so click where it says “Show all devices”.
Choose the hard drive to encrypt
After the previous step, it is time to select the storage device you want to encrypt, directly in the sidebar shown there. Taking into account that, you have to know your specific name, in order to choose the one that corresponds without any type of error.
Delete the hard drive in question
Once you find and select the internal or external hard drive to encrypt, it is time to click on the “Delete” button which is located in the toolbar or, failing that, click on “Delete”. Then it’s time to enter a name for the volume.
Choose the Scheme and Format
Now, you have to click on the drop-down menu called “Scheme” and among the options shown there, you have to click directly on “GUID Partition Map”. Further, in the drop-down menu “Format”, you can select a specific encrypted file system format. It is generally recommended Mac OS Plus (Journaled) format.
Enter a password
Later, you can enter and verify a password. At this point, it is recommended enter an infallible and powerful password, in order to provide much more security to the internal or external hard drive. When you do this, click on “Select”. For your part, if you prefer to change the password later (for whatever reason), you simply must select volume in the sidebar, for later click on “File” and there, choose the option “Change password”.
Access Security Options
If available, as an option, you have the possibility of using the existing regulator in the “Security Options” section to choose how many times you want to overwrite the deleted data (it is advisable to overwrite the data three times). Once you select this parameter, you just have to click “OK”.
It should be noted that the secure erase options are only available for some types of storage devices. Thus, if the button called “Security Options” is not on your computer, means that the Disk Utility app does not feature the ability to perform a secure erase on the hard drive.
Why should I encrypt my storage disks in MacOS?
Since a computer point of view, beyond hiding certain information with a password, the process of encrypt or encrypt data stored on a storage disk, consists of applying an algorithm associated with one or more keys in order to transform them into a chain of letters, numbers and symbols with no apparent meaning.
Now, he will ask you what are the main reasons to choose to encrypt your storage disks in macOS and to specify them, fundamentally, we will emphasize the advantages that this brings. Since, refers to a security system much stronger than a password on the home screen of the computer.
Consequently, it is valuable to encrypt an internal or external hard drive to do so, ensure that no third party can view the data it contains. In such a way, you will have greater privacy and security at the IT level. Since, the encryption will prevent the access of any other person and even, will avoid possible attacks of identity theft or any kind of risk caused by hackers.
List of the best tools and programs to encrypt your hard drive on MacOS computers
In addition to being able to encrypt a hard drive through the Disk Utility belonging to macOS, users also have the possibility of doing this kind of procedure from a software or an application dedicated to it.
Therefore, in this section of the post, we will mention 3 of the best alternatives to protect the data stored on your disks from now on:
FileVault 2
Basically, it is a program that is built into Mac OSX Lion and later versions and is billed as Apple’s answer to Bitlocker. This means that it consists of exclusive software for Mac and thus allows users of this operating system, encrypt entire disks to protect your data stored there.
For that, FileVault 2 uses the 128-bit AES-XTC algorithm, making it truly powerful. In addition to this, it is characterized by using the user’s login key as an encryption password. But nevertheless, it is not an open source solution and does not offer the ability to create encrypted containers.
VeraCrypt
This free computer application used to perform disk encryption, from the use of different algorithms, such as: AES, Twofish and Serpenteven a mix of these three. In such a way, provides support for both MacOS and Linux and Windows computers, is open source and provides the option to create encrypted containers.
Among other details, we note that, VeraCrypt also offers the necessary tools to create an encrypted virtual volume on a single file or on a partition. In the case of external hard drive encryption, it provides a pre-boot authentication, for greater security. It is available in more than 37 languages and among them is Spanish.
Download VeraCrypt MacOS
CipherShed
It is a program available to Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Which, basically, allows encrypt entire disks or create encrypted containers and in this way, it provides complete management to its users to guarantee the greatest possible security and privacy around their internal and external hard drives. Further, is free and employs hidden volumes, to allow credible denial.
Download CipherShed MacOS
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Mac computers that have the Apple T2 Security Chip integrate security into both software and hardware to provide encrypted-storage capabilities. Data on the built-in, solid-state drive (SSD) is encrypted using a hardware-accelerated AES engine built into the T2 chip. This encryption is performed with 256-bit keys tied to a unique identifier within the T2 chip.
Encrypt External Drive Mac
The advanced encryption technology integrated into the T2 chip provides line-speed encryption, but it also means that if the portion of the T2 chip containing your encryption keys becomes damaged, you might need to restore the content of your drive from a backup. This content includes system files, apps, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents.
Always back up your content to a secure external drive or other secure backup location so that you can restore it, if necessary. You should also turn on FileVault for additional security, because without FileVault enabled, your encrypted SSDs automatically mount and decrypt when connected to your Mac.
Make a backup
Set up Time Machine or another backup method to regularly back up your Mac to a secure external source.
Files that you store in iCloud Drive, as well as photos and videos that you store in iCloud Photo Library, are automatically uploaded to iCloud. When you use iCloud Photo Library, full-resolution photos and videos are stored on your Mac by default and included in a Time Machine backup. If you choose to optimize iCloud Photo Library on your Mac, the full-resolution originals are not included in a Time Machine backup.
Turn on FileVault
Encrypt External Hard Drive Mac Os
Though the SSD in computers that have the Apple T2 Security Chip is encrypted, you should turn on FileVault so that your Mac requires a password to decrypt your data.
Encrypt External Drive Macos
To turn on FileVault, follow these steps:
- Choose Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Security & Privacy.
- Click the FileVault tab.
- Click , then enter an administrator name and password.
- Click Turn On FileVault.