How to protect your data?

[resting]

After reading this, http://gizmodo.com/5968284/exclusive-corrupt-apple-store-employees-come-forward-across-america I realise I need to encrypt my personal data just in case sometime goes wrong with the macbook, and I have to send it in for servicing.

Any recommended apps that encrypts the whole folder? I'd thought of using the native FileVault 2 with Lion, but it kinda defeats the purpose since it encrypts the whole disk, and the techs, would need access for some administrative I guess.

So ideally, it should only encrypt the folders that I specify, and does it automatically behind the background.

 

[mfram]

Not sure what you are worried about. If you use FV2, then no Apple Store Employee can access your data without your password. That's the whole point. If you don't unlock your drive, there's nothing they can do to get to your data.

If you take your laptop in for hardware servicing you might not get back the laptop with your data on it anyway.

FV2 is easy to use and quite powerful. That's what it's there for, use it. If you are truly paranoid then when the computer asks if you want to send your data recovery key to Apple's server, say no.

I always use FV2 on my laptop.

 

[snaky69]

After reading this, http://gizmodo.com/5968284/exclusive-corrupt-apple-store-employees-come-forward-across-america I realise I need to encrypt my personal data just in case sometime goes wrong with the macbook, and I have to send it in for servicing.

Any recommended apps that encrypts the whole folder? I'd thought of using the native FileVault 2 with Lion, but it kinda defeats the purpose since it encrypts the whole disk, and the techs, would need access for some administrative I guess.

So ideally, it should only encrypt the folders that I specify, and does it automatically behind the background.

I don't encrypt anything before sending my computer out to Apple for servicing, I'm not important nor interesting enough to warrant snooping through my files(and most likely, neither are you), and Apple techs have other things to do, such as other computers to repair.

 

[mfram]

I wanted to add that you can selectively encrypt some data on your drive on top of FV2. I would still use FV2, but if you want to encrypt some special data, then create an encrypted disk image using Disk Utility. When you want to use the data, double-click on the image, enter your password, and the data will be mounted. When done, eject the disk image and you won't be able to access again without entering a password.

I use this for my tax return data during Tax Season, for example. (Tax season is coming up again, soon!)

This would add an extra level of protection for some data on top of FV2.