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Should I use Firewall and/or FileVault

M

mortenjensen

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 19, 2012
241
21
Hi all,

What is your security setup. Do you use Firewall and FileVault? There are, of cause, a Firewall on my router - so any need for an extra Firewall?

I have always used FileVault but don't know if it has done anything good.

Morten
 
It's always better to have them on.

Also, put a password on your firmware, keep backups off-site.

This is my setup.
 
mortenjensen said:
Hi all,

What is your security setup. Do you use Firewall and FileVault? There are, of cause, a Firewall on my router - so any need for an extra Firewall?

I have always used FileVault but don't know if it has done anything good.

Morten
Click to expand...

Firewall in OS X, router, plus FileVault, plus EFI firmware password lock.

That's how I protect my data.
 
I use FV, it protects my data in the unlikely event that the laptop is stolen.
 
mortenjensen said:
Hi all,

What is your security setup. Do you use Firewall and FileVault? There are, of cause, a Firewall on my router - so any need for an extra Firewall?

I have always used FileVault but don't know if it has done anything good.

Morten
Click to expand...

You should always use a firewall no matter what. Be it a hardware firewall like a router or a software firewall such as the one built into OS X.

I use Filevault to encrypt my Mac's drives. I recommend encryption, but each person must be fully aware of the consequences if they forget their password.
 
mortenjensen said:
Hi all,

What is your security setup. Do you use Firewall and FileVault? There are, of cause, a Firewall on my router - so any need for an extra Firewall?

I have always used FileVault but don't know if it has done anything good.

Morten
Click to expand...

anything that can keep the "bad guys" at bay is good. A firewall that is properly configured is a must. Filevault provides an extra layer of security - this is especially helpful when your laptop gets stolen.
 
yjchua95 said:
Yup, with AES-256 and a 32-character password.

Being a computer science major, I'm quite paranoid on my security :)
Click to expand...

That's good because it seems counter productive to have your laptop encrypted but then walk around with unencrypted data.
 
Firewall is useless if you are at home on your own private network because the router already has its own firewall. If you use a public network, then you may want to use it.

FireVault just encrypts your data so if your machine is stolen, you data is safe.
 
mortenjensen said:
Do you use Firewall and FileVault?
Click to expand...

Of course. Surely there isn't anyone stupid enough out there to not use them? Unless your company has a third party solution, then every single person should enable the firewall and FileVault. It's the first thing I do after installing OS X or powering on a new Mac for the first time.
 
I have been using FV for as long as I remember, can't imagine having a laptop without that enabled.

EFI firmware password though, I didn't know you could set one. :eek:
 
Cloudsurfer said:
Not as far as I'm aware. there is no reason not to have it enabled, especially on a laptop.
Click to expand...

There is a reason.
You don't need FireVault if you rarely bring your computer anywhere and don't have much data to hide, and FireVault is just a hassle.
 
poiihy said:
There is a reason.
You don't need FireVault if you rarely bring your computer anywhere and don't have much data to hide, and FireVault is just a hassle.
Click to expand...

It hasn't been a hassle at all for me. I've recently enabled it on three Mac's, two with SSD, and one with a HDD, and they're all working great and there isn't any extra burden added to me because of it.

What kind of hassle are you experiencing?
 
SandboxGeneral said:
It hasn't been a hassle at all for me. I've recently enabled it on three Mac's, two with SSD, and one with a HDD, and they're all working great and there isn't any extra burden added to me because of it.

What kind of hassle are you experiencing?
Click to expand...

Not to thread hijack - but the only draw back is a slower initial boot / log in?
 
yjchua95 said:
The only slowdown is that you have to type in the password to unlock the drive.

Actual boot time is unaffected, and neither is login.
Click to expand...

Hmm - wonder why after I type in my password it goes through a small progress bar and then when that completes I retype my password. This only happens after I have shut down my computer and restart it.
 
Spink10 said:
Hmm - wonder why after I type in my password it goes through a small progress bar and then when that completes I retype my password. This only happens after I have shut down my computer and restart it.
Click to expand...

The first password is to unlock the boot drive so that the computer can boot. That part isn't considered as part of the startup time.

The progress bar is the boot process itself.

The second time you type the password is at the login screen.
 
Spink10 said:
Hmm - wonder why after I type in my password it goes through a small progress bar and then when that completes I retype my password. This only happens after I have shut down my computer and restart it.
Click to expand...

That is not the default setup. Normally your login password and FV password are the same and you just enter the PW once and it goes right to the desktop. Sounds like you have yours setup with two non-matching passwords. You can change that if you want to have one password, which is what I have and is the default.

Then using FV is just like a normal login.
 
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