Re: I really do like OS X but . . .

foo@xxxxxxx wrote: 
On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 17:28:48 -0500, TheLetterK
<theletterk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


foo@xxxxxxx wrote:

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 16:26:02 -0500, ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



If you want to insist that all the XP Pro (that OS X mostly matches) that XP Home lacks aren't relevant if you're not on a domain, well, I guess that's mostly true. But there are a few features to which that doesn't apply. FileValut, for instance, is a neat thing to have on laptops, especially in this age of identity theft. 


NTFS security handles that.  Encryption handles theft of the drive or
protection against physical access of the drive.  For typical home use
it's a complete waste.

There's no file system encryption in XP Home. At least, there's no UI for enabling it.


As I said, for typical home use it's unused; you're correct Home
doesn't have it. Lose both passwords and the data's as good as gone;
do any of you guys use this? 

Filesystem encryption? On some machines. Laptop, definitely.


Anyhow, XP Pro's encryption is fuller featured than what OS X offers.
It appears OS X only allows you to secure your home folder via the GUI
(and turns it into one file - if it corrupts, your data is dead in the
water).

Which is all you need to encrypt. What sort of data outside of your home directory, would you even conceivably need to secure? Logs maybe? When *all* of your personal data is stored in the home directory, why would you need to encrypt anything other than your home directory? This is almost as silly as saying "XP can only encrypt data if it's on an NTFS drive".


XP Pro encrypts on a file-by-file basis, can encrypt files outside of
the user's home directory, and has rules to permit an enterprise setup
(enterprise user accounts can be created that have rights to decrypt
computers' files in the domain).

And OS X allows users to create encrypted disk images--something XP does not.


How to encrypt files in OS X, outside of home folder:
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_i_secure_encrypt_folders_on_my_macs_usb_flash_drive.html
(The file is now essentially an archive file, useless for daily
usage.)

Well shit, I can answer that question. Put an encrypted, rewritable disk image on the flash drive. Solved! Don't even need third party utilities for it. I would like to point out that XP doesn't support encryption on external drives, unless the drives have been formatted as NTFS.

 The page talks about using proprietary software dependent on
USB drive manufacturer, and talks about putting a Mac filevault file
on the media itself (of a predetermined size, apparently).


Should have had me answering these sorts of questions.

 Oh, and
Apple's had problems with this, too:
http://www.macworld.com/news/2003/11/03/filevaultissue/index.php?redirect=1067924494000
It was fixed in early November, but issues like that make me pause and
rethink if I really want to put all of my critical files in a single
large file and hope nothing bad happens.


This was fixed back in 2003.


How to do so in XP (Pro):
Right click on the file(s) in question, properties, advanced, encrypt.
It's been in use and availble for roughly 6 years now, reliably.

And still not available in XP Home, which was what I originally claimed. No need to try to switch subjects.



Most of which can be gotten for XP too.

At additional cost.


Some; some aren't. 


--
"There is nothing I understand." - Shit
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: I really do like OS X but . . .
    ... >> XP can encrypt data on any drive, ... Win2k's new NTFS permitted it. ... >>>external drives, unless the drives have been formatted as NTFS. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: I really do like OS X but . . .
    ... Win2k's new NTFS permitted it. ... You can encrypt data on other local ... external drives, unless the drives have been formatted as NTFS. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Utimaco Safeguard Easy vulnerability
    ... disk drives on laptops. ... Stop running Windows. ... encrypt your home directory and problem solved. ... encrypt the entire drive wasting space and time... ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: How to Encrypt a file/folder in Win XP SP2?
    ... System, it says NTFS. ... Edition does not have the capability to encrypt. ... NTFS-formatted drives can NOT be read by Windows Me/98 or earlier, ... After you convert, run disk defragmenter again, just to clean things up. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Multiple Hard Drives, various Partitions?
    ... You'll find a good article called "Choosing between NTFS, FAT, and FAT32". ... Has very limited constraints on file size as well as partition size. ... All of my internal drives are NTFS, so I'm not sure how XP ... Maybe format them NTFS for the reason that the NTFS file ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)