The disk image is a copy of the Mac’s hard drive that you can open without having to enter the password. To create a disk image, you need to copy the hard drive to your computer and then unlock it so you can access it. The disk image is like a normal file, but it’s encrypted and will only be readable if you have the password.
To keep your data safe, you can encrypt it using a USB flash drive. ..
Create Encrypted Disk Image
To create the disk image (DMG) on your Mac, first create a folder that includes all the data you want to encrypt. Note that once you create the disk image, the original unencrypted folder will still remain on your system and you should delete it immediately.
Disk Utility is a utility that can be used to manage disks and partitions. By opening Disk Utility, you can:
Select the folder where you want the image to be saved, and click on Create. Once the image has been created, you can choose to name it and save it to your computer. ..
You will now have to choose the folder that you would like to encrypt as a disk image. To encrypt a disk image, you will need to select the folder that you would like to store the encrypted files in.
When you click Save, Photoshop will ask where you want to save the image. You can either choose a location on your computer or give it a name and save it to your hard drive. ..
If you choose to encrypt your disk using AES encryption, you will be asked to enter a password when you encrypt the disk.
Your data is the most important thing you have, and if someone gets a hold of it, they can use a brute-force attack to determine your password. Anything over 12 characters with letters, numbers and symbols will take a very long time to crack even on a really fast computer or cluster of computers.
For Image Format, you can choose from read-only, compressed, read/write, DVD/CD master or hybrid image. For our purposes, you should choose either read-only or read/write. If you choose the latter option, you’ll be able to add more files/folders to your encrypted image at a later point.
If you chose to encrypt your disk image with 256-bit AES encryption, it could take quite a while for the disk image to be created. ..
When you open an image file, you’ll be prompted to enter the password. Don’t check the Remember password in my keychain box.
If you enter the password correctly, the image will be mounted like a drive and if you chose read/write for the Image Format, then you can add or remove items from the encrypted image just like a normal drive. When you add something to the drive, it will automatically be encrypted and protected.
Create Blank Encrypted Image
You can also create an encrypted image from a folder by opening Disk Utility and then clicking on File – New Image – Blank Image.
Secondly, you can choose to create a new image or use an existing one. If you have an existing image, you can choose to overwrite it or keep it as a backup.
For Partitions, you can choose from Single partition – GUID Partition Map or Single partition – Apple Partition Map. All of the other settings are the same as previously mentioned.
The best way to keep data on your Mac from being accessed by unauthorized individuals is to use File Vault. File Vault is a software that you can install on your Mac without any third-party software or enabling File Vault on your entire system. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
