Disk image: How Safe?

I'm wondering just how safe my encrypted disk image is on my computer.
Can an expert open a disk image on my computer if he/she has physical possession?
If so: 1. just how good would the person have to be?
2. how would the person do it?
3. does this apply to all Apple computers?
I haven't been able to get specific answers.
Thank you so much for your help,
Joe

Can an expert open a disk image on my computer if he/she has physical possession?
Basically, not if the image is encrypted and the password isn't in the keychain. Ensure the password can't be guessed. Click here for more information.
(54829)

Similar Messages

Replaced HD yesterday Was able to restore from Time Machine Now, it won't back up to Time Machine. I removed the TM and tried to add it- the error is "The disk image for "computername.sparsebundle" is in use. Try ejecting the disk image - How do I do?

Replaced HD yesterday Was able to restore from Time Machine Now, it won't back up to Time Machine. I removed the TM and tried to add it- the error is "The disk image for "computername.sparsebundle" is in use. Try ejecting the disk image - How do I do?

Hello jfilbey,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Power cycle the disk Time Machine is backing up to.
For more information on this, take a look at:
Time Machine: Troubleshooting backup issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
Best of luck,
Mario

IDVD Disk Image - How long does it take?

Hi,
I exported my iMovie to iDVD, added the necessary effects and am now trying to save it as a disk image for ripping out DVDs later. How long does the "Save as Disk Image" process normally take? Mine has been at it for over 2 hours now. It seems to be stuck in the "Process Menus" stage and says "Rendering menu video asset...". Last time it got stuck at this same place , so I cancelled it and rebooted the machine. Now it seems to be stuck again at the same place. Any ideas how long this typically takes?
Thanks.

depending on processor (G4, 5, quad, dualcore, Intel), MHz/GHz, size of RAM, speed of hd … you have to calculate between realtime and 10x length of project.... (1h project=10h rendering)
reading in your specs "macbook": make sure, 10 - 20 GB are free on internal drive to make iDVD working smooth..........

After having created a disk image how to burn it?

After having created a disk image (selecting HD for Output Device) in Compressor I get some files:
1. ac3 and m2V files
2. .img file
3. PAR folder
I guess the file I need to burn is the .img one. How can I burn it directly on a DVD? On Compressor itself?
At this point can I get rid of ac3, m2V and PAR files?

Insert a disk into your optical drive.
Drag the img icon to the bottom of the left pane in DU. Select it.
Click on the burn icon in the menu toolbar.
Depending on your OS version, your burn speed options may be different than they are here. FWIW I usually choose 2X.
Good luck.
Russ

Delete encrypted disk image - how to ?

Folks,
I need to delete an ecrypted disk image I created some time ago. I frankly don't know what is in there and have not checked it in some time. Furthermore, I have forgotten the password, which I must have changed - because the one that is in my keychain does not open it.
So how best to do this ? I am reluctant to just drag it into the trash. In addition it is 40 meg I would like to get back. Can anyone help ?
Thanks

Just trash the disk image file (.dmg).

Password Protect folders (non sparse disk image)

So there are a collection of files I have protected on my computer using the disk utility method that everyone asking this question uses. I am curious to know if there is any other way of doing it. I want to password protect a folder within this protected disk image just becuase i feel like being extra sneaky and careful at the moment. I mean I could just use another sparse disk image inside the original and use two different passwords but I'm trying to be creative and that could get confusing. Does anyone know of a way to password protect a folder or file without using the disk utility method in Lion? Even if it requires third party stuff

nails:
From your earlier posts I gather that you would like to have a high level of security for your data. If an encrypted folder does not do the job for you, you may want to consider FileVault. However, if you use FileVault there are to very important measures you must take: 1) You must remember your password. If you lose or forget your password you will lose aceess to your data permanently. There is no way around it. 2) You must leave adequate space to be able to disable FileVault, should you every need to do so. The encrypted sparseimage requires almost double the size of the image to be able to be expanded.
Here are a few articles that might be of interest to you:
A Word about FileVault
About Encrypted Disk Images
How to create a password-protected (encrypted) disk image
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Happy Holidays.
cornelius

Password protect a file beyond disk image?

Hi,
I've made a password protected disk image file, but once it's opened the file can be opened without a password every time.
Is there a way to password-protect a file, so that every time you try to open it, it requires a password? (like the way you can encrypt a PDF...)
Thanks!

nails:
From your earlier posts I gather that you would like to have a high level of security for your data. If an encrypted folder does not do the job for you, you may want to consider FileVault. However, if you use FileVault there are to very important measures you must take: 1) You must remember your password. If you lose or forget your password you will lose aceess to your data permanently. There is no way around it. 2) You must leave adequate space to be able to disable FileVault, should you every need to do so. The encrypted sparseimage requires almost double the size of the image to be able to be expanded.
Here are a few articles that might be of interest to you:
A Word about FileVault
About Encrypted Disk Images
How to create a password-protected (encrypted) disk image
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Happy Holidays.
cornelius

How Safe is a Password Protected Disk Image?

I've created a Disk Image Volume with a password on my hard drive and have placed sensitive files into it as an alternative to using File Vault. Does anyone know if there is a way that these files be accessed without the password?
Thanks,
Joe

If you created the Disk Image Volume with a Password then it cannot be acsessd without said password.
It is the same with Filevault.. You cannot make changes without a Password.....Don

Is it safe to back up a disk image file when it's mounted?

Hi -
I use some small, encrypted ".sparsebundle" disk image files to keep my diary, banking info, etc., on. When I'm at the computer, I keep them mounted all the time.
Is it safe to let Time Machine automatically back up the .sparsebundle disk image files, even while they are mounted? Or would there be a possibility the backups would be corrupted, if the operating system hadn't written out cached data or something to the disk image file?
In other words, if I save any open documents on the mounted disk image, does the disk image file on disk always contain the fully-saved document and a consistent file system? Or could there still be some data cached in RAM, that would not be saved at the time the .sparsebundle file was copied? Is it always necessary to unmount a disk image before duplicating its .sparsebundle file?
Do I need to turn off Time Machine's automatic backup, and just do manual "backup now" after unmounting the disk images? That's a major pain in the behind... I really want to just let Time Machine do it's hourly backups as usual, but of course there's no point if the backups are corrupt.
Of course my own guess is "to be safe", I should unmount them before backing up. But again it's a big pain if it's not actually necessary. Does anyone know for sure?
Thanks...

My understanding is that Unix, generally, doesn't write everything out to disk immediately. There is caching in RAM to speed up disk access, including modified superblocks, modified inodes, and delayed reads and writes. Now, if you ask to read an individual file, the kernel makes sure all the cached data is written before it returns the read data. But if you try to do, for example, a block copy of the whole filesystem, the kernel doesn't know that, and there's no guarantee or expectation that the filesystem will be in a coherent state.
That's the purpose, for example, of the "sync" command - to write all this cached data to disk before unmounting, shutting down, etc., and, that's why the OS gets so upset if you just unplug a firewire drive. Because even if you've saved and closed any open documents, they haven't necessarily been fully written out to disk yet.
So what I don't understand, is how people are ever able to back up mounted disk image files without them getting corrupted. I mean, you'd think they would get corrupted all the time. It would be the equivalent of just unplugging your firewire drive before you made a backup of it, or of doing a block copy of a read/write mounted filesystem. There ought to be a very good chance of the filesystem being scrambled. So, why does it not happen?
Is there something different about the Apple filesystem, or Apple disk images? Or, maybe we're only talking about delay times in the cache of fractions of a second, so as long as you haven't written anything within a few seconds of the copy, and don't write anything during it, you're ok?
Even if Apple reps won't answer my question, the kernel and most likely all the low-level disk i/o and filesystem stuff is open source. Surely there's someone out there who would be knowledgeable enough to give a definitive answer? I was hoping to find someone like that here... I do appreciate your taking the time to answer my post, but maybe I need to go elsewhere, on some developers' mailing lists or something? Does anyone know of such a place I could start looking?
Thanks...

How Secure Is A Disk Image Using AES-128 Encryption ?

I want to make encrypted disk images using Disk Utility.
How secure will they be ?
Good enough for state secrets ?
Can the encryption be broken ? If so, how easily ?
Could the average hacker break it easily or with great effort over a long period ?
Or would it take a team of government type experts ?
Ian the Paranoid.

I would say encrypted disks are a safe option.
However, with the coming rise of quantum computers, in the wrong hands, encryption for the near future will be all but nullified.
Some safe measures to take for making your computer safer include: Changing your router's password, enabling firewall, reverse firewall, FileVault (make sure you don't lose your paswords) Firmware password, encrypted mail service, (If available from your ISP).
These are just some of the obvious. There's more and I haven't used them all. But, it just helps to be informed and work with what you can.

How do I mount a disk image that won't open?

I have an external drive Samsung 500 GB that was failing. I think my MacBook Air (10.6.8) caused it to fail because it wouldn't allow me to eject the disk even though I forced quit all programs. I eventually had to just unplug the drive and this caused the external disk to fail as it had not been ejected properly. Not my fault. It's the MBA's fault for not letting me eject the disk. Now the Samsung disk won't mount properly and I get a message that the drive is failing and I should save the data.
Anyhow, I used the free version of Data Rescue 3 to try and save the data on the failing Samsung 500 GB drive and move it onto a brand new Toshiba 1 TB drive.
I was unable to use the normal scanning function of Data Rescue 3 as the hardware of the drive was too damaged, and so I used the clone function on Data Rescue 3 to clone the data onto a non-failing hard drive, with the intent of restoring the data later.
I am not sure if I was successful in making the disk image. It hung up at the 99.6% point for about 12 hours when I decided to give up on it, and I shut down Data Rescue so I could eject the hard disks.
However, it would not let me do it. I tried force ejecting but still I could not eject the disks.
I ended up just unplugging the drives. I think the Samsung drive died almost completely then because it made a whole lot of clicking noises after that (it was only making a few clicking noises before that).
Anyhow, I plugged the Toshiba 1 TB drive into the computer again and used Data Rescue to scan the drive with the disk image on it to see if I could detect files on that drive.
It opened up the structure and I was able to see that most or all of the files were there (abbout 450GB of data) just from seeing the information about the files in the structure tree - the labels of the files (file type labels such as jpg, mp4 etc) and the size of the files, although I could not open up the files to check all of them.
I tested out the restore function of Data Rescue by downloading one file (<10MB) file. I am using the free version and can download one file for free to test things out.
It worked and I was able to save that file onto a second external drive (Western Digital 500 GB) I had plugged in. I had bought this drive just to do the data rescue.
So I think the files are salvageable and the disk image is OK.
However, when I tried to open the disk image in Disk Utility, by opening it as the source and choosing the WD drive as the destination I could not open it. I got an error message. I can't remember what the message was.
I tried just opening the disk image in Finder by just clicking on the disk image but it won't mount.
Is that because my hard drive doesn't have enough space? My Desktop on the MBA only has 12 GB free and the WD drive has only 500 GB on it even though the disk image is about 501 GB.
I don't know why the disk image is that size when the failing Samsung drive only had 450 GB of data on it.
Anyway, what should I do to mount the disk image?
I want to mount the disk image so that I can copy or move the files from it to another external drive so that I can save those files.
Is it because the WD is only 500 GB or does it mean there's a problem with the disk image I made?
Should I try Carbon Clone Copy? I use that to make backups of my MBA internal HDD though I have never used it for opening or making disk images.
I have never dealt with disk images before except for dmg files of applications downloaded from the internet.
I am trying to avoid using Data Rescue 3 as I have to pay for it and if there is a free option, such as Disk Utility, CCC or other, I want to try it to restore the data in the disk image.
Sadly, I think the Samsung drive is ruined beyong repair as it's making a lot of clicking sounds and doesn't mount properly in Disk Image and I get a message that it's beyond repair or something like that in Disk Utility.
So I am relying on the disk image I made on the Toshiba drive to restore my files.
(I think it was the last movie file that caused the problem because it was when I was trying to copy it onto the Samsung external drive, all the problems began - hanging up when copying it, not being able to eject the Samsung disk, causing hardware issues on Samsung disk and getting warning messages on Disk Utility.)
BTW, I learned how to eject a drive when it won't eject the normal way, I have to use command window and type in commands, but that's another post ....
Any advice?
I am thinking of going out and buying a second 1 TB external drive so that I have a disk with enough space to open the 501GB disk image on it, just in case that was the sole problem.
However, I am not sure that is the case, and I think there may be a problem with the disk image or I am not going the right way about opening it.
Thanks for any advice.

I think I've found the solution to this problem.
http://superuser.com/questions/19426/im-unable-to-mount-a-dmg-getting-a-no-mount able-filesystems-error
I am following the instructions here:
I ran into a similar situation. I did what simonair suggested and I received a message in Terminal that Volume mounted successfully. However It did not help me access the mounted Volume neither was I able to confirm the mounted Volume. Nor was I able to mount the image using Disk Drill or even scan through. Nothing succeeded.
Here is what I did to solve my problem. I see that in this post some suggested that we should convert name.dmg to writable file. I used the command from Terminal to convert but was not successful. INSTEAD alternatively, I used Disk Utility, attached the Volume (yes I got the same message again, ''no mountable system files'' however, Disk Utility nevertheless attached the image, which I was able to do before anyways. This time, I selected it and then clicked New image, and then selected image format read/write, not the compressed option. I created a new image. This time this image was writable however, it still would not mount using Simonair's solution. However, this time I was able to scan it with Disk Drill with exact file locations and folder hierarchy as I had. Recovering all from thereon was a breeze. Just remember: when you create new image of an attached volume and chose not compressed but read/write, you need to have a disk with exact amount of space that totals the total space allocated within that name.dmg file (not the amount of space the data takes). Mine was huge, and luckily I had an external disk with enough space to do that and it took about 5 hours for about 400GB of disk allocation. Good luck.
And so far it seems to be working. Even though the volume is grayed out on the left side of Disk Utility, I am still able to select it as the source for making a new disk image. I chose Read and Write and no compression.
The only thing I might be doing differently is that instead of choosing the disk image as the source, I chose the volume as the source. The volume is grayed out, but the disk image is not.
It seems to be working all right. Keep my fingers crossed.
If this doesn't work, I will use Data Recovery 3 as a last resort.

How do I convert TC sparse bundle to disk image?

Ok, this question could be cross-listed under a number of threads, so I had to just pick one...
A few months ago, the HD in my MB was clearly dying, so I replaced it with a larger, faster drive. All good, until I realized I had been close to maxing out my Time Capsule before I upgraded my MB's HD, so I upsized that, too.
Fast forward 2 months.
I have a weird problem where iPhoto events start going dark. The database had these previously imported files listed, but the files themselves were nowhere to be found! The event in iPhoto showed black squares where the images used to be, but even looking in finder... No pics!
I want to go back into my old (saved) HD that I pulled from my Time Capsule. I stuck it in an external USB enclosure, and hooked it up. I told Time Machine to use it as the backup, but after it 'verified' it, it didn't show me the archived files. It does show a 'sparse bundle' in finder, which I understand is similar to a disk image. So is there a way to convert the sparse bundle to a disk image? Do I need to plug my old TC HD back into the TC to get to that archive?
Help! Among the lost photos are ones from a trip to Australia and my grandmother's memorial service. I need to get these back!
Thank you in advance.

tgilk wrote:
I've already done the TC surgery once before and the hardest thing was loosening the adhesive on the rubber pad / gasket on the bottom of the unit. After that, I completed the HD replacement in about 15 minutes... piece of cake. There's actually a good tutorial on AppleFritter. But I digress...
It's not too much of a digression. Remember that if you are just firing up the Time Capsule with the old hard drive, you don't have to reassemble it. Just swap out the plugs from the old drive to the new and turn it on. A true PC geek never runs with the cover on.
However, messing around with adhesives and thermal paste introduces a new element of risk. If you know the dates that have good data, and you are comfortable merging the newer photos back in, accessing the data via the Finder on an external enclosure would be faster and safer.
So, can I turn the TM backups off and still enter 'TM' to browse through the backups on the drive? I've ID'd the specific dates of my missing photo events, so as long as I can get into the backup, I will know just what folders to search for in the 'Originals' folders in the backup.
Yes. That is probably one of the most important and least known tips about Time Machine. You can still use it even if the backups are turned off. Furthermore, if you ever start to have problems on your machine, you should turn off Time Machine to avoid further corruption of your backups.

How do I create a disk image for windows 7, using a windows computer for USB bootcamp for mac?

Hi There, I have just bought a new 2013 iMac.
Spec: 3.4 GHz intel core i5, 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Memory , NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2048 MB Graphics with OS X 10.9.4.
How can I create a 'disk image' from a windows 7 professional 64bit installation DVD using a windows laptop with windows 7 Operating system on? I want to transfer this 'disk image' (ISO?) to a USB ready for installing windows onto my 2013 iMac using bootcamp? I want to use bootcamp from a USB as I have no disk drive for the installation DVD on my iMac. I hope all this is clear.
Thank you. Joe

Yes, that's correct, at least not directly. You can create a blank disk image, copy the file to the mounted disk image, then burn the image to a CD/DVD.
Open Disk Utility and select Blank Disk Image from the New menu. Provide a name, Save location, and select the image size from the drop down menu. Leave Encryptions at None and Format as read/write. Click on the Create button.
After the image file appears the "removable" disk should be automatically mounted. If not double-click on it to mount it. A "removable" disk icon will appear. Drag the file you want to place on the disk image to the "removable" disk icon. The eject the "removable" disk icon. Now select the disk image file in the DU left side list and click on the Burn icon in the DU toolbar. Be sure to have a blank disc ready.
The above is actually the "long" way to do this. A much easier way is to simply insert a blank CD or DVD into the optical drive. The Finder will pop up a dialog asking what to do. Select the option to mount on the Desktop. You will now see a disc icon on the Desktop. Drag the file you want to burn to the CD/DVD, right-click or CTRL-click on the disc icon and select Burn from the contextual menu.
Why reward points?(Quoted from Discussions Terms of Use.)
The reward system helps to increase community participation. When a community member gives you (or another member) a reward for providing helpful advice or a solution to their question, your accumulated points will increase your status level within the community.
Members may reward you with 5 points if they deem that your reply is helpful and 10 points if you post a solution to their issue. Likewise, when you mark a reply as Helpful or Solved in your own created topic, you will be awarding the respondent with the same point values.

How do I create a start-up disk image without restarting from the Install DVD?

(I know this is not MacBook Pro question per se, but I can't find a software discussion this applies to.)
Situation:
My MBP is running, but it's acting up and Onyx tells me that the start-up volume needs repair and directs me to use Disk Utility.
But to repair a volume using Disk Utility, you must restart from the original Install DVD (or some other start-up volume).
But although the MBP will read my old Leopard Install DVD and the Install DVD that came with my MBP, it refuses to restart from either of them. (Trying to do so gets as far as the Apple logo on a gray screen and then hangs there; all disk activity ceases.)
Question:
How can I (is it even possible to) create a start-up volume on my external FW drive without starting my MBP from a DVD?
In other words, is there a way to either:
a) create a disk image from the Install DVD on my external FW drive and then designate that disk image as my start-up drive?
OR
b) create a disk image on my MBP's internal drive that I can then use to run a System Install on my external drive?
(BTW, I know I can create disk images using Disk Utility, but it offers many options for type, compression, etc., that are beyond me. )
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

OS X Lion includes a new feature called Lion Recovery that includes all of the tools you need to reinstall Lion, repair your disk, and even restore from a Time Machine backup without the need for optical discs.
Restart your Mac holding down the Command-R to enter the Recovery HD.
From there you can use Disk Utilty.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Stefan

How do I re-upload my HD from a Disk Image

I recently had some issues with my Mac Book Pro and I had to delete my entire Hard Drive. Using Disk Utility I backed it up first by taking a disk image of it all. I fixed my computer and now I am trying to work out how I can re-install my Hard Drive.
I open up the disk image, which takes hours to verfiy because there is so much stuff on it, and all my stuff is there. However, it doesn't update my computer to be how it was before and also it doesn't stay there, acting more like an external drive, so when I turn off my computer and then on again I need to go through the whole verifcation process.
Can anyone help me out here and show me how to use this disk image to go back to how my computer was set up, please?

OK great. Thing is when I try to I keep getting the message: Could not unmount volume "/" (Resource busy)
What am I doing wrong?
I

Disk image: How Safe?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for