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February 7, 2008 4:35 PM PST

TrueCrypt now available for Mac OS X

by Jason Parker
New Review(Credit: CNET Networks)

Anyone who has shared a computer with a roommate, family member, or co-worker knows it's pretty hard to keep everything organized. But beyond having separate user accounts or personal folders, some data you have on your hard drive just isn't meant to be seen by other users. Whether it's your personal account numbers, journal entries, or other private files, a secure place to store items on your shared computer is necessary for your privacy.

A while ago I found a great Windows app for creating secure volumes called TrueCrypt. This open-source (free) program offers up multiple levels of security and several different types of encryption. It's so secure that if you forget the password to your encrypted volume, you might as well just trash it. Not even your favorite computer-fixing buddy down the hall in your dorm can crack this code...seriously. Just to give you an idea, TrueCrypt uses encryption algorithms AES-256, Blowfish (448-bit key), CAST5, Serpent, Triple DES, and Twofish, or just about any combination of these methods. Don't worry, I don't know what all that means either, but TrueCrypt offers a wizard taking you through a step-by-step process explaining how to create secure volumes, how to select your encryption type, and how to create a secure password.

TrueCrypt Mac

Use the wizard to pick your preferred algorithm and create a password protected volume.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The big news today is that Truecrypt is now available for Mac OS X. The only catch is you'll have to download the version that is specific to your OS (Tiger or Leopard) and processor (PowerPC or Intel). I've rounded up all four Mac versions of TrueCrypt here.

Once you set up your secure folder, you can now rest assured your nosy roommate has no chance of reading your journal entries. Just remember, if you forget your password, you won't be able to read them either!

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by dbrownla February 12, 2008 10:18 PM PST
Little problem, Jason. Looking for the version of TrueCrypt for Leopard (Intel), I followed your link to this page:
http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads.php
Unfortunately, I did not see this option listed.
What'sup?
db
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by jparker February 13, 2008 10:02 AM PST
It's in the drop-down menu, listed under Mac OS X but it shouldn't have redirected to their site anyway...I've switched the links so they should now work. Thanks for the heads-up!

Jason
by waldstille February 13, 2008 12:32 AM PST
I would really appreciate it greatly if you, Jason, or someone, would explain to me the need for such a program on the Mac, since presumably every use has his/her own account and cannot get into the files of the other users anyway, especially if Filevault is used. Is my idea faulty? Is Filevault not safe after all? Or do some people sharing a Mac also share the same account (but why??). What is the situation you have in mind?
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