Secure your data with TrueCrypt for Mac OS X
February 11th, 2008 by Jason ParkerThis rock-solid free program for creating encrypted volumes has been a popular choice on Windows machines for a while. Now you can rest assured your files are secure on your Mac with TrueCrypt for Mac OS X.
Anyone who has shared a computer with a flatmate, family member, or co-worker knows it's pretty hard to keep everything organised. 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.
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!
Oh this is a good one I have been looking into how to play flac 
Jonzo
February 11th, 2008 at 10:55am
This functionality is built-in to the operating system. Just create an encrypted disk image using Disk Utility (Applications Folder->Utilities). You can also then add the disk image as a login item (but don't store the password in keychain).
Mr Norton
June 12th, 2008 at 2:36am
Well, you can do AES-128 with Tiger, and 256 with Leopard. As a diskimage, attachable. BUT the advantage of TRUECRYPT is Deniability. DMGs, like most files, start with a file identifier. So, a program looks at a file, says "Starts with" and proceeds if it understands the file. Anyway, the deniability comes from a TC file to be completely unidentifiable to the naked and the trained eye. THAT's a remarkable difference. Now, this is a tool for the ultra paranoid, I would say, use DiskUtility that comes with OS X, and if you are a standard user. HINT, Mr Parker: Supply a link to the program. Especially one that you could re-compile yourself with malicious code in it. Just sayin