#Mac change password to drive how to#
#Mac change password to drive mac os#

Your files are encrypted until you type your password, so thereвЂ™s no resetting it.ДЇileVault encryption also protects your files if people try to boot another operating system on your Mac or remove its system drive and read it in another computer.В itвЂ™s an essential security feature. The utility wonвЂ™t function, as it just canвЂ™t see the Mac system drive or any users on it. If you tryВ using this toolВ after enabling FileVault, youвЂ™ll discover you canвЂ™t. This means itвЂ™s not possible for an attacker to use the resetpassword utility from recovery mode. Modern versions of FileVault encryption provides whole-disk encryption of your Mac.

#Mac change password to drive mac os#

If you opted out of the encryption or youвЂ™re using a previous version of Mac OS X, you should enable FileVault encryption now. FileVault encryption is now enabled by default on OS X Yosemite - assuming you accepted theВ default option while setting up your Mac, you should be safe. If youвЂ™re using a Mac, you should ensure FileVault encryption is enabled.

#Mac change password to drive how to#

RELATED: How to Encrypt Your Mac's System Drive, Removable Devices, and Individual Files But Windows doesnвЂ™t make this as easy as a Mac does - these tools arenвЂ™t all just a quick keypress away while you boot your Windows PC.Д®nable FileVaultВ Encryption to Protect Your Files There are ways to reset your password onВ Windows, of course. However, it means a thief can quickly wipe your Mac and start using it. This at least protects your personal files from a thief - theyвЂ™ll just have to start over from scratch. RELATED: How to Wipe Your Mac and Reinstall macOS from ScratchД®ven if your Mac is securely encrypted, anyone with access to it - for example, a thief who stole your MacBook - could enter recovery mode and use the вЂњReinstall OS XвЂќ option to wipe your entire hard drive. These same tools are available by booting fromВ OS X installation media - a DVD or USB driveВ - on a Mac. This would allow anyone with access to your Mac the ability to change your password and access your user account, although FileVault encryption can protect against it.

Traditionally, itвЂ™s been possible to boot into recovery mode and select Utilities > Password ResetВ from the menu, which you could use to reset a password if youвЂ™ve forgotten it.В This option was removed back in OS X Lion, but you can still access the same password-reset utility in recovery mode byВ selecting Utilities > Terminal, typing resetpassword into the terminal window, and pressing Enter. Recovery Mode doesnвЂ™t normally require a password to access,В even though youвЂ™d need to enter your password when booting your Mac normally. The key to this process is Recovery Mode - a special environment anyone can access on your Mac if they reboot it and hold Command+R as it boots up. RELATED: How to Bypass and Reset the Password on Every Operating System