When Apple introduced Panther and its 150 new features, who would have thought that FileVault, an extra-strength security technology, would raise so many questions and lead to so many debates?

Indeed, many reviewers have written about it and many troubleshooting or technical pages have been published. However, there are still many unanswered questions about the technology that powers FileVault, about its effectiveness and safety.

Over the course of this article, I'm going to walk you through FileVault and try to explain how it works, and what it can (and cannot) do for you. In the end, I hope that it will help you answer one important question: "Should I use it?"

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