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Time Machine no longer requires a password!

Hi all.

My Time Machine is on an encrypted drive.

At startup, Time Mchine displays a dialog asking for the (encryption?) password.


However, if I do not enter a password, eventually Time Machine mounts the drive anyway.


Is this secure??? If someone was to take my Time Machine external disk, could they access my backup data???


Thanks!

iMac 27″, macOS 10.12

Posted on Feb 2, 2022 1:41 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 2, 2022 1:55 PM

Both the SSD on my Mac and the external drive I use for Time Machine are encrypted. Time Machine doesn't ask for the external drive password each time because it is stored in Keychain. No one can access the external drive without knowing the password or without accessing my Mac which also requires a password. See: What is Keychain Access on Mac? - Apple Support

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 2, 2022 1:55 PM in response to skdjfhskfjshf

Both the SSD on my Mac and the external drive I use for Time Machine are encrypted. Time Machine doesn't ask for the external drive password each time because it is stored in Keychain. No one can access the external drive without knowing the password or without accessing my Mac which also requires a password. See: What is Keychain Access on Mac? - Apple Support

Feb 5, 2022 6:16 AM in response to FoxFifth

Well... if Time Machine doesn't ask for the password, who does???


Every time I power up the Mac, I get this dialog:


I don't answer and the disk mounts on the desktop anyway. I then hit the "Cancel" button and that's it.


I should take the TM disk, plug it into another machine and see if I have access...


I may try that on my Windows laptop later.


Thanks anyway.

Feb 5, 2022 8:38 AM in response to skdjfhskfjshf

skdjfhskfjshf wrote:

Well... if Time Machine doesn't ask for the password, who does???
...



If the password for the external disk is saved in Keychain, you should never be asked for the password for that disk when connecting it to that Mac (or another where iCloud Keychain is synced to your Mac). -- However, there shouldn't be a dialog when it connects -- at least I never get one.


To post a screenshot, use the "Image Insertion" button at the bottom of the post (visible when posting) -- small icon near the right with image of 2 mountains.

Time Machine no longer requires a password!

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