Summary :
There isn’t anything specific about Mac OS that makes it inherently more secure. Instead, the differences between Windows vs Mac OS and Linux means that malware often has to be coded separately for each platform. So a Mac isn’t necessarily more difficult to attack or less vulnerable than a Windows PC. It is an open-source Operating System as compared to the Mac OS or Windows OS. Therefore, anyone can tweak the Operating System according to their usability. In contrast to Windows, Linux has an intricate version structure. Linux has open-source nature, which results in the introduction of 100s of Linux-based Operating System known as.
How much do you know about APFS vs Mac OS Extended? Which Mac file system should you choose? How to format hard drive for Mac? If you have similar questions on your mind, please read this page carefully to find answers; the main differences between APFS and Mac OS Extended file system and several ways to format a hard drive (internal/external) on Mac will be introduced.
Quick Navigation :
Mac (formerly known as Macintosh) refers to the personal computers that are designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. MacOS is one of the most popular operating systems in the world; it’s the main competitor of Windows.
Common Mac file system includes: 行くぞ! grand cosmic dunkmaster: neo extremist ballistic v mac os.
- APFS (Apple File System): the default file system used in macOS 10.13 and later versions.
- Mac OS Extended: the file system used in macOS 10.12 and earlier versions.
- FAT (MS-DOS) and exFAT: the system systems that are supported by both Mac & Windows.
The following content first discusses on APFS vs Mac OS Extended; after that, it will tell you how to format a hard drive for Mac in several different ways.
Tip: Do you know MiniTool Solution? It is a company devoting itself to developing software for different purposes (data recovery, disk management, system backup, etc.) and keeping them updated regularly.
Part 1: Introduction to APFS and Mac OS Extended
In this part, I’ll first introduce APFS and Mac OS extended to you. Then, I’ll compare these two file systems used on Mac for you in brief. You may ask what are the differences between APFS and Mac OS Extended, right?
APFS vs Mac OS Extended
APFS refers to Apple File System, which is a proprietary file system used by Mac devices running macOS 10.13 or later. Mac OS Extended is a journaling file system used by macOS 10.12 or earlier. APFS is best for solid state and flash drives while Mac OS Extended is best for mechanical drives, or drives used on older macOS.
What Is APFS Format
APFS (the full name is Apple File System) is a proprietary file system released by Apple Inc. It can be used on different devices running macOS High Sierra (10.13) and later, iOS 10.3 and later, all versions of iPadOS, watchOS 3.2 and later, or tvOS 10.2 and later. APFS is a new file system which was originally designed by Mac to fix core problems of Mac OS Extended.
What Is Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended, also known as HFS+, HFS Plus or HFS Extended, is actually a journaling file system released by Apple Inc. It was released in 1998 to replace HFS (Hierarchical File System, also known as Mac OS Standard or HFS Standard), which is the previous primary file system in Apple computers. Two main advantages of HFS+ when compare to HFS are: a. it gives support to much larger files; b. it uses Unicode for naming items.
Part 2: Which Is Better, APFS or Mac OS Extended
APFS vs HFS+ vs HFS:
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APFS file system was announced in June 2016 to replace HFS+ (also known as HFS Plus or Mac OS Extended); the latter was used on all Mac computers as the primary file system since 1998 to replace the previous HFS.
Choose APFS for SSDs & Flash Storage Devices
When compared to Mac OS extended, APFS has been optimized a lot in terms of encryption, so it’s more suitable for flash and solid-state drive storage. APFS becomes the default file system for both for SSDs (Solid State Drives) and flash drives.
- In 2016, APFS was first released by Apple to replace Mac OS Extended (the previous default file system on Mac); it carries all sorts of benefits you can found in Mac OS Extended.
- A partial specification for APFS was published by Apple in September 2018 to allow the read-only access to APFS drive on even unencrypted and non-Fusion storage devices.
But don’t worry, you can still use the APFS on mechanical and hybrid drives.
To gain quality but free USB data recovery service, you should use MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free Edition; this post tells you how to recover USB data.
There are two main highlights in APFS.
1st: fast speed. Copying and pasting a folder on APFS drive can be finished in an instant since the file system points to basically the same data twice.
- There are huge improvements in metadata so that many actions can be performed quickly; for example, confirming how much space the target file/folder takes up on an APFS drive.
- The reliability is also improved a lot. Users don't encounter corrupted files as often as they used to.
2nd: reverse compatibility. If you are running 2016’s macOS Sierra or the later versions of macOS, congratulations, you have both read and write access to APFS, HFS +, and HFS file system. However, for users who run an older Mac (or a Windows operating system), they are not allowed to write to APFS-formatted drives.
Pros & Cons of APFS
Main advantages of APFS:
- It’s able to create point-in-time snapshots for users.
- APFS allows users to encrypt the full disk by using a single or multi-key so as to enhance the security.
- The checksums are used to ensure the integrity of metadata.
- It creates new records, instead of overwriting the existing ones, in order to avoid metadata corruption; the records may be corrupted because of system crash or other reasons.
- The storage management of APFS is more efficient than HFS+, resulting in helping users get additional free space.
- Users don't need to write changes twice by choosing APFS over HFS+; this will increase the system performance on some devices.
- The clones or multiple copies of the same file are allowed; it will only store the changes as deltas. This helps to reduce storage space greatly when users copy files, make revisions, or do other things.
- The APFS drive is generally more stable and reliable than the previous HFS+ or HFS drive.
Main disadvantages of APFS:
- Compression is not allowed on an APFS drive.
- It gives no support to the Fusion drives.
- The NVRAM (Non-volatile Random-access Memory) can’t be used even for data storage.
- The Checksums used are only available for ensuring integrity of metadata (that of user data can’t be guaranteed).
- You can only access the encrypted volumes from another other computer which runs macOS High Sierra.
- The biggest disadvantage of all seems to be: APFS wasn’t compatible with Time Machine for a long time in the past. Users of older Mac versions are told to make backups on Mac OS Extended drive unless they use a third-party backup tool rather than the built-in Time Machine.
Note: If you’re running the new macOS like the Big Sur, you'd better choose APFS or APFS encrypted disks for Time Machine backup. You’ll be asked to erase and reformat the disk if you use a new one that’s not formatted as APFS to backup. Well, the system won’t ask you to erase and reformat if you choose to back up on a Mac OS Extended disk that contains an existing Time Machine backup.
Choose Mac OS Extended Journaled for Mechanical Hard Disks
Mac OS Extended (HFS+) is the default file system for all Macs from 1998 to 2017, until the new APFS replace it. Till now, it’s still the default file system for both mechanical and hybrid hard drives. You should keep it unchanged while you install the macOS or format external hard drive Mac. The HFS+ is a better choice than APFS on even current mechanical and hybrid hard drives.
Besides, you should definitely choose Mac OS Extended when you reformat external hard drive Mac considering that it may be used on older Macs running El Capitan or earlier versions of macOS. As you know, the new APFS file system is not compatible with these old macOS versions.
Pros & Cons of HFS+
Main advantages of HFS+:
- It gives support to the Fusion drives (which can’t be supported by APFS).
- It gives support to all versions of Mac OS X and macOS.
- You can encrypt volumes and then access them from any version of Mac OS X and macOS.
Main disadvantages of HFS+:
- There’s no point-in-time snapshot for users.
- The nanosecond standard is not used for Timestamps.
- The native file support for other file systems is too limited.
- The support to Mac OS Extended will be stopped on February 6, 2040.
- No checksum is used for metadata integrity or user data integrity.
- You can’t have concurrent access to the file system by a process.
Note: It seems that Apple won’t spend much time in improving the HFS+ in the future. The APFS will be the new and future file system for Apple devices; it’s likely that Apple will add more features to APFS and keep improving it for better security and user experience.
Please ask yourself the following questions when you choose between APFS and Mac OS Extended:
- Are you formatting the internal disk or the external hard drive on your Mac?
- Which macOS are you running? Do you prepare to install macOS High Sierra or later?
- Is the Time Machine backup or bootable installer included in your daily schedule?
- Are you preparing to use the disk on another Mac or even Windows computer?
Bonus Tip: Choose exFAT for Hard Drives Used on Both Mac & Windows
Though the file system of main system drive on Mac is confined to APFS and Mac OS Extended, you can still consider exFAT (or the older FAT) when you format an external hard drive on Mac.
The most obvious benefit of using exFAT is that it can work with both Windows and macOS computers (you have both read and write access to the exFAT drive). Although there are solutions to read Mac formatted drive on Windows or read a Windows formatted drive on Mac, formatting drives to exFAT is still a convenient thing and an economical choice.
Tip: Microsoft released exFAT in 2006 to replace the older FAT32 format, providing cross-platform compatibility. Till then, the file and partition size limitations had been broken: 4GB file size limit and 2TB partition size limit.
Part 3: How to Format Hard Drive for Mac
Users shouldn’t reformat the disk that built-in Mac causally unless they have special needs and they are professional enough. So this part will focus on how to format external hard drive for Mac by using the snap-in tool: Disk Utility (it can be used to format & manage both internal and external hard drives as well as disk images).
Warning: You are strongly advised to back up at least important files on the disk before formatting it since the formatting action will damage all files saved on the target drive. Two ways to backup files easily on Mac is: copying & pasting files to another driver and using Time Machine. In addition, you can use the Restore feature to erase a drive and then replace its contents with the files from the drive you want to backup.
How to format an external hard drive for Mac? Please follow this guide.
Step 1: open Disk Utility on your Mac.
Go to the Applications -> select Utilities folder -> double click on Disk Utility.
Note: Please start up from macOS Recovery and then choose Disk Utility in the macOS Utilities window if you really want to format the startup disk or startup volume.
Step 2: choose View -> Show All Devices.
Please click on the View icon in the upper left corner of Disk Utility window. After that, please select Show All Devices from the drop-down list.
Step 3: erase/wipe the target disk.
Please connect the external hard disk in advance and make sure it’s appeared on Mac. Then, select the disk that you want to format from the left sidebar. After that, you should click on the Erase button in the right pane.
- Give the disk a Name (the maximum length is 11 characters).
- Select a proper file Format.
- Choose a proper Scheme.
- Click on the Security Options to choose how you'd like the drive to be formatted (optional).
- Click on the Erase button.
- Wait for the process to be finished.
- Click on the blue Done button to close the window.
You can now start to use the formatted disk. Please click here to know how to format a disk for Windows computers in Disk Utility on Mac.
The file formats available for you to choose are:
- APFS
- APFS (Encrypted)
- APFS (Case-sensitive)
- APFS (Case-sensitive, Encrypted)
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted)
- Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)
- Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted)
- MS-DOS (FAT)
- ExFAT
Click here to know more about the differences between these file formats.
That’s how to reformat a disk on Mac by using Disk Utility (the steps to reformat MacBook Pro are the same). Of course, there are also many third-party tools you can download to format the disk on your Mac.
How to Recover Formatted Hard Drive on Mac
Data recovery from mac formatted external hard drive:
- Download Stellar Data Recovery for Mac.
- Follow the wizard to install it properly.
- Launch the software right after installation.
- Make sure the formatted drive is connected to your Mac.
- Define the file type that you want to recover; you can select all types by enabling Recover Everything.
- Click on the Next button to continue.
- Choose the formatted disk/drive and click on the Scan button (enable Deep Scan to find more files).
- Wait until the scan is finished.
- Browse the scan results and choose what you want to recover.
- Click on the Recover button and select a safe place to store the recovered data.
Extended reading:
Tip: If you have backed up the disk data by using Time Machine in advance, you can also perform Mac hard drive recovery by using this snap-in tool.
Final Thoughts
Both APFS and Mac OS Extended are popular file systems supported by Mac computers. If you don't know which one is more suitable for you, please read part 1 and part 2 carefully (the advantages & disadvantages of these two Mac file systems are included). Part 3 teaches you how to format a hard drive for Mac by using the snap-in Disk Utility; besides, it offers an easy method for recovering data from a formatted drive on Mac. Hope this can help you decide which one to choose: APFS or Mac OS Extended, and prevent your important data from getting lost.
Posted on May 12, 2012Mac OS X 10.7.3 (Lion) inherently contains many desired security features; however it takes a few moments for the user to enable most of them. It’s the ideology of convenience versus security and as it is well known Macs are quite convenient. This article will discuss how to further harden the Mac OS X environment and raise users up a few notches from the low-hanging fruit category.
General Security
Built-in – Using the operating system’s native toolset available for the user to configure and raise the security posture from its default ‘convenient’ settings. For example System Preferences, Keychain Access, Software Updates.
Third-Party – Using third-party vendors to further enhance the native system usually with additional front-ends. For example 1Password, Little Snitch.
Third-Party – Using third-party vendors to further enhance the native system usually with additional front-ends. For example 1Password, Little Snitch.
Encryption Security
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Built-in – Using native available encryption. Apple comes with FileVault 2; a whole disk encryption feature allowing users to have their data made irrecoverable in an event of theft, loss, physical compromise.
Third-Party – Using both open source and/or commercial encryption suites such as TrueCrypt, Mac GPG, Symantec’s PGP Desktop.
Third-Party – Using both open source and/or commercial encryption suites such as TrueCrypt, Mac GPG, Symantec’s PGP Desktop.
Malware Security
Built-in – Using native available malware protection. XProtectUpdater which updates the ‘safe downloads list’.
Third-Party – Using both commercial and/or free anti-virus/anti-malware suites such as MacScan, Sophos, ClamXAV.
Third-Party – Using both commercial and/or free anti-virus/anti-malware suites such as MacScan, Sophos, ClamXAV.
For the most part by configuring and enabling the built-in security features that Apple Mac OS X Lion has to offer third-party utilities turn into a ‘want’ more than a ‘need’.
Post-Installation
Security begins at… well the beginning. For most users this is known as post-installation. Just around where they would turn on their Macs for the very first time. The following 21 recommended security tips are not only recommended but also encouraged:
1. Create Your Computer Account
During this screen enter a password make sure the checkbox labeled ‘Require password when logging in’ is checked. If a password hint is entered make sure it doesn’t reveal to a potential attacker the password. I like to put in an appropriate message directly to the attacker such as ‘Sorry buddy, it isn’t that easy – try something else’. Note that Apple states “Enter a hint to help you remember your password. Anyone can see the hint, so choose a hint that won’t make it easy to guess your password.”
2. System Preferences : Change Lock Security Feature
Locking system preferences configurations is ideal in a secure world as to make changes requires authentication with administrative credentials. Of the 29 default System Preferences 11 locking options are offered by default in Security & Privacy, Energy Saver, Print & Scan, Network, Sharing, Users & Groups, Parental Controls, Date & Time, Software Update, Time Machine, Startup Disk. The padlock icon is on the lower left and does not take a password to enable; but takes a password to disable.
3. System Preferences:Security & Privacy:General
The following recommendations are obvious, but only a few are enabled by default verify the following are enabled.
Require password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins.
For all accounts on this computer:
- Disable automatic login
- Require an administrator password to access system preferences with lock icons
- Automatically update safe downloads list’
- Disable remote control infrared receiver. “This computer will not work with any remote” otherwise if a remote is used make sure it is paired ahead of time. (If it is left unchecked or unpaired any Apple remote will be able to control the Mac by default)
4. System Preferences:Security & Privacy:FileVault
Turn On Filevault
- Save the recovery key (text or screenshot)
- Enable Do not store the recovery key with Apple
- Restart the Mac to begin the encryption process
- Upon restart the background will now be gray and feel slightly different (reminding the user FileVault 2 is being used)
- Returning to System Preferences on FileVault it will display the time remaining for encryption process to complete (depending on the hard disk size and contents the time to completion may vary – it is recommended to let this run overnight without disturbance).
5. System Preferences:Security & Privacy:Firewall
Start the firewall (by default it is disabled)
It is recommended to configuring the firewall in the following order:
It is recommended to configuring the firewall in the following order:
- Enable Stealth Mode
- Disable Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections
- Block all incoming connections
Note this will allow the Mac to use the network ‘normally’ however will not allow potential attackers to detect or attack the Mac easily when compared if these features were left disabled.
6. System Preferences:Security & Privacy:Privacy
Naturally these settings are for the truly paranoid and in trade will not automatically allow applications or Apple have an understanding on the issues or whereabouts of the Mac.
- Disable Location Services
- Disable Send diagnostics & usage data to Apple
7. System Preferences:Desktop & Screen Saver:Screen Saver
When not at the keyboard the screen should be lock. This is good practice for the security conscious. A simple method to lock the screen is to enable a hot corner where the mouse can be positioned to activate the screensaver in essence locking the screen.
Choose a Screen Saver and Choose Hot Corners and select an Active Screen Corner
Note: Another way to lock the screen using the mouse would be to open the Keychain Access app Preferences and enable Show keychain status in menu bar. This adds the Lock Screen feature and a padlock icon in the menu bar for easy access to lock the screen with the click of the mouse.
8. Software Update
Now that the system is secured on the network Software Update is the next logical feature to run so that the Mac acquires the necessary security updates to the machine.
Note: Prior to doing this it is recommend waiting for FileVault to complete the encryption process before downloading the updates (off the network). FileVault is known to be sensitive to disk activity during the encryption phase.
For the updates themselves It is always recommended to Show Details and review the items prompting to be installed; for the most part the user is safe but it can never be assumed. Install the new software available for the Mac. If it is necessary to choose priority due to bandwidth limitations select the Mac OS X Update Combined first as that has most of what is needed first. Note: If Software Updates downloads are giving issues they can be downloaded as dmg files from Apple’s support site: http://support.apple.com/downloads/
Remember to run Software Update a few times to make sure that everything is updated. Sometimes after updates are downloaded and installed after restarting there are a few more. It is best practice to check and make sure to get the message “Your software is up to date”.
9. System Preferences:Bluetooth
If Bluetooth isn’t being used disable it by clearing the checkbox labeled On. If it needs to be used for the magic mouse or other bluetooth device and and doesn’t require it to be set as Discoverable then also clear the checkbox labeled Discoverable; thus lessening potential attack vectors.
10. System Preferences:Sharing
Change the Mac’s name – for best results give it a name that doesn’t stand out to potential attackers by revealing a tasty target. Apple by default will give the computer name as the first user’s first name and then the type of computer – i.e. ‘Israel’s Mac Mini’. For example to seem really uninteresting a name such as ‘Tiger Powerbook’ may discounted by an attacker as a crusty box be passed on for newer technologies.
11. System Preferences:Users & Groups
Make sure to only allow user to administer the computer if it makes sense; don’t just do it by default – add parental controls if need be; however Apple’s Parental Controls are simple and rather limited; most savvy individuals can bypass these tools.
While here verify that all services are disabled by default, and be careful to enable anything – be sure to understand what type of risks it puts the Mac and ultimately the end-user in.
12. System Preferences:Date & Time
It may not seem like a big deal but the Mac is a precision machine that relies on date and time to make sure things are happening that are supposed to be happening. If there are new issues the first thing that should be checked is the date and time. Especially if it is password related; some systems won’t tolerate an environment if it is more than 5 minutes off. By default Macs are synched to the apple time server time.apple.com. (as long as DNS hasn’t be compromised along the way this should suffice)
13. System Preferences:Software Update
Verify that Check for updates weekly and download updates automatically are enabled. For the most part updates (especially security related) should be gotten and applied sooner than later.
14. System Preferences: Spotlight: Privacy
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Some things don’t need to be indexed and therefore should remain private. Not only does not indexing them speed the performance of spotlight. It also adds security by not storing the location of certain data. To do so indicate and add which locations shouldn’t be searched.
15. Applications:Safari: Preferences: General
In Safari’s General Preferences disable ‘Open “safe” files after downloading. What Safari may think as safe; may not be. They will be downloaded to the Downloads folder where the user can open then and extract them as needed.
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16. Applications:Safari: Preferences: Autofill
Verify User names and passwords is set to disabled. Don’t use this if the ramifications aren’t clear.
17. Applications:Safari: Preferences: Security
By default all items are enabled; be sure to gloss over time and verify that’s what is needed. Disabling one or more of these may alter the user’s browsing experience.
18. Applications:Safari: Preferences: Privacy
Privacy is another pre-populated configuration that doesn’t require manipulation unless it is necessary.
19. Applications:Safari: Preferences: Extensions
Extensions should be off unless extensions are being explicitly used. (available from extensions.apple.com)
20. Menubar: Wi-Fi
If Wireless connectivity is not being used it should be turned off to eliminate accidental connections and exposure to untrusted networks.
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21. Post-boot
Unbeknownst to most Mac users Apple computers have a fantastic built-in feature that allows the physical machine to be locked down (with a password) from further tampering and/or unauthorized examination. For example booting up to optical media or alternate disk thus bypassing the built-in authentication mechanisms to gain access to the unencrypted contents of the hard disk ala the ‘Evil Maid Attack’. To enable this feature boot to the Lion recovery partition (during startup hold the Command+R keys on Lion 10.7.3) and in the Mac OS X Utilities menu navigate to Utilities-> Firmware Password Utility to Turn On Firmware Password. [Note: do not forget this password as it will be quite difficult to gain access back into the machine through normal means, and may require consultation with the Apple Genius at added expenditure]
Securification
For additional configurations and actions about Apple Mac Security peruse through Apple’s security guides http://www.apple.com/support/security/guides/
Users unaware of all the fantastic tool Mac OS X Lion comes with to further protect their data and privacy should be encouraged to consider setting a few if not all the aforementioned built-in security features. Doing so only takes a few moments of time. Hopefully in the future Apple will attempt to suggest enabling these security features automatically (and conveniently) during post-installation especially for new users via a simple security wizard. One key facet to security is preparation and to quote Benjamin Franklin: “By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail.”
Online Resources Mentioned Herein:
1Password: https://agilebits.com/onepassword
Little Snitch: http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch
TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/
Mac GPG: http://macgpg.sourceforge.net/
PGP Desktop for Mac: http://www.symantec.com/
MacScan: http://macscan.securemac.com/
Sophos: http://www.sophos.com/freemacav
ClamXAV: http://www.clamxav.com/
Little Snitch: http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch
TrueCrypt: http://www.truecrypt.org/
Mac GPG: http://macgpg.sourceforge.net/
PGP Desktop for Mac: http://www.symantec.com/
MacScan: http://macscan.securemac.com/
Sophos: http://www.sophos.com/freemacav
ClamXAV: http://www.clamxav.com/