OS X Mountain Lion: About the Time Machine backup password

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About the Time Machine backup password

If you back up to an external disk connected to your Mac, you can protect your information by encrypting your backups. To encrypt your backups, you must provide a backup password.

No one but you should have access to your backup password. Choose a password that’s difficult for others to guess but easy for you to remember, and choose a hint that helps you remember your password. You may want to write down your password and store it in a secure location.

You need your backup password to restore files from Time Machine backups. If you forget your backup password, Time Machine can’t use the backups.

Last Modified: Sep 4, 2015
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