Externl harddrive data security question

T

thealias

Registered
Hi everyone,

I am wondering if an external harddrive has a hidden file or log that keeps track off all data transfers going in and out of it, including the names of the files.

I took my firewire drive to an office to work with someone on a project, and am not sure if I trust the woman that was using it in retrospect. I was not in the room with my drive the entire time and forgot I had sensitive files on it, and am thinking she could have easily and secretly copied them to her harddrive. Is there a way to check that from my drive?

If not, is it possible to check from her computer? A G5 or Mac pro tower running OSX 10.5 or 10.6, not exactly sure if it makes a difference.

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
 
To check from HER computer, just search for one or more of YOUR files. If she made them invisible, use a program such as EasyFind to find them.

No way to tell, AFAIK, to tell from your external.
 
Great thanks for the replies.

ElDiabloConCaca, thanks for the link, though it seemed a bit confusing. Not sure of the protocol. All I am worried about is that she dragged and dropped the files off my Mac OS Extended (Journaled) external harddrive and copied them to her Mac. What protocol would that be for that?

I read somewhere that "Console" has a log. Would it be there? If so, how far back does Console keep a record?


SGilbert, thanks for the advice, I thought of that but also thought that she might possibly copy them to her external and delete them (hide the evidence), which is why I wanted to find a log file that she wouldn't be aware of.


P.S. ElDiabloConCaca, sorry about the double post, I'm relatively new to forums and didn't know about the double post being frowned upon, and also wasn't sure where the right place to post this topic was. How can I delete the other post? I "unsubcribed" in my profile, did that do it?

Thanks again!
 
I've had problems with this in the past as well. I found that the easiest way to prevent this is to create a partition on the drive where you place more sensitive information or instead of doing all that install a third party security software that will allow you to password protect certain files and folders. The best software I have found is TrueCrypt & SafeHouse.

Another option that I've read is to right click on the folder on your hardrive and go to options and then make it private. That would only be if you are using a pc, whereas the software will work on both pc and mac.

hope it helps
 
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