In earlier versions of Windows, just go to Explorer. Now if you go to another Windows 10 machine and plug in the drive, you’ll see a little message appear in the notification area. The time will depend on how big your drive is and how much data needs to be encrypted. If you want more security, go with the new mode, but if you need to connect the drive to older versions of Windows, go with compatible mode.Īfter this, it will begin to encrypt the drive. Windows 10 has better and stronger encryption, which will not be compatible with earlier versions of Windows. On Windows 10, you’ll be asked to choose between the new encryption mode or the compatible mode. If there is already something on it, then just encrypt the whole drive.ĭepending on which version of Windows you are using, you may not see this screen. If it’s brand new, just encrypt the used space and it’ll encrypt the new data when you add it. Next, you need to choose how much of the drive you want to encrypt. You can save to a file or print the key and then store that in a bank lockbox or something very secure. If someone can easily find the recovery key, then they can access all of your data. If you save it to a file, make sure that file is stored somewhere secure. However, the downside is that if law enforcement ever wants your data, Microsoft will have to pony up your recovery key if served a warrant. If you save it to your Microsoft Account, you’ll have a much easier time recovering your data later on since it’ll be stored on Microsoft servers. You can save it to your Microsoft Account, save to a file or print the recovery key. Next, you’ll need to choose how you want to save the recovery key in case the password is forgotten.
For most personal users, the password option will be the best choice. You can choose to use a password, use a smart card or use both. Next, you’ll have the option to pick how you want to unlock the drive. Right-click on the drive and click on Turn on BitLocker. To get started using BitLocker, go ahead and connect your USB drive to your computer. Method 1 – BitLocker on WindowsīitLocker will encrypt your USB drive and then require a password to be entered whenever it is connected to a PC. Whatever method you choose, make sure to always keep everything updated.
Secondly, security is always being improved and updates are made to software, firmware, etc to keep data secure. Hacking and exploiting vulnerabilities is extremely hard and requires a lot of technical skill.
So is there any point to using encryption? Yes, definitely. Security holes and vulnerabilities have been found in BitLocker, third-party encryption software and a lot of hardware encrypted USB drives can be hacked.
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