Lock and encode your flash drives with BitLocker to Go encryption in Windows 8 - roybaltagning
Losing your USB flash drive ahead a big intro is a terrible way to initiate a Monday. Losing a drive that too contains valuable personal information OR private company information wish ruin your whole week—and maybe your career. Luckily, Windows users can easily hedge their bets against much disasters by using the costless BitLocker to Go utility to quickly cipher portable drives.
One of the best-kept secrets of Windows 8, BitLocker to Go is the latest incarnation of an encryption tool that's been included with select versions of Windows since Microsoft first introduced BitLocker disk encryption with Vista, way back in 2007. Like most encryption utilities, BitLocker protects your data by making it unreadable or inaccessible without a password or other form of unique key. To secure the data, BitLocker uses an AES (Advanced Encryption Regulation) encryption algorithm with a 128-minute key plus a data-mixing algorithmic office (known as an Elephant diffuser) for disk-related security features not offered by AES unique.
Not only does BitLocker give users the power to code their OS volume to prevent access code to a system and the data stored on that, but a feature called BitLocker to Go (introduced with Windows 7) enables encryption of externally attached movable drives. IT uses the same encryption technology, but instead of protecting an Atomic number 76 bulk, it's designed to secure data stored along a portable crusade, such as a USB flash or rugged-disk push on. And with Windows 8, Microsoft has updated BitLocker to Side more or less unexampled features that come through faster and easier to use than ever so before.
Using BitLocker to Function in Windows 8
While the lion's part of the new features is meant to reduce headaches for IT professionals managing BitLocker use in business, Microsoft has also sped high the initial beat back encoding process. BitLocker to Run short, which is available happening Windows 8 Professional and Enterprise editions, like a sho has the ability to progressively encrypt only the portions of a drive you're actually using, instead of the entire drive (as was the case with Windows 7). The old method is still available for disks that already contain data, but if you've got a fresh, clean drive you'd like to protect with BitLocker to Go, enabling drive encoding can be completed in seconds, not minutes or even hours, depending on the size up of the labor. Instead, when you bestow revolutionary data the drive, it testament Be mechanically encrypted while BitLocker to Go is enabled.
To protect an external drive with BitLocker to Go, first connect the push on to a USB port and wait for Windows to recognize it and delegate a drive letter. Electrical switch to Background mode, open File cabinet Explorer, right-click along the drive, and choose Turn connected BitLocker from the menu. Another agency to access code BitLocker is to press the Windows-W significant combination, search for BitLocker, and choose the BitLocker Drive Encryption utility listed in the results under Settings.
When you first select the option to enable BitLocker, a window will unrestricted that displays a build bar (as shown supra) while BitLocker lashing and scans the drive. This process is unremarkably selfsame spry, but the time wish diverge depending on the speed of the drive and the system.
Once BitLocker to Run low has started and the drive is initialized, you'll exist asked how you want to protect the drive. You'll have the prize of exploitation either a watchword or a smart card; for the vast absolute majority of users, the password option will be the only way to go, since intelligent-poster readers are rarely installed on consumer-class computers.
Tick the box labeled Enjoyment a password to unlock the motor, and then enter a parole in the necessary fields. The password should be something you'll commend, but utilise extraordinary characters, upper- and lowercase letters, numbers game, and symbols to name it as strong American Samoa possible. When you've entered the password, click Next.
After setting the parole, you'll be prompted to choke off a convalescence key. Should you forget your countersign (or lose your smart card), the recovery key put up atomic number 4 utilized to access the protected drive. The retrieval key can be saved to a Microsoft account, saved to a file, or printed out. Whatever pick you choose, be sure to proceed it safe because without it in that location's no fashio to access the drive should you forget the countersign. Formatting the campaign will be the just way you'll be able to use it again—destroying the data stored on the force back in the process.
Keep open the recovery primal, sink in Next, and you'll be asked how you'd like-minded to encrypt the drive. If it's a clean drive, select the option to encrypt only the used space to quicken the process. If you're encrypting a repulse that's already filled with information or May have had data deleted from it at some point (data that give the sack still be extracted exploitation recovery or undelete tools), select the choice to encrypt the entire drive. The process of encrypting the entire drive can look at a very long time (sometimes hours), but all bit of data along the drive volition be protected.
After choosing the encryption method, clink Following, and you'll be asked if you're ready to encrypt the drive. If you're sure you want to enable BitLocker to Live, just mouse click the Start encrypting button, and the drive leave be encrypted. Again, the procedure may take some time to complete depending along the speed of the drive and the processor in the system. When the encoding physical process is complete, clack Close, and your drive will be protected and ready to use.
Accessing your encrypted drive away active
When you attach your encrypted get to a system that supports BitLocker, you'll be prompted to enter the password in front the drive will be accessible. If the correct watchword is not entered, the drive leave appear with a gold padlock over its icon, and you'll get a "Localisation not disposable/Access is denied" mistake should you try to open ai it. Enter the word-perfect password, however, and the icon changes to an open padlock; the drive can now be used comparable any other unprotected force back. The merely departure is that information copied to the drive volition be encrypted on the fly. If you get in touch your encrypted drive to a PC that does not support BitLocker to Go (incomparable running Windows XP/Vista or Mac Bone X, for example), it will non be able to read your drive and volition probably prompt you to format the device. If you want to get at a drive encrypted via BitLocker to Go on a Windows XP Beaver State Vista motorcar you'll need the BitLocker to Go Reader,a program that allows you to open and perspective the content of removable drives that birth been protected (Oregon encrypted) with BitLocker encoding.
Should you miss the opportunity to enter the password when the drive away is first inserted, you derriere also unlock the private road away right-clicking on it in File Explorer and selecting Unlock Drive from the menu.
Once the drive is unlocked, you can also access a hardly a additional features offered with BitLocker to Go. Right-click the drive and opt Manage BitLocker from the menu (or search for the BitLocker Drive Encryption utility from the Windows 8 UI as delineate earlier), and you'll be able to commute the password, add a smart plug-in, enable auto-unlock, OR act off BitLocker entirely, if you indeed choose.
Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/455798/lock-and-encode-your-flash-drives-with-bitlocker-to-go-encryption-in-windows-8.html
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