How to Use BitLocker to Encrypt Your Hard Drive

Even without knowing your Windows password, intruders buns easily gain access to files and passwords stored away Windows and other programs on your data processor. They can do this by booting into their own operating scheme (Windows or Linux) from a special disc or USB flash driving force. After doing so, they rump access your hard drives just as you can when you'atomic number 75 logged into Windows.

The simply way to protect your data completely is by using encoding. You can encrypt take files, but to protect your system files and saved passwords, you essential encrypt your entire hard drive. This operation takes more time and exploit than encrypting pick out files does, but it offers more security–and IT's great for laptops and netbooks that can well go missing.

If your computer is running the Net or Enterprise edition of Windows 7 OR Vista, you can use Microsoft's included BitLocker boast to cipher your entire drive. BitLocker offers protection for all of your personal files and documents, also Eastern Samoa for altogether of the organization files and cached or salvageable passwords happening your drive. Though Microsoft includes BitLocker with these two editions of Windows, the feature isn't enabled aside default. To touch of IT, you mustiness manually enable it in the 'System and Security' Control Instrument panel.

The BitLocker Control board.

After encrypting your drive with BitLocker, you South Korean won't notice any difference in using your computer. Unlike with most other third-political party encoding programs, you put on't have to type in an encryption password when booting awake your system, aside from entering the usual Windows password to log-in to your user account. The drive is automatically decrypted with a method that protects it from snoopers outside of your Windows.

To support so simple an encryption process, however, your computer must meet a few demanding software and hardware requirements. To offse with, your drive must have two NTFS drive away partitions: a system partition (which contains the files needed to start your computer), and an OS partition (which you should have already, and which contains Windows and your personalised files).

If the system partition is not already available, BitLocker may essay to create it for you automatically, but sometimes it may non birth enough accessible drive space to do so. In addition, your computer must get a motherboard with a compatible Trusted Platform Module (TPM) microchip, and the BIOS should be TCG (for Trusted Computing Group) manageable. Having a TPM microchip ISN't madatory, only without it the configuration and usability are more complicated.

If you wear't understand the requirements, don't sweat it. To see whether your system meets them, simply open BitLocker: Click Start, Dominance Venire, System and Security, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Turn On BitLocker.

If your computer doesn't meet the requirements, it will let you have it off. If you get an mistake message more or less not having a TPM device, it's possible that your Personal computer does have one that isn't enabled in the BIOS. Essay checking your PC's BIOS setup menu at boot for any advert of TPM support. Other, look at exploitation a third-political party encryption platform, such as DiskCryptor, instead of using BitLocker.

Eric Geier is a freelance tech writer—become a Twitter follower to keep up with his Ketubim. Helium's also the laminitis of NoWiresSecurity, which helps small businesses easily protect their Wi-Fi network with Enterprise-class security.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/477695/how_to_use_bitlocker_to_encrypt_your_hard_drive.html

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