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This tip is about the how To Protect a USB Drive with Password On Windows PC. So read this free guide, How To Protect a USB Drive with Password On Windows PC step by step. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.
How To Protect a USB Drive with Password On Windows PC – Guide
Many of us keep important data on USB flash devices. Many of us even came back up vital data on USB flash drives. If you carry data on USB flash drives or back up your PC data on USB flash drives, it’s a good idea to password lock it to preserve your data in case it gets lost.
There are several apps available to password protect your USB device data. Most USB flash drive manufacturers provide their own software to protect USB devices with passwords. SanDisk USB flash drives, for example, can be password protected using approved software. WD Security software can also be used to password protect Western Digital external drives.
The problem is that most of us format the USB drive or just remove all applications before using it. There are dozens of third-party software options for password protection of data on your USB device, in addition to official applications. But why use third-party software when Windows 10 has a built-in option to password protect USB flash devices and hard drives?
If you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can easily password encrypt your USB flash drive using the built-in BitLocker To Go feature.
Password protect your USB drive using BitLocker
It’s easy to password protect a USB flash drive or USB external hard drive with BitLocker. Just follow the instructions provided to password protect your USB drive using BitLocker in Windows 10.
Step 1: Connect your USB flash or hard drive to Windows 10 PC running Pro or Enterprise edition.
Step 2: Navigate to this PC. There, right-click on the USB drive and click on the Enable BitLocker option.
Step 3: Check the Use a password to unlock the drive checkbox, enter a password to protect your data on the USB drive, re-enter the password to verify the password, and click Next button.
To make your password strong, use at least one uppercase letter, number, lowercase letter and symbol.
Step 4: In this step, BitLocker offers three ways to get back up the recovery key in case you forget the password. You can save the key to your Microsoft account (if you are using one to sign in), save it to a file, or print the recovery key and keep it in a safe place.
Click on any of these options to return up the key.
Click Next button.
Step 5: Next, you will see the Choose how much of the USB drive should be encrypted screen with two options:
# Encrypt used disk space (faster and better for new PCs and drives)
# Encrypt the entire drive (slower, but better for PCs and drives already in use)
We recommend that you select the Encrypt Entire Drive option.
Click Next button.
Step 6: Finally, you need to choose the encryption mode to be used. You can choose any method you like, but we suggest that you select Compatible mode (best for drives that can be moved from this device).
Click Next button.
Step 7: Click Start Encryption button to start encrypting your drive. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to hours, depending on what you chose in Step 5.
You can use your PC and continue through this process. Once encryption is complete, you will see the message “X Encryption Complete”. You can now disconnect the unit.
Accessing password protected USB drive
Step 1: open up This PC to see your USB drive.
Step 2: Double click the USB drive icon. You should now see a prompt asking you to enter the password. Enter the password and click on the Unlock button button to access the data on your USB drive.
Final note
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