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It's important to recognize this problem before encrypting a partition that's used to boot into Windows. The only thing we don't like very much is that it has a major glitch that could render your encrypted system volume unusable. This program also supports encrypting several volumes at once, can pause encryption so that you can reboot or remove a hard drive during the process, works with a RAID setup, and can encrypt ISO images to produce encrypted CDs/DVDs. Something we particularly like about this program is that if your computer reboots while a drive is mounted and readable, it automatically dismounts and becomes unusable until the credentials are entered again. It can then be dismounted in seconds, which renders the drive and all data on it unusable until the password or keyfile(s) are entered. There is no need to decrypt the whole drive just to access the files. Keyfiles can be in the form of files or folders and, if set up as such, are required before mounting or decrypting a volume.ĭata on a volume encrypted using DiskCryptor can be viewed and modified while the drive is mounted. In addition to password protecting a partition, you can even add one or more keyfiles to it for increased security. It's also really simple to use and has some pretty neat, unique features. It lets you encrypt the system/boot volume as well as any other internal or external hard drive. ■From the displayed list, click the Turn on BitLocker option.DiskCryptor is one of the best free disk encryption program for Windows. ■On the next window, from the right pane under the Devices and drives section, locate and right-click the icon of the external hard drive that you want to encrypt (assuming that there is a single partition for the entire hard drive). ■Open This PC by double-clicking its icon on the desktop. ■Ensure that you have connected the portable hard drive to your computer via USB cable. ■Log on to your Windows PC with any administrator account and go to the desktop window. Here is how you can use BitLocker to encrypt your portable hard drive: The versions developed for home users (such as Windows Vista/7/8 Home/Home Premium/Starter, etc.) do not have the BitLocker tool. Note: BitLocker is only available in some flavors of Windows Vista/7/8/8.1 operating systems that are meant to be used professionally. BitLocker is secure, and most importantly, does not require any additional investment. Encrypting the entire hard disk drive requires a completely different process.Įven though there are several third-party applications available that help you encrypt portable hard disk drives, if you are using Windows Vista or later, it is always recommended to use the built-in tool named BitLocker to get the job done. In Windows you can encrypt a single file or an entire folder containing multiple files with the help of the built-in encryption feature as long as drive is formatted for NTFS.
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