

Open Windows Explorer and locate your external drive.Connect your external hard drive to your Windows PC via the USB port.How to encrypt an external drive with BitLocker If you have a professional edition of Windows 7, 8, or 10, you can follow the steps below to use BitLocker to encrypt your portable drive. The only caveat is that BitLocker is only available on professional editions of Windows, which means that home users are out of luck. If you want to encrypt an external hard drive on Windows Vista or later, the best method is to use Microsoft's native encryption tool BitLocker.īitLocker is available on many Windows computers, so it won't cost you a dime to use. Encrypt an external hard drive on Windows In this guide, we will explain how to use those native tools – and reliable third-party solutions – to encrypt your data. Each Operating System has native solutions for encrypting files and folders. Confidential information (journalists, lawyers, etc)īelow we will explain how to encrypt an external hard drive both on Windows and Mac.

Consumer information that must be protected for compliance purposes.Personal documents and information (passport scans, bills, photos, etc).In this guide, we explain how to encrypt an external hard drive so your data remains private no matter what happens.īelow we have outlined the types of data that it is essential to encrypt on a USB peripheral such as a USB dongle or external hard drive: If this happens, thieves will have access to your sensitive information. An external hard drive is an excellent way to back up your data, but it also risks becoming lost or stolen. Auto-Lock – Allows the device administrator to set a timer which disconnects the drive after a set period of inactivity.If you have a portable or external hard drive that contains a lot of personal or valuable information, it is vital that you make its contents secure.Read Only Mode – Allows the device administrator to lock the drive as “Read Only”, users can only view the contents but can not change or erase it.Supports an administrator password (full permissions) and a user password (limited permissions).Rapid secure wipe (rapid key zeroization).Super-speed USB 3.0 interface (compatible with USB 2.0).Keypad randomization (mitigate surface analysis).Self destruct security mode (mitigate brute force hacking).2-pass encryption: first pass is AES 256-bit XTS mode second pass is FIPS 140-2 validated AES 256-bit CBC mode.Optional RFID based 2-factor authentication (RFID version must be purchased – no conversion or upgrade is available).Supports alpha and numeric based passwords, plus the # and * characters.Your data undergoes two passes of 256 bit encryption, using two different independently generated random keys for unsurpassed security. It is the first and only encrypted external hard drive to feature dual crypto processors.

The D元 FE (FIPS Edition) sets a new standard for encrypted portable storage.
