Chances are you have an external drive of some type that you store data on and in most cases this data could be sensitive or even a laptop and the last thing you want to happen is for the data to fall into the wrong hands. Security is an aspect that everyone must be aware of and how best to secure their data and assets. Microsoft introduced Bitlocker during the Windows Vista era and of course it is also found in Windows 7. This tool can greatly provide yourself piece of mind that in the case you data does fall into the wrong hands the common thief will not be able to break this encryption. Keep in mind that I stated common thief because there are individuals out there they will always be able to get around encryption however you do not have to make the job any easier for them.
To encrypt a drive it is as simple as right clicking on the drive and selecting “Turn on Bitlocker”. From this point follow the step by step directions and I strongly suggest that you save the key that this application generates to a safe and secure location. Accidents do happen and you never know when you will need this key. If you are not sure about encryption step back and ask yourself the following question. Is there anything all all that you have that you would not be upset to find posted on the internet? If the answer is no then encryption is not for you but if the answer is yes then you should continue reading.
To get started my example will demonstrate enabling Bitlocker in two different ways. First with Windows Explorer:
Right click on the drive you wish to encrypt and select “Tun on Bitlocker” and follow the wizard. The second way is with the control panel which provides an overview of each drive as well.
As can see from the above image both my primary drive (C:) and secondary drive (D:) drives are not encrypted and the external drive (G:) is in process of being encrypted. I hope that you have found this interesting and remember no one other than yourself can protect your data and in today’s age of information technology it is ever so important to do so. Secure your data today!
