With the development of new technologies that, at the same time, have facilitated the actions carried out by malicious individuals; the and privacy in this environment have become fundamental parameters for users. Therefore, it is recommended encrypt all the information they handle in digital format.
In this sense, it is common for said users prefer to use an external hard drive, USB stick or flash drive to keep and have at hand your different . However, there are risks in storing information in this way, because it is possible to be a victim of a robbery or lose it. With what, your files and private data, would be available to anyone automatically.
As a consequence, it is considered vital that people protect their content stored on hard drives or flash drives. through a password in order to avoid access by prying eyes. Reason why, in this post, we will explain what you have to do to put password to a hard drive using a PC with Windows 10.
What are the benefits of putting a password on your drives in Windows?
With the purpose of preserve your privacy and reduce your vulnerability to possible theftit is relevant that you make use of the functionality that W10 provides to encrypt hard drives through a password.
Since it is a procedure that guarantees significant benefits to users, which are based on:
- encrypt a hard drive setting a confidential password, provides a great level of security and privacy; this being the most special advantage. Considering that, in this way, it will only be you who has the power to access the data contained there.
- It also offers complete confidentiality to users, since no one else will be able to view the information stored on the hard drive. Unless it is approved by yourself.
- Apart from security, privacy and confidentiality that this guarantees, it also allows you to control, internally, what happens with your data. Since, you will be the only one to decide what to do with them and who can access them.
- Despite the fact that they strip your hard drive and extract what it contains to connect it to another computer, it will be impossible for them to access the saved data. Even if they use forensic data recovery techniques.
- Thanks to giving you complete control on the hard disk, the fact of encrypting this It can also be used to destroy the information stored there, in case of risk. Whereas, if you destroy the public and private keys, no one will be able to recover the data.
- Luckily, you won’t have to install third-party software. to protect your hard drive with a password, thanks to you can use the functionality of W10 designed for it.
- Since it is a tool contained in Windows 10, it is a simple utility to run. Therefore, it is not necessary that you have advanced computer knowledge to encrypt your hard drive in this way.
Learn step by step how to encrypt a hard drive with a password in Windows 10
As we mentioned in the previous part, Windows 10 offers the possibility of encrypting a hard drive with a password in a very easy way, so its users do not need advanced knowledge to protect their .
Therefore, below, we explain step by step what you should do to protect the information stored on your hard drive, correctly:
Check that you have BitLocker on your PC
The first step to follow is to Verify that you have BitLocker installed. This being the native drive encryption system for Windows. Which is a tool that comes installed in versions of Windows 10, default. However, if you do not have this utility, you simply have to Go to the Microsoft download websitefind the tool and download the relevant version for your 32-bit or 64-bit system.
Insert the external hard drive
after install BitLocker, it’s necessary that insert the external hard drive or USB drive into your computer. Next, access the system file explorer, which is usually found through the option “This team” where all connected units are observed.
Activate BitLocker correctly
Once you are shown all the connected drives, look for the item that you have entered into the computer and select it to right click on it. So, when you are presented with the different options available, all you have to do is click on “Activate BitLocker”.
Check “Use a password to unlock the drive”
Once the above is done, automatically, the system It will show you the window corresponding to the BitLocker configuration wizard. In this window, you must proceed to choose the option that indicates “Use a password to unlock the drive”.
Next, in the field that says “Type a password”, you have to enter the key you want to use to encrypt your external drive and/or unlock the drive to access your stored data. In addition, it is necessary that confirm said password in “Retype the password”so you will have to write it correctly.
Adjust password recovery options
After you put the new password of your hard drive, click the “Next” button to be able to continue in the configuration wizard of the tool Windows 10. There, you will be able to adjust all the password recovery options you want for the encrypted drive in order to save it, in case of forgetting.
At this point, you have the possibility to choose the option you prefer, according to your requirements and, in addition, complete the information required for link this password recovery with your Microsoft account. Either to resort to printing a secondary key or generating a recovery file. Once you adjust these parameters, click “Next” again.
Create a secure partition
Subsequently, you will see a new window that corresponds to “Choose how much of the drive you want to encrypt” and basically allows you to create a secure partition inside your USB drive. Thanks to this, you will be able to save the most private documents, selecting the option “Encrypt only used disk space” which is recommended for new units and equipment.
In case you prefer encrypt entire external drive In order to protect the entire drive space, you have to choose “Encrypt entire drive”. Next, click the “Next” button to change the encryption mode, if desired. Generally, it is recommended to check the box indicating “Compatible mode”as the most relevant for external drives to use on various computers.
Start the encryption process
Finally, it only remains to return to click on “Next” and click on the button that indicates “Start Encryption”. Thus, after a few minutes, your hard drive will be fully password protected. Therefore, when accessing your data, You will be asked for the access password that you entered at the beginning of this procedure.
List of the best programs to put a password on a hard drive in Windows
In addition to the utility it offers W10, You can also use tools developed by third parties to protect the information stored on your hard drive from a personalized password.
Therefore, in order for you to have more solutions to increase your digital privacy, here we will show you 5 of the best programs designed to password a hard drive:
VeraCrypt
This consists of free open source software that has the ability to encrypt hard drives, USB devices and files, optimally. Therefore, it gives you the possibility to encrypt your external drives using a completely personalized password. In addition, the program offers various options such as make a partition of hard disk or usb stick and encrypt it.
Among other features, we highlight that this program it is very easy to executebecause you simply have to download and run the application on your computer, and then choose the drive you want to protect and so click on “Continue”. Next, they allow you to select the type of encryption to proceed to enter the password you want to use. In this case, it is recommended to use a complex key.
Hook Folder Locker
Through this portable software, users have the possibility of encrypt all the folders that need to be protected within a hard disk, flash drive or USB memory. In view of this functionality, it is a program that allows you to obtain a highly personalized user experience, because it is they themselves who control their level of privacy to obtain.
Regarding its operation, we emphasize that, It’s very simple. Since, once you download and install the program, you will have to open it to put a password to your external drive and from there, select the corresponding folder you want to encrypt. Taking into account that, to do the latter, the software it will ask you for the key twice. Furthermore, to decrypt the folder in question, it also requires the same process.
Anvi Folder Locker
It consists of software that, for freeoffers you the possibility of encrypting any folder contained in your external hard drive or flash drive by setting a completely confidential password on such drives. For which, once you run the program, you must create a master password to be able to enter the units that you protect in this way.
In this sense, it is recommended to create a folder inside the hard drive to insert there all the files that you need to keep safe from powerful prying eyes. Thus, you will ensure that you protect the required documents and you will be able to access everything else, without any complications. Added to that, it stands out for being an easy to use program with a very intuitive interface.
DiskCryptor
Free of charge, this open source program gives you the ability to encrypt hard drives and USB sticks in a simple, fast, effective way and with the greatest possible confidentiality. In this sense, it is considered an ideal tool to encrypt any type of drives and memories, including drives belonging to the operating system. This, in order to prevent access by unwanted third parties.
Among its best advantages, we highlight that it is a software that supports AES encryption and other algorithms like Serpent and Twofish, both individually and in combination. Additionally, presents compatibility with multi-boot systemit also supports bootloaders (GRUB, LILO, among others) and supports standard and dynamic hard drives. For more and privacy, applies completely transparent encryption to information.
Disk Password Protection
other program compatible with different versions of Windows which, mainly, allows you to avoid external threats against your confidential data by locking hard drives or partitions using a password. In view of the fact that, thanks to its protection system, you can…
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