#HOW TO USE VERACRYPT ON EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES PASSWORD#

#HOW TO USE VERACRYPT ON EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES PASSWORD#

Once you encrypt a drive, you “ mount” it to access its contents, providing the password to do so. The difference is that it’s from a third party, works on any edition of Windows (include Home), and is compatible with other systems, including Mac and Linux. VeraCrypt, the heir-apparent to the long-favored TrueCrypt, is a high-quality encryption program that supports everything we need: encrypting the entire disk, like BitLocker, and requiring a password, also like BitLocker. Option #2a: VeraCrypt whole-drive encryption The only real “problem” that remains is that your drive can only be used with Windows, and with Windows editions that support BitLocker. This is the kind of protection you’re looking for. Without the password or recovery key, the data is completely inaccessible.) That way, even if you forget the password, you’ll be able to regain access. (When given the opportunity to save a recovery key, do so. Windows will encrypt the drive for you, and require the password you set to access that drive’s contents in the future. Included in Windows 7 and later, in all editions except “Home,” “Starter” or Windows 7’s “Pro”, BitLocker is a whole-drive encryption technology that can be used on external or internal drives. What you want instead is that the data you care about - everything on the drive, in your example - be encrypted, so regardless of how it might be accessed, the data is inaccessible without your password. Either way, they can bypass the password and access your files. Or perhaps they perform some kind of forensic data recovery on the drive. Now someone steals your computer, or gains access to that computer using some other operating system or technology that simply ignores the password requirement. The reason you’re looking for encryption is that a password by itself isn’t enough.įor example, let’s say you somehow attach a password to a drive 1. What you’re really looking for is encryption. BitLocker is one solution, and it’s much more than “just” password protecting the drive.

How to use veracrypt on external hard drives