How does bitlocker work
- #How does bitlocker work how to
- #How does bitlocker work install
- #How does bitlocker work code
- #How does bitlocker work password
The first time you open this you'll only have the option to Enable TPM security by checking the box. Boot the laptop and press F2 (sometimes Delete) to enter the BIOS, then navigate to Security and select TPM Security. For example, here's how you do it on a Dell Latitude laptop. Most of the laptops I have done this on have required two reboots into the BIOS but you only need to do this the first time you want to enable BitLocker and then leave it alone. Before you can use the TPM chip, you must Enable it AND Activate it. Microsoft has a nice overview of how keys are secured within TPM if you'd like some more details. This key can be entered manually, which would be very cumbersome, or it can be presented from a USB flash drive that you connect to the computer, but better yet, the key can be stored in a TPM chip that is built in to the computer. Enable and Activate TPMĪs I mentioned earlier, in order to decrypt a "BitLocked" drive you must have the decryption key. Here's another video about BitLocker and this one is all about BitLocker to Go.
PCMAG has a nice and brief article on it too.
#How does bitlocker work install
When they attach the encrypted media, if they don't already have it, they will be prompted to install the BitLocker to Go Reader which is included on the drive, and then they can copy files from the encrypted disk but are not able to write to it. Earlier versions of Windows like Vista and XP can also read the disk (if it's FAT, not NTFS).
#How does bitlocker work password
The drive can then be used on any Windows 7 computer by simply plugging it in and entering the password you created when you encrypted it. BitLocker can also be used to encrypt removable media like a USB drive using "BitLocker to Go". That key is usually stored in your computer in a place called a TPM chip (a " Trusted Platform Module") that is built into most modern laptops, and if the hard drive is ever removed from the computer, or if the computer boots from something other than that hard drive (like a CD/DVD or USB drive) then the data on the disk cannot be read or copied - it is protected by BitLocker! Here's a brief video to tell you more. Maybe think of it as something like Pig Latin for data, except that no one can decipher it unless they have your secret decoder key.
#How does bitlocker work code
To boil it down further, encryption is just a way of scrambling data by using a secret code or "key" that would make that data unintelligible without that key. It can also be called "Full Volume Encryption" (FVE) as it is actually encrypting a partition on the disk. That's because BitLocker is a "full disk encryption" suite (FDE) that secures an entire partition and not just contents of directories like EFS does (Encrypted File System). While this is basically true, it is more than just locking the files, it's really locking the file system that the files exist on, not just the files themselves. Microsoft describes it as a way to protect your data from being lost or stolen by " putting a virtual lock on your files". BitLocker to Go (encrypt removable media)īefore getting started, let me briefly cover just what BitLocker is.
#How does bitlocker work how to
Let me tell you about it and how to use it.
What happens if the computer is lost or stolen? How can you be sure that the "stuff" on that computer does not fall into the wrong hands? The answer is encryption, and there have been various options like GuardianEdge, CheckPoint Pointsec and TrueCrypt, but now with Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate, Microsoft has introduced a new alternative called BitLocker and BitLocker to Go that is built right into the Operating System.
Companies have always been concerned about the security of data on their mobile users' computers.