Using Windows 7 to protect USB hard drive data with its own features

The tendency of moving hard disks to be smaller and more bulky makes more and more sensitive data stored on them, so how to better protect the security of these data becomes a very urgent problem.

When Windows Vista was first launched, Microsoft said a very large security feature added to the operating system was BitLocker, a hard drive encryption designed to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, also has a feature called BitLocker to go that protects sensitive data on a USB hard drive, which is described in detail in this article.

How BitLocker to go works

In simple terms, BitLocker to go allows you to encrypt a USB hard drive, and when you connect a USB hard drive to a Windows 7 computer, you will be prompted to enter the password and you will be able to access the message only after you have entered the password correctly.

During encryption, Windows 7 installs a dedicated reader on a USB hard drive. When you connect a USB hard drive to a computer running XP or Vista, the BitLocker to go reader is responsible for prompting for a password and then setting the USB hard drive as a read-only device.

For enterprise users, if a domain control system is used, IT administrators can configure policies to require users to apply BitLocker protection before writing data to a mobile hard disk. In addition, the policy can also set the complexity of the password requirements.

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Use BitLocker to go encrypted hard drive

Setting BitLocker to go on a USB hard drive is very simple, after you insert a USB hard drive, right click on the letter from the menu to open the BitLocker command, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1, turn on BitLocker feature

After clicking on the command, BitLocker to go will begin initializing your USB hard drive, as shown in Figure 2. This process does not break the existing data on the hard drive, so you need not worry.

Figure 2, BitLocker to go initialize USB hard drive

Once the initialization process is complete, BitLocker to go will prompt you to set a password that unlocks the hard drive, as shown in Figure 3. If you have a smart card, you can also use its pin to unlock the hard drive.

Figure 3, you can use a password or smart card to unlock BitLocker to go protection devices

After you set a password or use a smart card, the BitLocker to go feature prompts you to store style= "COLOR: #000000" href= "http://storage.it168.com/" target=_blank> Store a recovery key, as shown in Figure 4. Through it, you can unlock your hard drive when you forget your password or lose your smart card.

Figure 4, creating a recovery key

When you create the password and save the recovery key, you are prompted to start the encryption process, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5, prompting to start the encryption process

During the encryption process, you will see a standard encryption Progress monitor, as shown in Figure 6. Depending on the size of your hard disk, the process uses a different amount of time. You can temporarily interrupt the encryption process by using the pause button below.

Figure 6, encryption progress display

Of course, once the encryption is complete, BitLocker to go displays a confirmation dialog box and modifies the display icon for the USB mobile hard drive, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7, the change of the moving hard disk icon

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Using an encrypted hard disk in Windows 7

When you insert a hard drive in your Windows 7 system that uses BitLocker to go, the system prompts you to enter the password immediately, as shown in Figure 8. You can choose whether the characters you typed are displayed with an asterisk, and you can choose to automatically unlock the hard disk later on the current computer.

Figure 8, prompt to enter a password

When you enter the password and click the Unlock button, you will see the Auto Play window, as shown in Figure 9. When you click on the Open folder to view the file button, you will be able to access the contents of the hard drive.

Figure 9, Auto play Box

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Using an encrypted hard disk under Windows Xp/vista

After you insert the encrypted hard drive under Windows XP or Vista, you will see an automatic play box that prompts you to install the BitLocker to go Reader, as shown in Figure 10. When you click the button, the reader is automatically installed and run.

Figure 10, prompting to install the BitLocker to go Reader

The BitLocker to Go Reader dialog will then prompt you to enter the password, as shown in Figure 11. It is noteworthy that there is no automatic unlock option.

Figure 11, prompt to enter a password

After you enter your password, you will see the BitLocker to Go Reader window, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12, BitLocker to go Reader window

When you double-click the file, it prompts you to copy the file to the desktop, as shown in Figure 13, which means you can't open the file directly on the USB hard drive.

Figure 13, the file cannot be opened directly

If you try to copy a file into the BitLocker to Go Reader window, you will receive an error message, as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14, Error tip