How to protect USB flash drives with passwords in Windows 10
In this article, we will introduce you a method to protect USB flash drives in Windows
Please read on for more details.
An effective method is to use Windows' built-in encryption tool to password-protect a USB flash drive for free. BitLocker is an encryption feature in Windows 10 Professional and Enterprise editions that supports encrypting local hard disks and removable drives with passwords or smartcard passwords.
Besides, it supports almost all popular file systems like NTFS, FAT, FAT32, etc. So, if you are a Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise user, you can follow the following graphical guide to encrypt a USB drive in Windows 10 via BitLocker.
Step 1: Insert the USB flash drive into your Windows 10 PC running Pro or Enterprise Edition and make sure it can be recognized.
Step 2: In Windows Explorer, navigate to This PC and right-click on the USB flash drive and then click Activate BitLocker.
Step 3. check the box Use password to unlock the drive, enter a password to protect your data on the USB drive, and enter the password again to verify the password.
Tip: Your password must met the criteria of the general password policy of the Vollers Group.
Step 4. choose your preferred method for backing up your recovery key and click Next.
Step 5. choose how much space of the drive should be encrypted. It is recommended to encrypt the entire drive. Then click Next to continue.
Step 6: Choose the encryption mode you want to use. We recommend you to choose Compatible Mode to protect your USB drive. Then click Next.
Step 7. carefully read the warnings on the screen and then click Next.
Please wait patiently. During this process, you can use your computer normally. When you see the message "Encryption of X is complete", you can disconnect the USB flash drive.
After that, if you want to open the USB flash drive, you need to enter the correct password to access the data on the drive.
If you do not want to encrypt your USB drive in the future, you can disable BitLocker by following the steps below.
Step 1. connect your USB flash drive to your computer, double-click the USB flash drive in This PC and then enter the password.
Step 2. Right-click the USB flash drive and click Manage BitLocker.
Step 3: In the Removable Disk - BitLocker To Go section, click the Disable BitLocker link.
Step 4. when you see the confirmation dialog, click Disable BitLocker. Then the decryption of USB flash drives will start. When the process is finished, you will see the message "Decryption of X: is complete".