{"id":31004,"date":"2018-05-31T18:18:19","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T22:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?p=31004"},"modified":"2018-10-19T13:16:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T17:16:50","slug":"encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

BitLocker<\/a> is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cornerstone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project to prevent unauthorized access of information on a PC, especially in the event of loss or theft of the machine or drive. BitLocker is currently available on limited versions of Windows. On Windows 10, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find it on the Pro, Enterprise and Education editions.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>
\nTop 6 Windows 10 Annoyances (and How to Fix Them)<\/em><\/p>\n

Although the earliest Vista interface of BitLocker allowed only OS volume encryption, the current version includes the ability to encrypt other volumes and drives, including removable drives. In addition, alongside Windows 8 Microsoft introduced a spec called Microsoft Encrypted Hard Drive, which offloads BitLocker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s encryption operations to the storage device\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hardware. BitLocker can now also be managed using PowerShell. One of the best parts of Bitlocker encryption is that the computer password won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be unlocked or reset by password recovery program like Ophcrack <\/a>or PassMoz. Without it, people could unlock the computer in a few moments.<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how to encrypt a Windows disk using BitLocker<\/h3>\n

First, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need a compatible TPM, or Trusted Platform Module, which is essentially a hardware component that validates system boot file integrity prior to decryption. Most modern computers come with this module installed in the motherboard. Essentially, the TPM holds the recovery key in version 1.2 and higher.<\/p>\n

The process of enabling BitLocker is quite simple. Just follow these steps:<\/p>\n

Step 0:<\/strong> Before you begin, make sure you have admin access on the machine where you want to encrypt the disk. You also need a printer to print the recovery key.<\/p>\n

Step 1:<\/strong> Assuming your computer meets the basic TPM and Windows version requirements, go to Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see an option called BitLocker Drive Encryption.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Step 2:<\/strong> Click on that option and then click on Turn on BitLocker against the disk or drive that you want to encrypt<\/p>\n

Step 3:<\/strong> BitLocker will now scan the computer to make sure all the requirements are met. If they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not, the setup program will tell you what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to do, such as turning on the TPM hardware.<\/p>\n

Step 4:<\/strong> At this point, you may be prompted to remove any flash drives, DVDs or CDs from the computer. You may also see a prompt asking you to shut down your PC and restart it, then follow the instructions to turn on TPM when it boots up again.<\/p>\n

Step 5: <\/strong>Once that process is complete, the BitLocker setup wizard automatically resumes where it left off. Now, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see two options: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Require a PIN at every startup\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Require a startup key at every startup.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d For the second option, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need a USB flash drive to save your key.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Step 6: <\/strong>Clicking on the PIN option takes you to a window where you need to set up a PIN between 8 and 20 characters long. Enter that twice and then click on Set PIN.<\/p>\n

Step 7: <\/strong>Now, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to setup your recovery key, which you can either save to a file or print out. Choose the appropriate option and click on Next.<\/p>\n

Step 8:<\/strong> Once you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done this, you will see a prompt asking you to restart the computer so the encryption process can be completed.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>
\nBitLocker Drives Unlocker [AddictiveTips Apps]<\/em><\/p>\n

What BitLocker does is to change the way you access your PC. After enabling it, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to enter the PIN or use the startup key each time you log in. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an additional layer of security, and you can apply it to any volume, including external storage devices connected to the PC. If you have a lot of sensitive or confidential information that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want anyone spying on, then BitLocker makes that task very easy.<\/p>\n

Using a similar method to the one described above, you can also manage or decrypt the drives, disks and volumes you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve encrypted. If you want to make another copy of your recovery key or change your PIN, once again go to go to Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security >> BitLocker Drive Encryption. This time, click on Manage BitLocker. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll also see an option to Turn Off BitLocker. For both these options, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be shown stepwise instructions on what to do.<\/p>\n

The PIN and Startup Key are the only things that prevent others from accessing your encrypted disk, so make sure that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re kept in a safe place and no unauthorized person can get a hold of them. In addition, we recommend that you use a password manager like LastPass or Dashlane to save your login passwords. It provides additional security when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re online, and you only have to remember one master password for the password manager itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cornerstone\u00e2\u20ac\u009d project to prevent unauthorized access of information<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5633],"tags":[9189,9186,6207,4376,9185,9191,6919,995,9188,1136,9193,3122,9190,177,5901,5879,21,9187,9192,237,5877,9184,6291],"class_list":["post-31004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","category-tips-2","tag-admin-access","tag-bitlocker","tag-devices","tag-disk-encryption","tag-encrypt","tag-flash-drives","tag-hardware","tag-laptop","tag-motherboard","tag-pc","tag-pin","tag-printer","tag-recovery-key","tag-security","tag-startup","tag-tech","tag-technology","tag-trusted-platform-moduletpm","tag-usb-drive","tag-windows","tag-windows-10","tag-windows-disk","tag-windows-os"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, & Creatives by Andy Sowards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/andysowardsfan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-31T22:18:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-19T17:16:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"330\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Sowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@andysowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@andysowards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Sowards\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/\",\"name\":\"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-31T22:18:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-19T17:16:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9e3197b37c1389a69a23f29ed4dc999d\"},\"description\":\"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg\",\"width\":660,\"height\":330},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, & Creatives by Andy Sowards\",\"description\":\"Design Inspiration & Business Resources for Creatives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9e3197b37c1389a69a23f29ed4dc999d\",\"name\":\"Andy Sowards\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2505c3eff66b791c5d294a1459772e38487496aebe3f766f8813bed90b98f1ec?s=96&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2505c3eff66b791c5d294a1459772e38487496aebe3f766f8813bed90b98f1ec?s=96&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Andy Sowards\"},\"description\":\"Im a professional Freelancer specializing in Web Developer, Design, Programming web applications. Im an Avid member of the Design\/Development community and a Serial Blogger. follow me on Twitter @AndySowards\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps","description":"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps","og_description":"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s","og_url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/","og_site_name":"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, & Creatives by Andy Sowards","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/andysowardsfan","article_published_time":"2018-05-31T22:18:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-10-19T17:16:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":660,"height":330,"url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andy Sowards","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@andysowards","twitter_site":"@andysowards","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Sowards","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/","url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/","name":"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-31T22:18:19+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-19T17:16:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9e3197b37c1389a69a23f29ed4dc999d"},"description":"BitLocker is a disk encryption feature that was introduced quite a while ago, with Windows Vista. It was originally part of Microsoft\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/How-to-Encrypt-a-Windows-Disk-with-BitLocker-in-8-Easy-Steps-4.jpg","width":660,"height":330},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2018\/encrypt-windows-disk-bitlocker-8-easy-steps\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Encrypt a Windows Disk with BitLocker in 8 Easy Steps"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/","name":"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, & Creatives by Andy Sowards","description":"Design Inspiration & Business Resources for Creatives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9e3197b37c1389a69a23f29ed4dc999d","name":"Andy Sowards","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2505c3eff66b791c5d294a1459772e38487496aebe3f766f8813bed90b98f1ec?s=96&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2505c3eff66b791c5d294a1459772e38487496aebe3f766f8813bed90b98f1ec?s=96&r=pg","caption":"Andy Sowards"},"description":"Im a professional Freelancer specializing in Web Developer, Design, Programming web applications. Im an Avid member of the Design\/Development community and a Serial Blogger. follow me on Twitter @AndySowards","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.andysowards.com"],"url":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31004"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31004\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32251,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31004\/revisions\/32251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}